About DES O’CONNOR
Des O’Connor
The World’s First AI Business Strategist for Driving Instructors + Author + International Speaker
Let me be straight with you
“I am not a tech person. Never have been. I did not discover AI and decide to sell courses about it. I discovered it and immediately thought about you.”
I am a driving instructor at heart. I lived it. And everything I am about to tell you I learned the hard way. In the car. On the road. Out of hours. While others sat waiting for the phone to ring, I found ways to make it ring.
I saw what your days look like. I know what it feels like to finish your last lesson at 6pm, eat something quickly and then spend the next two hours chasing enquiries that may or may not turn into bookings.
I know what it feels like to post something on Facebook, watch it get two likes from people you already know and wonder if any of it is actually working. I know what it feels like to be busy all the time, yet still not earning what you should be.
That was me. For sixteen years.
Where it started
I qualified as a driving instructor with BSM in London in 1997, training at Baker Street before joining the AA Driving School. Within a few years I realised I did not just want to teach. I wanted to build something bigger.
In 1998, I launched Des O’Connor’s Driving School. At a time when most instructors relied on word of mouth and the Yellow Pages, I built one of the first driving school websites in the UK. I even put the website address on top of my car. That one decision changed everything.
The demand grew fast. Intensive bookings. Block bookings. Serious learners ready to start immediately. I could not handle it alone, so I started bringing in instructors, training new ones and building a system. At its peak I had around 20 instructors on the road across South East London.
That growth brought national exposure. The school was featured on Richard and Judy twice, BBC One Show, and appeared in an MSM documentary. One of my female instructors taught Gareth Gates to drive, while our brand was seen by millions on Comic Relief in 2003.
When it fell apart
Then a personal situation led to a divorce. I lost the business. I stepped away from the industry and did not renew my instructor licence.
Most people would have stopped there. I did not.
I rebuilt from scratch in a different direction. I launched a business coaching programme helping instructors grow their brand and attract more pupils, working with the Driving Instructors Association and running events across the UK.
From there I spent over a decade in personal development, branding and international speaking. I ran events for coaches, authors, entrepreneurs and business experts across the UK, Europe and the United States. I helped people position themselves as experts in their field, create income streams and build credibility at scale.
Over 100 events. More than a thousand professionals helped. Recognised internationally as Speaker of the Year and Relationship Coach of the Year. But most of all, a deep understanding of what still works when it comes to growth.
But through all of it, one industry stayed with me.
Why I came back
Around 2022 I started studying AI properly. Not as hype. Not as theory. As a tool for real business growth.
What I realised immediately was this. Driving instructors were being left behind. Most had never used ChatGPT. Most were still relying on outdated marketing. And at the same time, the number of instructors in the UK was rising fast, with tens of thousands entering or re-entering the industry through the DVSA pipeline.
More instructors means more competition.
Many instructors still believe experience alone is enough. It is not. It never has been. It is different. It is even more visible, more accessible and more competitive.
Nobody had taken these tools and translated them into the reality of your working day. Nobody had built a system specifically for driving instructors. So I did.
What I built and why I kept it simple
I wrote AI For Driving Instructors. The world’s first AI book written exclusively for this profession. Available from June 10th 2026.
Every chapter comes with its own companion video. Scan the QR code and watch the strategy demonstrated live on screen. You do not just read it and wonder what to do next. You see it done. Then you do it yourself.
Every copy also comes with a separate standalone video course valued at £199. Two ways to learn. Everything built from the ground up for the driving instructor who has never touched AI before.
I deliberately made everything accessible. This should not be out of reach for any instructor regardless of the size of their school or their budget.
And I will deliberately kept it simple. A book that shows real, practical ways to increase bookings, reduce admin and build a system that works for any instructor regardless of age or technical ability.
I am not here to sell you another tool or another shiny thing. I am here to give something back to the same profession I have worked in and understand better than most.
And to make sure that when AI reshapes the industry, it is the instructors who are ready who benefit, not just the ones who ignore it.
Where I Speak and Who I Work With
Watch What the Chairmen of the MSA Have to Say. Peter Harvey – Vice Chairman of the Motor Schools Association (MSA
Mike Yeomans – Chairman of the Motor Schools Association
See Des O’Connor on TV
The feedback is consistent. Not complicated. Not technical. Just practical. Instructors who once struggled with marketing are now building websites, creating content, automating enquiries and thinking differently about their business.
Confidence. Clarity. Control.
Credentials at a glance
INDUSTRY
Former driving school owner + instructors – 16 years
MEDIA
BBC One Show + Richard & Judy + MSM documentary
SPEAKING
100+ events across UK, USA and Europe
RECOGNITION
Speaker of the Year + Relationship Coach of the Year
INDUSTRY EVENTS
MSA + ADI NJC + Intelligent Instructor
POSITION
World’s first AI Business Strategist for Driving Instructors
AI will not replace driving instructors. But instructors who use AI will replace those who don’t.
My mission is simple. To help you understand it, use it and stay ahead of the industry, not behind it.
Ready to get started?
Order your copy of AI For Driving Instructors today. Book, companion video course worth £199, and access to the July 5th event all in one place.