Ready for 2027? Need an Assistant? Let AI Help You Work Smarter by Monique Reynolds

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a practical business tool, and early childhood leaders can use it to reduce administrative workload, strengthen communication, and support everyday program operations. But getting useful results from AI requires more than simply asking it a question—it requires knowing when to use it, how to prompt it effectively, and how to evaluate what it produces.

In this practical, hands-on session, you’ll explore how AI can support common leadership and operational responsibilities in early childhood programs, including communication, staffing, enrollment, policies, marketing, and planning. Through real-world child care examples, you’ll see how different prompts produce different results and learn strategies for creating clear, effective prompts that generate more useful responses.

You’ll also explore practical considerations for using AI responsibly in your work, including when AI can help streamline a task and when professional judgment and human oversight are still essential.

Whether you’re completely new to AI or have already started experimenting with it, you’ll leave with practical strategies and prompt examples you can adapt to your own program as you prepare for 2027.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify appropriate applications of AI for common early childhood leadership and business operations.

• Apply effective prompting strategies to generate useful responses for a child care business scenario.

• Evaluate AI-generated content to determine when additional review, professional judgment, or human input is needed.

Participants will also receive a resource list with example prompts and AI tools referenced during the session.