AI workshop for managing directors in the Austrian mid-market: no deferring the EU AI Act

PASSION4IT offers the AI workshop for managing directors at a fixed price of €3,900 in Austria as well. The workshop takes one day with six hours of work and takes place at your company in Austria or at our offices in Viechtach. The fixed price of €3,900 net applies regardless of location, travel costs are added and agreed before the engagement. German BAFA funding only applies to companies based in Germany. Whether an Austrian funding programme applies is something you clarify with your funding body before placing the order. At the end you have worked-out use cases with a pilot plan for the next 30 days, plus AI rules on which data may go into which tool.

An AI workshop for managing directors in the Austrian mid-market makes sense when you want to introduce AI in a controlled, privacy-compliant and economically sound way instead of just trying things out: the PASSION4IT AI workshop establishes the maturity level per department in a 6-hour strategy session at a fixed price of EUR 3,900 net, works out your use cases and sets AI rules as well as a pilot plan for the next 30 days — as an in-person workshop, either at your company or at our offices in Viechtach.

The workshop is aimed at managing directors, COOs and team leads of Austrian companies who are seriously evaluating AI — and who, as EU companies, cannot sit out the obligations of the EU AI Act.

What you’ll take away:

• why the EU AI Act applies directly to Austrian companies — including the AI literacy obligation in Art. 4 (since February 2025),
• the three decision-maker questions the workshop answers before any tool budget is approved,
• how the six-hour workshop day runs and what you have at the end,
• what the workshop costs (EUR 3,900 net, fixed price) and why Germany’s BAFA funding does not apply here,
• why shadow AI is the most immediate risk in Austrian companies, too.

What applies to Austrian companies in regulatory terms?

Austria is an EU member — the EU AI Act therefore applies directly, without any detour through national legislation. Two deadlines belong on every management team’s radar:

• Since February 2025: the AI literacy obligation (Art. 4). Anyone using AI in sales, marketing or service must be able to demonstrate that employees have sufficient AI literacy — with documented training and internal policies.
• From 2 August 2026: the baseline obligations for everyday AI use. These include the transparency obligation under Art. 50: AI-generated content and chatbots must be recognizable as such.

Add to that the GDPR, which applies in Austria anyway: when employees enter customer data into public AI tools, a real data-protection risk arises. Exactly this pattern — shadow AI via private accounts — is what we see most often in consulting practice, regardless of country.

Which three questions does the workshop answer?

The workshop is not a tool demo and not a prompting course, but decision groundwork. It answers the three questions that precede any AI investment:

Are we ready for AI at all? An honest assessment of data foundation, processes, skills and compliance — unvarnished, no sales folder.

Where do we sensibly start? Use cases prioritized by business value, not technical appeal. For companies on Microsoft 365, daily work in Teams is often the most tangible entry point.

What can go wrong — and how do we prevent it? Binding AI guidelines against shadow AI, GDPR violations and adoption failure, translated into practicable everyday rules.

How does the workshop run and what does it deliver?

A short kick-off call sets the objectives before the date. The workshop day lasts six hours and has five blocks. First, where you stand, with your system landscape and the maturity level per department on a four-step scale. Then AI basics and risks such as hallucination and bias. At the core is the hands-on session with three worksheets, from the friction point card via the use case card to the AI pilot canvas. After that come the EU AI Act rules that apply to you as a deployer. Finally comes a vendor-independent tool overview with the 30-day plan.

You receive the result document after the workshop. It has four parts.

• the maturity level per department as an honest starting point
• worked-out use cases with benefit, data, limits and the split between AI and people
• AI rules on which data may go into which tool and who approves new tools, which also serve as a building block for Art. 4 compliance
• a pilot plan for the next 30 days with success criteria and a named owner

After the workshop your company does not automatically buy an AI product. You decide on the basis of facts, risks and expected impact — no slide decks, no tool sales.

What does the workshop cost for Austrian companies?

Criterion	PASSION4IT AI workshop	Generic AI seminar	Internal effort
Format	6-hour strategy session on site	Half a day to several days, standard curriculum	Alongside day-to-day business
Price	EUR 3,900 net, fixed price	Variable, often per participant	Internal capacity
Relevance to your company	Your data, processes, risks, pilot plan	Generic basics and tool demos	High, but without an outside view
Outcome	Maturity level, use cases, AI rules, 30-day pilot	Certificate of attendance	Varies, rarely binding
EU AI Act relevance	Guidelines + training plan as compliance building blocks	Usually just an overview	Own research

An honest note on funding: the BAFA subsidy that German companies use for consulting services applies only to companies based in Germany. Austrian funding programmes for digitalization and consulting services exist, but come with their own requirements — clarify eligibility with your funding body before commissioning. The fixed price of EUR 3,900 net applies regardless.

Workforce enablement after the workshop — including documented proof for Art. 4 — runs scalably through the PASSION4IT Academy with the AI driver’s licence, with no classroom time and therefore independent of location.

Conclusion: strategy before tools — in Austria, too

AI in the mid-market rarely fails on technology and almost always on missing preparation — in Linz just as in Landshut. The PASSION4IT AI workshop delivers the decision basis in six hours. At the end you have the maturity level per department, worked-out use cases, AI rules and a pilot plan for the next 30 days. You can run the implementation yourselves, and we support it on request.

Book a no-obligation initial consultation — remotely via Teams, with no travel required, and we’ll clarify whether your company is ready.

Further resources

• AI readiness, strategy and implementation for the mid-market — the PASSION4IT AI service at a glance.
• Managing directors in Switzerland: DSG first, EU AI Act with EU market exposure — the counterpart for Swiss companies with a DSG focus.
• The compliance trap of 2 August 2026: EU AI Act baseline obligations — which obligations really take effect now.
• AI driver’s licence: EU AI Act Art. 4 mandatory training — meeting the literacy obligation with documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an AI workshop deliver for managing directors in Austria?

In six hours it delivers the decision basis before any AI investment. You get the maturity level per department, worked-out use cases, AI rules on which data may go into which tool, and a pilot plan for the next 30 days, based on your company.

Does the EU AI Act apply to Austrian companies?

Yes, directly — Austria is an EU member. The AI literacy obligation in Art. 4 has applied since February 2025; the baseline obligations for everyday AI use (including the transparency obligation under Art. 50) take effect on 2 August 2026.

What does the workshop cost and how is it delivered?

EUR 3,900 net fixed price for the 6-hour strategy session. The workshop always takes place in person, either at your company or at our offices in Viechtach. Travel costs are added to the fixed price and we agree them before you place the order.

Is there funding like BAFA for Austrian companies?

Germany’s BAFA subsidy applies only to companies based in Germany. Austria has its own funding programmes for digitalization and consulting services, each with its own requirements — clarify eligibility with the responsible funding body before commissioning.

How do I meet the AI literacy obligation under Art. 4?

With documented employee training. The workshop delivers guidelines and a training plan; the PASSION4IT Academy implements the enablement scalably — with the AI driver’s licence and a certificate as proof, location-independent and with no classroom time.

What is shadow AI, and does it affect Austrian companies too?

Shadow AI arises when employees use AI tools such as ChatGPT without approval and rules — often with confidential data via private accounts. The pattern is country-independent; the GDPR risks apply in Austria just the same. Binding guidelines before any tool rollout are the most effective countermeasure.