Lesson 1: Start with one useful task

Lesson 1Start here

Start with one useful task

AI isn't magic and it isn't a replacement for you. Think of it as a very quick assistant who has read a lot, knows nothing about your business, and sometimes makes things up with total confidence. Used well, it takes the blank page off your hands.

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What AI is good at

Chat tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Claude are strong at first drafts and variations: emails, social posts, service descriptions, FAQs, subject lines, ideas lists, tidying up your own rough notes and rewording things for a different audience.

They're also handy for thinking out loud: "what questions might a customer ask before booking a boiler service?"

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Where to be careful

AI can get facts, prices, dates and rules wrong, and it won't always tell you it's unsure. It doesn't know your prices, your customers or what happened last week unless you tell it. Some tools can read web pages or create files and images; others can't, and features change often. So you stay the editor: you check it, you decide, you publish.

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Keep private things private

Use made-up or public details while you're learning. Don't paste in customer names, contact details, health information, passwords or anything confidential. Your business name, services and town are public information and fine to use. On a free account, check the settings for whether your chats are used to train the tool, and turn that off if you'd rather they weren't.

Lesson 1Example

A good first task

Example

"Write a friendly email to past customers reminding them it's time for their annual boiler service." Small, specific, useful this week, and easy to check.

Lesson 1Get set up

Get your AI tool ready

Open the AI tool you want to use in a new tab, or its app on your phone. If you don't have one yet, any of the four above is fine to start with.
Sign in or create a free account. Look for a "new chat" button.
Have a quick look at the settings for anything about using your chats for training or improving the model, and choose what you're comfortable with.
Keep this course open alongside it. You'll copy prompts from here into the tool, then come back.

Menus and buttons move around as these tools update. If something looks different, look for "new chat" and "settings", or check the tool's own help pages.

Lesson 1Your turn

Choose one task for this course

Pick the kind of marketing you'd most like help with, then describe it in one sentence. You'll use it in the next lessons.

What kind of task? An email to customerse.g. a reminder, an offer or a thank-you A social media poste.g. a tip, a before-and-after or a seasonal post A service or product descriptione.g. for your website or Google Business Profile Answers to common questionse.g. an FAQ for your website Something elseDescribe it in a sentence

Your task, in one sentence

Small and specific works best. Something you'd actually use this week.

Lesson 1Quick check

Quick check

3 quick questions

No scores and no penalties. Pick an answer to see why it's right or not, and change it as often as you like.

1Which of these is the best first job to give AI? Write our whole marketing strategy for the year Draft a short email reminding past customers to book their annual service Tell us exactly how much to charge for a new service

Show the answer

✗ Write our whole marketing strategy for the year: Too big to check well. Start with something small and specific, then build up.

✓ Draft a short email reminding past customers to book their annual service: Yes. It's specific, useful this week and easy for you to check.

✗ Tell us exactly how much to charge for a new service: AI doesn't know your costs, competitors or customers. Pricing is your call.

2An AI tool says a new law comes into force next month and you must update your website. What should you do? Update the website straight away Check an official source before doing anything Ask the same AI again to double-check

Show the answer

✗ Update the website straight away: AI can state things confidently that are out of date or wrong.

✓ Check an official source before doing anything: Right. Anything about laws, rules, prices or dates needs checking with an official source.

✗ Ask the same AI again to double-check: Asking again can give you the same mistake twice. Check somewhere official.

3Which of these is fine to paste into an AI tool while you're learning? Your business name, services and town A customer's complaint email with their name and address Your online banking password, so it can check your accounts

Show the answer

✓ Your business name, services and town: Yes. That's public information about your business.

✗ A customer's complaint email with their name and address: Leave personal details out. Describe the situation in general terms instead.

✗ Your online banking password, so it can check your accounts: Never share passwords or financial logins with any AI tool.

Lesson 1Wrap up

Lesson 1 takeaway

Takeaway

Pick one small, specific task you can check. AI drafts; you decide.

Want it all on paper? Download the course workbook (PDF, 678 KB)