AI Automation Bootcamp: 12 weeks of building with Make.com.
A beginner-friendly, project-based program taught directly by Adron Digital. Students learn how AI and automation work, then build, test and document real business automations on Make.com, finishing with six guided projects, an independent capstone and a portfolio.
Designed and delivered by Adron Digital.
Adron Digital is an AI automation and digital marketing agency based in Birmingham, Alabama. We build Make.com automations for real businesses and teach those same skills to beginners. Every lesson, live workshop, project review and piece of feedback in this bootcamp is delivered directly by our instructors. We do not resell third-party course content.
Led by Ronald, founder of Adron Digital, with more than nine years in digital marketing, an MBA with a business analytics concentration, and hands-on experience building Make.com automations for client businesses.
How the program is delivered
- 3 to 5 recorded lessons released each week
- Weekly live build workshop (60 to 90 min)
- Weekly live office hours and Q&A (45 to 60 min)
- Instructor feedback on every submitted project
- Replays, sample data and templates in our learning hub
- Structured cohort with a fixed start date and schedule
What students can do by graduation.
A student who completes the practical work should be able to map a business process, build and troubleshoot Make.com scenarios, integrate AI responsibly, and present a working automation as a portfolio case study or client proposal.
- Explain AI, LLMs, AI automation and AI agents, including their limitations
- Write effective prompts and request structured outputs
- Understand triggers, actions, data mapping, JSON, APIs, webhooks and authentication basics
- Build, test, monitor and troubleshoot Make.com scenarios
- Use AI for classification, extraction, drafting and research, with validation and human approval
- Deliver six guided automations plus an independently designed capstone
- Estimate tool costs, protect customer data and document maintenance responsibilities
- Create portfolio demonstrations, freelance offers and client proposals
Week by week.
Six phases: Foundations (weeks 1 to 3), Build (4 to 7), Agents (8), Applications (9), Career (10 to 11) and Graduation (12). Tap any week to see its lessons, live workshop, project and submission.
Week 01AI and Automation FundamentalsFoundations
Learning objective: Explain core concepts without jargon and recognize which tasks are (and are not) good candidates for automation.
Recorded lessons
- Welcome and how the bootcamp works
- What AI is (and is not): LLMs, limitations, hallucinations
- Traditional automation vs AI automation
- The automation ecosystem: Make.com, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Workspace and APIs
- Career and freelance pathways with realistic beginner expectations
Live workshop
Live business process identification exercise
Hands-on project
Map five repetitive business tasks and rank them by time saved, complexity and risk.
Submission
Opportunity worksheet with one chosen automation idea
Business lab
Which simple workflows could a small business pay to have improved?
Week 02Prompt Engineering and AI CollaborationFoundations
Learning objective: Write clear instructions and get reliable, machine-readable output from AI models.
Recorded lessons
- Prompt structure: role, task, context, constraints, examples, format
- Prompt iteration and evaluating quality
- Working with ChatGPT and Claude
- Structured outputs and JSON
- Safe and responsible AI use: privacy, fact checking, human approval
Live workshop
Build a supervised customer inquiry classification assistant
Hands-on project
Prompts for support classification, marketing drafts and structured data extraction.
Submission
Three tested prompts with example outputs
Business lab
How prompt-based services lead to broader automation work
Week 03Data Flow, JSON, APIs and WebhooksFoundations
Learning objective: Understand how applications exchange information before building complex scenarios.
Recorded lessons
- Triggers, actions and conditions
- Business data basics: records, fields, tables, mapping
- Reading JSON: objects, arrays, nested values
- API essentials: endpoints, GET/POST, headers, authentication
- Webhooks explained, and how they compare to polling
- Drawing workflow diagrams
Live workshop
Trace a form submission across three applications
Hands-on project
Diagram a Form to Google Sheets to Email workflow and annotate fields and failure points.
Submission
Labeled workflow architecture diagram
Business lab
How to scope an integration before quoting a client
Week 04Make.com FundamentalsBuild
Learning objective: Build, test and explain a first end-to-end Make.com scenario.
Recorded lessons
- Getting started in Make: scenarios, modules, connections, usage
- Your first scenario: trigger, action, test run
- Google Sheets operations: create, search, update, map
- Filters and routers
- Scheduling and debugging with execution history
Live workshop
Build the lead capture scenario from scratch
Hands-on project
Project 1: Form to Sheets lead capture with owner notification.
Submission
Working scenario, screenshot, sample test and a 2 minute demo
Business lab
Packaging lead capture for small businesses
Week 05Business Process AutomationBuild
Learning objective: Automate routine operations with the right safeguards.
Recorded lessons
- Process discovery: current state, repeatability, exceptions
- Email workflows: drafts, notifications, formatting
- Google Workspace integrations: Forms, Sheets, Gmail, Drive
- Follow-up logic: statuses, timers, deduplication
- Testing and documentation for handover
Live workshop
Build a customer follow-up system with approval before any outbound message
Hands-on project
Project 2: Inquiry tracker with scheduled follow-up reminders and duplicate prevention.
Submission
Working workflow, test cases and setup notes
Business lab
Pricing ongoing workflow maintenance
Week 06AI-Powered Automation with MakeBuild
Learning objective: Add AI to a workflow without giving it unchecked authority.
Recorded lessons
- Connecting AI models: API keys, tokens, usage cost
- AI calls inside a Make scenario
- Classification and extraction
- AI drafting with human review
- Validation and safety: JSON checks, fallbacks, privacy, cost caps
Live workshop
Build and test AI email triage using synthetic customer data
Hands-on project
Project 3: AI email triage that categorizes inquiries and creates drafts for approval.
Submission
Scenario, classification test set, sample drafts and cost notes
Business lab
Positioning AI-assisted inbox management responsibly
Week 07APIs, Webhooks and ReliabilityBuild
Learning objective: Connect an external API and handle failure conditions properly.
Recorded lessons
- The HTTP module: methods, URLs, headers, bodies
- JSON parsing and nested arrays
- Custom webhooks: creating, testing, validating payloads
- Errors and retries: timeouts, rate limits
- Production basics: logging, idempotency, credentials, handover
Live workshop
Create an API reporting pipeline and simulate failures
Hands-on project
Project 4: Pull data from a sample API, transform it and update a reporting sheet.
Submission
Scenario, API request example, error test and documentation
Business lab
Estimating integration scope and risk
Week 08AI Agents with Make.comAgents
Learning objective: Build a narrowly scoped, supervised AI agent in Make.com.
Recorded lessons
- What makes an AI agent: model, instructions, tools, decisions
- Agent design: permissions, context, guardrails
- Make AI Agent capabilities and setup
- Building a research agent with approved sources
- Agent testing and safety: prompt injection, tool limits, human approval
Live workshop
Build a bounded research agent with a review checkpoint
Hands-on project
Project 5: Supervised research agent that drafts a structured report from approved sources.
Submission
Agent demo, evaluation checklist and failure analysis
Business lab
When a client needs an agent vs a simpler workflow
Week 09Applied Business Automation SystemsApplications
Learning objective: Adapt reusable automation patterns to real business needs.
Recorded lessons
- AI content drafting with editorial approval
- Review management: intake, draft response, human review
- Invoice triage: document intake, extraction, exception queue
- Marketing reporting: data collection and KPI summaries
- Voice AI overview: components, use cases, cost and complexity
Live workshop
Instructor walkthrough of real-world style business automations using sample data
Hands-on project
Project 6: Choose one: content drafting, invoice triage or marketing report assistant.
Submission
Working workflow, user instructions and video demo
Business lab
Turning a reusable workflow into a defined service package
Week 10Freelancing, Niches and Service OffersCareer
Learning objective: Create a realistic offer around a validated business problem.
Recorded lessons
- Finding automation opportunities
- Choosing a niche
- Service packaging: audit, implementation, support, training
- Pricing and profitability
- Prospecting ethically
Live workshop
Review student service offers and scope boundaries
Hands-on project
One clearly scoped service offer, price estimate and discovery questionnaire.
Submission
Offer sheet and pricing calculator
Business lab
Fixed-fee builds vs monthly support
Week 11Portfolio, Proposals and Client DeliveryCareer
Learning objective: Show evidence of competence and plan a professional handover.
Recorded lessons
- Portfolio case studies: problem, solution, demo, limitations
- Freelance profiles: Upwork, Fiverr, LinkedIn
- Discovery calls and proposals
- Client delivery: onboarding, permissions, documentation, training
- Career development roadmap
Live workshop
Portfolio critique and mock discovery calls
Hands-on project
Publish two case studies, draft a proposal and record a demo video.
Submission
Portfolio links, proposal and client handover checklist
Business lab
Building credibility without inventing client results
Week 12Capstone and GraduationGraduation
Learning objective: Design, test and present an independent automation.
Recorded lessons
- Choosing the business problem and success measure
- Planning the architecture
- Building and testing: happy path, edge cases, errors
- Documentation and demo
- Next steps: maintenance, portfolio, career plan
Live workshop
Student capstone demos and constructive review
Hands-on project
Capstone: An end-to-end Make.com automation solving a clearly defined business problem.
Submission
Problem brief, architecture, working scenario, test log, cost note, 3 to 5 minute demo and case study
Business lab
Turning a capstone into a credible first sales conversation
Six Make.com projects, each with acceptance criteria.
| Project | Minimum workflow | Acceptance criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lead capture | Form submission → Google Sheets record → owner notification | Correct mapping, successful test, handles a blank optional field |
| 2. Customer follow-up | Inquiry intake → status tracking → follow-up reminder | No duplicates, clear status logic, no unapproved customer messages |
| 3. AI email triage | Sample message → AI classification → human-approved draft | Correct categories, structured output, documented fallback |
| 4. API reporting | Sample API → JSON parsing → Google Sheets report | Valid request, correct mapping, evidence of error handling |
| 5. Research agent | Approved sources → bounded agent task → report for review | Source traceability, human approval, safe tool permissions |
| 6. Business automation | Content drafting, invoice triage or reporting assistant | Meets the selected brief, test evidence, handover instructions |
| Capstone | An independent end-to-end automation for a defined business problem | Problem brief, architecture, working scenario, test log, cost note, demo and case study |
How students are graded.
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Weekly exercises | 30% |
| Six guided projects | 30% |
| Capstone | 30% |
| Portfolio and presentation | 10% |
Certificate of completion: 70% overall, a submitted capstone and all core technical projects. One documented resubmission is allowed. This is a course completion certificate, not an accredited industry certification.
What a strong capstone shows.
| Dimension | Points |
|---|---|
| Problem definition and workflow design | 20 |
| Functional automation and data mapping | 30 |
| Testing, error handling and safe permissions | 20 |
| Documentation and cost awareness | 15 |
| Demonstration and communication | 15 |
Built for beginners, wherever they learn from.
Make.com
Every guided project and the capstone are built in Make.com: scenarios, routers, HTTP, webhooks, error handling and AI agents.
ChatGPT and Claude
Used for prompting practice and inside Make scenarios, always with validation and human approval for anything customer-facing.
Google Workspace
Forms, Sheets, Gmail and Drive, the everyday tools most small businesses already use.
Lessons, replays, templates
Recorded lessons, dated live replays, downloadable Make scenario templates, workbooks and sample datasets.
Learn on your schedule
Replays and downloadable files support learners with intermittent connectivity or busy schedules.
Synthetic data only
All demos and projects use sample data. No real customer information, passwords or API keys are ever shared.
Practical, honest and responsible.
- Make.com is the single core workflow platform, so students go deep instead of wide
- Human approval is taught for customer messages, financial actions and publishing
- API costs, privacy, permission scopes and platform limits are explained before every demo
- Projects are modular so students can succeed without buying expensive software
- Simulated practice projects are clearly separated from real client work in portfolios
- No promises of guaranteed jobs, clients or income