What is the difference between AI transformation and using Copilot or ChatGPT?

Copilot makes individuals faster at the tasks they already do. Transformation asks whether those tasks should exist at all, and connects AI to your systems and processes. Your Copilot licenses often become more valuable along the way.

Yes, that’s where we start. We choose tools and hosting that keep your data under your control, define what AI may and may not access, and design every solution with GDPR and the EU AI Act in mind.

Will AI replace our people?

Our experience is the opposite: AI takes over the repetitive work, and people move to work that needs judgment, relationships and expertise. The same team gets much more done.

Does the EU AI Act apply to our company?

Most likely in part. Since February 2025, companies that use AI must take steps to build AI literacy among their staff. Since August 2026, people must be told when they are interacting with an AI system, such as a chatbot. Stricter rules for high-risk uses, such as recruitment, apply from December 2027. This is general information, not legal advice.

How long does an AI transformation take?

It depends on the processes in scope. We work in phases, starting with a process review and a pilot on one process, so you see a measured result before committing to more. The timeline of each phase is agreed upfront.

How much does AI transformation cost?

We price by the scope and value of each phase, not by hours. The process review and the AI maturity check are free, and after the first conversation you receive a clear proposal for the next step.

Do we need our own IT team?

You don’t need one; we can cover the whole technical side. But if you have an IT team, we’d love to have them on board. They know your systems best, and together we move faster. What matters most is people who know how the work is done.

Can AI work with our ERP, PIM or e-shop?

Yes, and that’s where most of the value is. We connect AI to the systems you already use: ERP, PIM, e-commerce platforms such as Magento, Shopware or Pimcore, email and document storage. Results flow into your processes instead of staying in a chat window.

Which AI tools do you use?

Whatever fits your company best: established platforms, specialized tools or EU-hosted options. We’re not tied to any vendor.

Which companies do you work with?

Mainly retail, e-commerce and manufacturing companies in Slovenia and across Europe, most of them small and mid-sized businesses.

How do we start without a big commitment?

With a process review or an AI Readiness Assessment. You get a clear picture and a recommended first step, and you decide whether to go further.

AI transformation for retail and manufacturing companies

You have AI licenses. Do you have AI results?

We help retail and manufacturing companies redesign how work gets done in sales, order processing, product data, customer service and finance, and we build AI into the systems you already use. We did it in our own company first.

Book a process review Take the AI maturity check

What is AI transformation?

AI transformation means redesigning how work flows through your company, so that AI handles the repetitive steps inside your real processes and systems while people focus on judgment, customers and decisions. It is not the same as rolling out AI tools: tools make individuals faster, transformation changes the process itself.

For most companies it starts with one slow, repetitive process, a pilot with a measured result, and a team that learns a new way of working. Scaling comes after that.

Starting point

Where is your company with AI today?

Most companies we talk to are in one of three places.

01
“We don’t use AI yet.”
You’re not too late, but the gap is growing. The upside of starting now: you can skip the expensive experiments others have already been through.
02
“We don’t trust AI.”
Fair. Data leaks, wrong answers and loss of control are real risks. We design solutions where your data stays protected, a person stays in control, and every result can be checked.
03
“We already use AI: Copilot, ChatGPT.”
A good start. But a tool that helps one person write an email faster is not the same as a process that no longer needs the email. That’s the step we help you take.

About 1 in 5 EU companies used AI in 2025, and only 17% of small companies.
Source: Eurostat, 2025
71% of companies that considered AI but held back named a lack of expertise as the reason.
Source: Eurostat, 2025
Companies that get the most value from AI are nearly three times as likely to have redesigned their workflows.
Source: McKinsey, The State of AI 2025

Wherever you are,the next step is the same:look at how work really flowsthrough your company.

It’s from our experiences

How we transformed our own company with AI

Optiweb is a Slovenian digital agency that builds e-commerce, PIM and custom software for retail and manufacturing companies. When AI changed how software is built, we didn’t just add new tools. We rebuilt how Optiweb works, and our clients felt the difference.

What changed for our clients

Proposals while the conversation is still fresh.
Detailed, structured proposals shortly after the first meeting, not weeks later.
Estimates you can trust.
Grounded in data from our past work, not gut feeling.
One owner for your project.
The person you talk to is the person who builds your solution. No handoffs, no lost context.
Faster, smarter support.
Requests are understood, routed and answered with the full context of your system.
Reports that speak business.
Every piece of work is explained in terms of the value it brings, not as a list of technical tasks.
Things that weren’t possible before.
Deeper analysis in every project, and our own internal tools built in-house.

The hard part wasn’t the technology

Roles changed. Developers who used to execute tasks now own projects from the first conversation to delivery. That took new habits, new expectations and honest conversations. It’s exactly the part most AI projects skip, and the part we can help you with.

AI maturity check

How ready is your company for AI?

About ten questions, an instant score and tailored recommendations.

Strategy and ownership
Processes
Data and systems
People and skills
Governance and security

Open the check on its own page

Question 01 / 12Strategy and ownership

Who owns the topic of AI in your company?

Use cases

Where AI helps retail and manufacturing companies

We help across the whole company, always starting from where your team’s time actually goes. The biggest gains usually come from document-heavy work: orders, quotes, invoices, product data and customer emails.

Sales and quotes
Order processing
Product data and catalog management
Customer service
Marketing and content
Procurement and suppliers
Logistics and inventory
Finance and accounting
HR and onboarding
Internal knowledge and documentation
Management reporting

How we work

How AI transformation works: five phases

A clear, phased approach: you see results early and decide at every step whether to continue.

01
Process X-ray.
We talk to your team and follow real work as it happens, from inquiry to invoice.
You getA clear map of where time and effort actually go.
02
Opportunity map.
We rank every opportunity by business value and effort, and choose two or three quick wins plus one strategic bet.
You getA prioritized roadmap with the expected impact of each step.
03
Pilot.
We build the first solution in your real environment, with your data and your systems, and measure it against where you started.
You getA working solution and a measured result.
04
Embed.
Training, new routines, clear ownership and guidelines for safe AI use.
You getA team that uses it every day, not one that tried it once.
05
Scale.
We extend the approach to further processes and keep improving what’s in place.
You getA long-term partner for continuous improvement.

The pace and scope of each phase depend on your company and the processes we take on.

Book a process review Take the AI maturity check

Why Optiweb

We did it ourselves first.
We’re practitioners, not presenters. Everything we recommend, we’ve lived through.
We build, not just advise.
You get working solutions connected to your ERP, PIM, e-shop and email, not a slide deck.
We’re tool-agnostic.
We don’t resell licenses, so we choose what fits your company, not what we have to sell.
We know retail and manufacturing.
Years of building Magento and Shopware e-shops, Pimcore PIM systems, B2B portals, product configurators and ERP integrations for companies like yours.
People first.
Technology is the easy part. We help your team change how it works, step by step.
Your data stays yours.
Solutions designed with security, GDPR and the EU AI Act in mind from day one.

FAQ

AI transformation: frequently asked questions

Start here

How to start with AI in your company

Three ways to take the first step, depending on how far along you are.

01
Process review.
A no-cost, focused conversation about where your team loses the most time. You leave with two or three concrete ideas.
Book a process review
02
AI Readiness Assessment.
A quick, fixed-scope look at your key processes, an opportunity map and a recommended first pilot, delivered as a written report and roadmap.
Ask about the assessment
03
Leadership workshop.
A half-day session with your management team: what AI can realistically do in your company, and where to start.
Plan a workshop

Process review