First Steps into AI

A Beginner’s Guide to Using AI for Work

This guide is designed to help non-technical people with no prior AI experience get started using AI tools. The goal is to reduce anxiety around AI and turn uncertainty into confidence through knowledge and hands-on experimentation. Let’s get started.

Objectives

• A basic understanding of the capabilities of AI tools (as of March 2025)
• Familiarity with at least 3 AI tools
• Identify 1 tool for 1 use case to get started with

What can AI tools do?

You have been interacting with AI every day for several years now (think Netflix recommendations, Maps directions, etc.). What we will address here are the types of tools you can chat with in order to get results and materials that will be helpful to you.

Think of AI tools as your personal assistants, transforming how you work by streamlining routine tasks. They excel at summarizing key information, analyzing data for actionable insights, generating content efficiently, and conducting research with remarkable speed.

For professionals like you, this means breaking down complex reports in minutes rather than hours, spotting hidden trends in your data, creating polished materials in a fraction of the time, and exploring new topics with depth and precision. Each of these capabilities enhances your workflow and boosts productivity where it matters most.

Let's explore these specific applications in more detail.

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Research reports that once took analysts days or even weeks to compile can now be generated in minutes—complete with cited sources.

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Content Generation

This is where things get very interesting. The list of what AI can generate these days is quite long. Let's focus on a few key items:

• Data Visualizations : Even without coding skills, you can use AI tools to transform complex spreadsheets and datasets into meaningful visualizations and extract actionable insights.

• Marketing Content: AI tools can generate a wide range of marketing materials—from compelling social media posts and email newsletters to product descriptions and ad copy—saving you hours of work and allowing you to focus on strategy rather than production.

• Communications : AI assistants can reduce your stress and help you navigate sensitive scenarios by drafting email responses based on email threads or the context you provide. You could also generate company-wide communications, meeting requests, etc.
  *This Guide is devoted specifically to email generation

Example

Let's go to ChatGPT and generate an image for marketing purposes.

I'm going to enter the following prompt into the chat window (a guide to prompting):

Hello, could you please help me generate an animated, but realistic, image that shows a small team collaborating over coffee in a private conference room. Let's have every person with a tablet or a laptop. Let's try and capture a spirit of productivity and cooperation in this picture.

See the full discussion here.

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Summaries and Analysis

Your AI assistant can process documents in virtually any format (PDF, Word, CSV, or even audio recordings) that you upload from your own files. It can interpret technical language, extract key data points from dense reports, and analyze relationships between concepts across multiple documents simultaneously. This ability to quickly ingest and make sense of your organization's proprietary information—whether that's internal research, financial statements, or customer feedback—opens up new possibilities for working with your existing data assets.

Example

Let's learn by doing. Let's take a look at Microsoft's Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Outlook.

I'm going to go to Claude, and enter the following as a prompt (you could just as easily use ChatGPT ):

Hi, I'd like some help analyzing this fiscal year Outlook example from Microsoft (I'm uploading it here for context). Could you please help me with a summary, an analysis of positive or negative outlook presented by the report, and then please come up with a question that I would ask someone who is presenting this to me in a meeting. Thanks!

See the results. Keep in mind that these results were generated in seconds. Compare this to how long it would have taken to just read the document.

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Research

Tools like Perplexity's deep research have changed the game. Quoting from the linked article:

"...we’re launching Deep Research to save you hours of time by conducting in-depth research and analysis on your behalf. When you ask a Deep Research question, Perplexity performs dozens of searches, reads hundreds of sources, and reasons through the material to autonomously deliver a comprehensive report. It excels at a range of expert-level tasks—from finance and marketing to product research—and attains high benchmarks on Humanity’s Last Exam."

Research reports that once took analysts days or even weeks to compile can now be generated in minutes—complete with cited sources. While it's always wise to double-check the findings, AI provides a significant time-saving advantage in producing an initial draft.

OpenAI offers Deep Research through ChatGPT as well.

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How can this help me?

We now have an understanding of the basic capabilities and a few examples. It's your turn to come up with some practical use cases that could benefit you immediately. Let's consider where your pain points might be, keeping in mind the following questions:

• What tasks do I dread doing?

• What tasks slow me down the most?

• What repetitive work do I wish I could automate?

Let’s review some common ways AI is used—these might inspire your own approach.

• Drafting emails & responses

• Summarizing white papers, reports, etc.

• Deep Research competitive analysis

• Finding key trends in spreadsheets

• Brainstorming ideas

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Use AI To Do The Heavy Lifting

Now that you’ve identified a task, it’s time to put AI to work.

Let's recap the resources mentioned so far:

• Claude: A strong choice for coding assistance and complex strategic planning
• ChatGPT: Solid image generation and a great all-around assistant
• Perplexity: Powerful search and deep research assistant

Refine and Interate Results

AI isn’t perfect on the first try. Just as you would refine tasks with a human assistant, you’ll likely need to iterate and adjust when working with an AI assistant.

1. Get an initial response → See what AI gives you.
2. Refine the request → Add details, adjust the tone, or ask for alternative versions.
3. Use it as a draft → Edit before sending or publishing.

Example: You don’t like the AI-generated email?

• Ask it to make the tone more formal/casual.
• Request a shorter or more concise version.
• Have it add a specific call to action.

(Tip: The more specific your feedback, the better AI performs!)

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The AI Choice: Adapt or Fall Behind

AI isn't some distant future technology—it's transforming work right now. You face a simple choice: harness AI to multiply your capabilities or watch as others outpace you with AI-enhanced productivity.

Your Next Steps

The good news? Getting started with AI is simple, and you can do it right now.:

1. Choose one task today where AI can make an immediate difference—perhaps drafting emails, organizing information, or generating creative ideas.

2. Start with a free tool like ChatGPT, Claude, or Notion AI to experience AI's capabilities without financial investment.

3. Begin small and iterate—learn from each interaction and gradually expand AI's role in your workflow.

Those who integrate AI into their work now will gain compounding advantages over time. The question isn't whether AI will change your industry, but whether you'll be leading that change or playing catch up.

The most important step is simply to begin. Pick that one task right now, open an AI tool, and take your first step toward an AI-enhanced future.

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Read Next: The Starter Kit: Simple AI Tools Anyone Can Use From Day One