WSTI Festi 2026: SME AI Forum, Can AI Help Your Business Grow?

*Early access for people who live, work or study in the City of Parramatta. When you RSVP, we ask for your postcode.

WSTI Festi 2026: SME AI Forum, Can AI Help Your Business Grow?

After a full house on 30 September, WSTI and Parramatta Business Connect (PBC) are hosting the SME AI Forum again!

You've heard AI can save time, cut costs and help business grow. But what does that actually look like in a business like yours, and where do you start?

This evening, you'll hear it from local business owners who have already done it. They're not tech companies. They run everyday Western Sydney businesses, and they've set up a team of AI agents to take on the paperwork, reports and admin that used to eat their evenings.

They'll tell you what they built, what it took, what went wrong along the way and what changed in their week. Then the WSTI team will show you live demos of AI agents doing real work, so you can see exactly how it works.

No hype, just real stories, real demos and honest answers to your questions.

How the evening runs
• Doors open from 5:30 PM, with light refreshments
• Welcome from WSTI and Parramatta Business Connect
• Fireside chat: local business owners share how they use AI agents in their business, from the first step to the results
• Live demos: the WSTI team shows AI agents doing real work, start to finish
• Q&A: bring your questions about cost, privacy, accuracy and where to begin
• Networking until 7:30 PM

What you get
• Real stories from local business owners: what worked, what didn't and what it saved them
• A live look at AI agents doing real business work, not slides about the future
• A plain-English view of the risks: privacy, accuracy and keeping a human in charge
• A clear idea of where your business could start
• Connections with other local business owners, and with WSTI's mentors and members, Parramatta and Western Sydney's largest grassroots AI community

Who should come
You do not need any tech background. If you run a business, this evening is for you.
• Small business owners, founders and sole traders
• Managers and team leaders who look after operations, admin, sales or marketing
• Anyone who has tried ChatGPT and wondered what comes next

Free to attend: register your interest first
Places are limited, and we want them to go to the people who will get the most from the evening. So there are two simple steps:
1. Register your interest by Friday 6 November, with a few quick questions about you and your business
2. We'll confirm your free ticket on a rolling basis, and no later than Monday 9 November. We aim to welcome as many different local businesses as possible
If your plans change after you're confirmed, please let us know so someone else can take your place.

Register your interest here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/wsti-festi-2026-sme-ai-forum-can-ai-help-your-business-grow-tickets-2003434706137

Getting there
Western Sydney Startup Hub, 5 Fleet Street, North Parramatta, near the Ngara light rail stop. We're in the Event Space.

With
WSTI · Parramatta Business Connect · Western Sydney Startup Hub

Part of WSTI Festi 2026, Western Sydney's first grassroots AI festival, 5 to 21 November in Parramatta. See more: https://wsti.org.au/wsti-festi

Notice of Photography and Filming
By entering this event, you acknowledge that photography, audio, and video recording may occur. Your attendance constitutes your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or recorded and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of such media for promotional purposes by Western Sydney Tech Innovators (WSTI). If you prefer not to be photographed or recorded, please inform a WSTI team member upon arrival. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.