Training course · AI Agents · Retail & E-Commerce

AI Agents for Retail

Agentic AI for business teams: understand AI agents, automate workflows safely and keep control with human-in-the-loop and governance.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“AI Agents for Retail” is a hands-on course for roles such as E-commerce and online shop teams, Buying and category management and Store and area managers. Rather than learning AI Agents in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from Retail & E-Commerce.

AI agents go a step beyond conventional chat assistants: they plan sub-tasks, use tools such as search, files or business applications and complete multi-step work largely on their own. Over two days you will learn how agents are built, how they differ from chatbots and traditional automation, and which tasks genuinely justify their use. Widely used platforms serve as practical examples, including Microsoft Copilot Studio, custom GPTs and Claude with projects and tool connections.

In the hands-on sessions you design agent workflows for tasks from your own area of work, from triaging requests through research and drafting to handing results over to business systems. You decide where a person reviews and approves, which permissions an agent receives and how errors are detected. A dedicated block covers governance, data protection and accountability, so that your agents not only work but remain controllable, traceable and defensible within your organisation.

Whether bricks-and-mortar stores, online shops, wholesale or omnichannel, retail works with large ranges, thin margins and high customer expectations. Generative AI helps wherever there is lots of text, lots of data and lots of customer contact. It writes product descriptions and category pages, maintains product master data, answers customer service enquiries, analyses reviews and return reasons and supports promotion planning and campaigns. AI agents can check order status, pre-sort complaints or bundle supplier requests. For buying and category management, AI becomes a tool for commenting on sales data and preparing range decisions. The key is balancing efficiency, brand voice and legally accurate product information.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • E-commerce and online shop teams
  • Buying and category management
  • Store and area managers
  • Customer service and returns management
  • Retail marketing and CRM

Typical challenges we address

  • Large ranges requiring heavy effort for product copy and master data
  • High volumes of customer enquiries, complaints and returns
  • Seasonal peaks and short-notice promotions
  • Data from tills, web shop and merchandise systems that is hard to combine

What you will be able to do

  • You can explain how AI agents are structured and clearly distinguish them from chatbots and classic automation.
  • You can select a suitable agent platform for your requirements using transparent criteria.
  • You can design an agent workflow for a real process in your area and build a working prototype.
  • You can define human-in-the-loop checkpoints, test cases and escalation rules.
  • Produce product copy and campaign content at scale with AI in a consistent brand voice.
  • Analyse customer feedback, returns and sales data with AI in a structured way.
  • Identify service cases and processes that can be automated with AI agents.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 What makes an AI agent
  • Agent building blocks: language model, instructions, knowledge, tools and memory
  • How agents differ from chatbots, macros and classic workflow automation
  • Levels of autonomy: from suggestion-making assistants to agents that act independently
  • Realistically judging which tasks suit agents and which do not
Module 2 Platform overview: Copilot Studio, GPTs and Claude
  • Microsoft Copilot Studio: agents grounded in company data and connected to Microsoft 365
  • Custom GPTs: configuring instructions, knowledge files and actions
  • Claude with projects, knowledge bases and tool access via the Model Context Protocol
  • Selection criteria: data access, integrations, administration and licensing
Module 3 Designing and building agent workflows
  • Breaking tasks into steps and defining hand-offs between agent and human
  • Writing system instructions, examples and knowledge sources for consistent output
  • Connecting tools: search, documents, email, spreadsheets and business applications
  • Building a prototype agent for a real process from your own area
Module 4 Human-in-the-loop, quality and error handling
  • Setting approval steps, escalation rules and thresholds for human review
  • Test cases, evaluation criteria and spot checks for quality assurance
  • Common failure modes: wrong tool choice, endless loops and fabricated facts
  • Using structured user feedback to improve the agent over time

Day 2

Module 5 Governance, security and roll-out
  • Roles and responsibilities across business units, IT, data protection and works council
  • Least-privilege permissions, logging and protection against prompt injection
  • Positioning under the EU AI Act and GDPR: transparency, documentation and data flows
  • From pilot agent to production: operation, maintenance and measuring success
Module 6 Practice lab: Retail & E-Commerce
  • Product copy at scale
  • Cleaning master data
  • Supporting customer service
  • Analysing reviews and returns
  • Promotions and campaigns
  • Commenting on sales data
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Customer data from web shop, CRM and loyalty programmes is subject to the GDPR, and marketing activities to consent and unfair competition rules. Product information, price displays and advertising claims must comply with consumer protection law, and customer-facing AI chatbots must be disclosed as such under the EU AI Act.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Product copy at scale

Manufacturer data and attributes become consistent, search-optimised product descriptions, bullet points and category pages in several languages, with mandatory details carried over accurately. Spot checks happen before publishing.

Cleaning master data

AI helps standardise product data, detect missing attributes, normalise colours and sizes and assign products to the correct categories – with spot checks by the team.

Supporting customer service

Enquiries about delivery status, exchanges, warranty or product details are classified and given draft replies; AI agents can handle standard cases directly. Complex cases are handed to staff with a summary.

Analysing reviews and returns

Customer reviews and return reasons are grouped by themes such as fit, quality or inaccurate descriptions in order to improve copy, range and suppliers in a targeted way.

Promotions and campaigns

Promotion plans, newsletters, social posts and copy for leaflets or displays are created for each target group and aligned with seasonal occasions. Results of past promotions inform the planning.

Commenting on sales data

For buying and category management, AI summarises sales data, explains variances against last year and plan and prepares arguments for supplier negotiations. Figures come from the merchandise system.

Prerequisites

You should already use an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Claude on a regular basis. No programming skills are required. Professional experience in store-based or online retail; no technical background required.

Technical requirements

You will need a laptop with an up-to-date browser. Ideally you have access to at least one agent platform such as Copilot Studio, ChatGPT with GPTs or Claude; practice accounts can be provided if needed.

Data protection & compliance

Customer data from web shop, CRM and loyalty programmes is subject to the GDPR, and marketing activities to consent and unfair competition rules. Product information, price displays and advertising claims must comply with consumer protection law, and customer-facing AI chatbots must be disclosed as such under the EU AI Act.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Wed, 25 November 2026 – Thu, 26 November 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 9 December 2026 – Thu, 10 December 2026 Bremen Request
  • Mon, 11 January 2027 – Tue, 12 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 25 January 2027 – Tue, 26 January 2027 Salzburg Request
  • Wed, 10 February 2027 – Thu, 11 February 2027 Online Request
  • Tue, 23 February 2027 – Wed, 24 February 2027 Kaiserslautern Request

Frequently asked questions

Do I need programming skills to build AI agents?

No. The platforms used on the course rely on visual interfaces, plain-language instructions and ready-made connectors. You learn to specify agents precisely from a business perspective, connect tools and test workflows. Where deeper technical integration would be needed, you will know which requirements to put to your IT team.

Which platform will we use during the course?

The course is vendor-neutral and uses Microsoft Copilot Studio, custom GPTs and Claude as examples. You build your prototype on the platform that is available or planned in your organisation. The principles of workflow design, control and governance you learn carry over to other agent solutions as well.

How do I stop an agent from acting without control?

Through deliberate design: agents receive only the minimum permissions they need, critical actions such as sending, booking or deleting require human approval, and every step is logged. In addition, you define test cases and escalation rules. These are exactly the control mechanisms you develop for your own use case during the course.

How do I make sure AI product copy is accurate?

Feed the AI only verified product data, specify which details must not be changed and run systematic spot checks. Dimensions, materials, mandatory labelling and advertising claims are critical. In the course you develop a workflow with templates and review steps for producing copy at scale.

Is AI worthwhile for smaller retailers too?

Smaller teams in particular benefit, because AI takes on tasks there is otherwise no capacity for – such as product copy, newsletters or customer replies. Many features can be used without major investment. The course shows pragmatic starting points that work without an IT department.

How much does “AI Agents for Retail” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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