AI training is a crowded market and quality varies wildly. Seven checks will filter out most of the weak options in about ten minutes.
The seven-point check
- Named instructors with traceable experience. "Industry experts" with no names is a red flag.
- A published syllabus with week-by-week content, not a list of buzzwords.
- A stated assessment. What do you actually have to produce?
- A dated curriculum. AI content ages in months. Look for a year.
- Reachable humans. A phone number and a real address, not a form.
- Clear, written terms - fee, refund policy, what happens if you miss a session.
- Reviews outside their own website.
Claims that should stop you
- Guaranteed jobs or guaranteed salary increases. Nobody can promise these.
- "Accredited" with no named accrediting body.
- Countdown timers and permanent "last chance" discounts.
- Certificates presented as equivalent to a regulated qualification when they are not.
Honest providers describe what a certificate is and is not. See is an AI certificate worth it.
Test the content itself
Read one free sample lesson. If it explains what AI is but never explains where it fails, the course is marketing. Real training spends serious time on limitations, cost and risk - that is where leadership decisions actually go wrong.
Then check fit, not just quality
A legitimate course can still be the wrong course. Run through questions to ask about AI courses before you pay, and compare positioning in AI courses for leaders vs developers.
The bottom line
Named teachers, a published syllabus, a real assessment, a recent curriculum and no guaranteed outcomes. If a provider passes those, it is legitimate - then judge fit. LSBUK's course pages, including Leading AI Innovation & Organisational Transformation, publish syllabus, duration and fee in full for this reason.