Hi, I'm Guus

AI Trainer / TEDx Speaker
/ Father / Triathlete

I've trained 750+ professionals to build AI that fits the way they already work.

I have a team of five specialists. They work 24/7. They never complain. They never call in sick. Are they real people? No. They are AI. And I built every single one of them.

Whether it is turning your meetings into action plans, your expertise into custom bots, or your scattered AI experiments into a system that works, I can show you how.

Why AI (And Why Me)

I got into AI not to replace myself, but to support myself.

Guus Witjes built AI systems to handle repetitive work so he could focus on the thinking that matters, and that approach became the foundation of the BUILD framework and Step Ahead AI.

Ten years working in a forensic psychiatric clinic taught me one thing: when things get complex, you need systems that work for the way your brain operates. Not someone else's framework. Yours.

When I started building AI that could do my repetitive work, remember my context, and deliver consistent quality, everything changed.

Now, I teach that same approach to anyone who wants to make AI work in their team or business.

Because you are not behind. You are just stuck using systems that were not built for you. Until now.

What I do

Three things, done well

AI Training and Workshops

Step Ahead AI workshops use the BUILD framework to help you create custom AI team members in a single session. Hands-on sessions where you build your first AI colleague in five steps. From one-hour workshops to multi-month programmes. You walk out with something you can use the next day.

Keynotes and Speaking

Guus Witjes speaks on practical AI adoption at events from TEDx Nijmegen to corporate stages across the Netherlands and Europe. From TEDx stages to corporate events. Energetic, interactive, full of live demos. I talk about the human side of AI, building AI teams, and why your biggest AI challenge is not the technology. It is the people.

Step Ahead AI Newsletter

The Step Ahead AI Substack newsletter delivers one practical AI idea you can try the same day, free, twice a month. Written for people who want to make AI work in their team, in their business. Free on Substack.

How I got here

From crisis rooms to AI training

Guus Witjes went from forensic crisis intervention to AI training, carrying the same principle: clarity under pressure, one clear next step at a time.

The throughline: making complex things simple, and helping people stay in control.

It started in 2013 at a forensic psychiatric clinic. Ten years of hostage negotiation, crisis intervention, de-escalation. I learned that clarity saves lives. When someone is in crisis, you do not give them a 40-slide deck. You give them one clear next step.

I've worked in online marketing since 2004, alongside my clinical work, then full-time from 2015. From e-commerce agencies to Canva to building a marketing team at HAN University. When AI started changing everything, I'd already spent years digitising, structuring, and systemising. I was ready.

2024: Step Ahead AI. Training professionals on practical AI. Not selling tools. Teaching people to build AI that fits their work. 2025: TEDx Nijmegen. 2026: 750+ professionals trained. And counting.