A leadership team asking for an AI day may need three different things: a common understanding, a decision about priorities, or an opportunity to practise. Buying the same format for all three leaves the hardest question unresolved. Our recommendation is to name the output before choosing the programme.
Compare the formats
These are planning distinctions, not universal delivery durations or a ranking of providers.
| Format | Best starting question | Useful output | Preparation | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive briefing | What should we understand before one decision? | Options, open questions and a decision note | Define the question and relevant context | A briefing does not create group agreement or implementation capacity |
| Strategy workshop | Which AI priorities should we pursue together? | Prioritised experiments, owners and next decisions | Bring workflow evidence and decision-makers | Agreement does not prove feasibility or return on investment |
| Role-based training | What should this group be able to do? | Assessed practice on an approved task | Check access, tools and starting skills | Attendance does not demonstrate sustained use |
| Corporate hackathon | Can a bounded challenge work under our constraints? | Demonstrator, evaluation and handover | Clear challenge, permitted data, tools and mentors | A prototype is not a production system |
| Learning expedition | What can we learn from practitioners outside our organisation? | Comparison notes and implications for the business | Learning question, host confirmation and travel plan | A visit is not a commercial partnership or technology validation |
| Internal AI day | How do we give a wider audience a useful shared starting point? | Common language, practical questions and routes to follow-up | Audience segments, programme and production responsibilities | A large event cannot replace focused skills development |
Choose from the problem
Leaders disagree about priorities. Start with the executive readiness checklist. Use a briefing if the disagreement comes from missing information about one question. Use a workshop if people need to compare competing initiatives and commit owners.
Employees have tools but rarely use them well. Identify the actual task, available access and acceptable output. A practice session may help; another keynote may leave the same barriers intact. The enterprise adoption guide separates skills, access and ownership problems.
The organisation wants hands-on experimentation. Narrow the challenge before selecting a hackathon. Non-developers might compare AI-assisted and manual drafting using fictional inputs. A technical team might build an integration in an approved sandbox. These require different support, evaluation and permissions. Use the use-case worksheet to define the challenge first.
A leadership group is visiting Barcelona. Use an expedition when outside perspectives can inform a specific decision. If the team already has the evidence but needs to agree priorities, a workshop at the offsite may be more useful than several visits. Review the sample two-day itinerary and its access conditions.
A broad employee or client audience needs to engage. An internal AI day can combine a shared introduction with different practical tracks. Specify which participants will learn, which will decide and which will approve any next experiment.
Write a useful brief
Finish this sentence: “After the programme, these people should be able to make this decision or complete this task, using this evidence.” Then add:
Do not send sensitive documents with an initial enquiry. A short description is enough to begin scoping. The provider checklist helps compare proposals, and the cost framework helps make inclusions comparable.
When to do it internally
An internal facilitator may be enough when the team already has the necessary expertise, approved tools and authority to act. A small practice exercise can be a better next step than a large event. Bring in outside support when you need a different perspective, specialist knowledge, facilitation or production capacity that the internal team cannot supply.
Pause any practical programme when data permissions, tool access or the person responsible for the output remain unclear. Resolve those dependencies before purchasing a larger format.
What AISB offers
AI Summit Barcelona publishes three private programme routes: an AI strategy workshop, a private executive briefing and a private AI event. Each engagement needs an agreed scope, contributor, deliverables and fees.
Training, hackathons and expeditions are included here as formats to compare. This guide does not announce a training catalogue, guarantee mentors or reserve access to companies. Any additional delivery capability must be confirmed in a proposal.
Methodology
About this comparison
This is AISB’s editorial planning framework, published on 4 October 2026. Examples illustrate how to choose a format; they are not client cases, independently tested outcome claims or a certification standard.
Choose a useful next step
Share the question, audience and decision you need to move forward.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an AI workshop and AI training?
A workshop helps a group make choices or develop a shared output. Training develops a defined skill through practice and feedback. If participants need both, specify separate learning and decision objectives rather than expecting one session to solve everything.
Can non-technical employees join an AI hackathon?
Yes, if the challenge, approved tools and support match their skills. A business-team challenge can produce a tested workflow, review checklist or demonstrator. It does not need to promise a production application.
Does an AI learning expedition guarantee company visits?
No. Host participation, group access, languages and confidentiality terms must be confirmed separately. A sample itinerary is a planning example, not a reservation or proof of an AISB partnership.
Published by
- AI Summit BarcelonaEditorial team
Related reading
Enterprise AI Adoption: From Awareness to Useful Experiments
A decision guide for companies moving beyond AI awareness. Diagnose the barrier, choose the appropriate format and define the evidence needed before expanding an experiment.
AI Executive Readiness Checklist
A practical checklist for leaders commissioning a briefing or workshop. Identify what is clear, what needs evidence and who owns the decision; this is not a maturity score or certification.
Corporate AI Programme Costs: What to Include
An open scope and budget framework without invented price ranges. Define the actual group, preparation, contributors, logistics and handover before asking for an estimate.