By MDA Staff Writer | September 30, 2026
MISSISSIPPI DELTA — A new Mississippi State University Extension training program will teach agricultural entrepreneurs and rural small-business owners how to use artificial intelligence for practical marketing work.
The AI to Answers initiative will offer free, one-hour workshops online and at in-person locations across the Southeast, including Mississippi. Specific Mississippi workshop dates are still being scheduled.
The program will demonstrate ways business owners can use artificial-intelligence tools to draft marketing material, organize campaigns and develop plans for reaching customers. Participants who complete the training will receive an MSU Extension-backed credential and a practical marketing roadmap.
Extension economist James Barnes is leading the project with the Southern Rural Development Center and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University.
AI to Answers is receiving support through the AgriProspects Workforce Development Network. That network’s second round of Extension Foundation grants is backed by a $1 million investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The initiative builds on Extension’s Bricks-to-Clicks program, which has provided digital-marketing education, coaching, online courses and other resources to food, agricultural and rural businesses since 2012.
The training could assist Delta farmers, agritourism operators, food producers and market vendors seeking to improve online outreach without hiring additional marketing personnel. Participants will be shown how to use the technology as a work tool rather than being expected to become artificial-intelligence specialists.
Business owners may join the online notification list to receive workshop dates when they are announced. Organizations interested in hosting a session may contact Barnes at james.barnes@msstate.edu.