Duration
2 Days
Audience
Employees of federal, state and local governments; and businesses working with the government.
Course Overview
This course is a hands-on, instructor-led course for business professionals who are new to AI and want to use it effectively in their day-to-day work. No technical background is required.
The course focuses on practical applications of AI for common business tasks, including writing and editing content, analyzing information, improving communication, and supporting decision-making. Participants work directly with accessible AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and similar GPT-based applications, with an emphasis on real-world use rather than theory.
You will learn how to write effective prompts, use AI appropriately with business data, automate repetitive tasks, and integrate AI into familiar tools like email, spreadsheets, and document editors. The course also covers responsible AI use, including data awareness, privacy considerations, and ethical practices, so participants can apply AI confidently in a professional setting.
This course provides a solid foundation for business users who want to work more efficiently with AI and prepares participants to move on to more advanced AI courses focused on deeper capabilities and use cases.
Learning Objectives
This hands-on course is designed to help business professionals become comfortable using AI in their everyday work. Participants are guided step by step by an experienced instructor, with a focus on practical understanding and real-world application of today’s AI tools.
Whether you are new to AI or looking to use it more effectively in your role, you will leave with practical skills and the confidence to apply them immediately.
What You Will Learn
In this interactive, hands-on session, participants will learn:
- What AI is, explained in clear, non-technical terms, including common types of AI and how they are used in business today
- How to use widely available AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini to support everyday tasks like writing, research, and idea generation
- How to write clear, effective prompts to get more accurate, useful results from AI tools
- Practical ways to use AI for daily work activities, including summarizing documents, drafting emails, planning projects, and organizing information
- Techniques for improving personal productivity by using AI to streamline workflows and reduce repetitive work
- How AI can support creative tasks such as building presentations, creating content, and developing visuals
- How AI tools can assist with basic data analysis, pattern recognition, reporting, and decision support
- Best practices for responsible AI use, including data awareness, privacy considerations, and ethical use in a business environment
This course focuses on building foundational skills that help professionals use AI as a practical productivity and decision-support tool across a wide range of roles and industries.
Outline
- Explore AI in Today’s Business
- What is AI and how it works
- Common myths and misunderstandings about AI
- Types of AI and key traits
- How AI learns from data
- Real-world AI uses across industries
- Challenges businesses face using AI
- Lab: Getting Started with ChatGPT
- Getting Started with ChatGPT
- Background of ChatGPT and OpenAI
- How GPT architecture generates text
- Evolution from GPT-3.5 to GPT-4o
- Writing effective prompts for ChatGPT
- Real business uses of ChatGPT
- Privacy and ethical AI usage
- Understanding model settings: temp, Top-K, Top-P
- Intro to DALL·E for image generation
- Tips for better ChatGPT results
- Lab: Working with ChatGPT
- Lab: Explore language models and parameters
- Role-Based Prompting for Business Use Cases
- What is prompt engineering
- How prompts affect AI responses
- Language tone and structure matter
- Building effective, targeted prompts
- Assigning roles to guide AI replies
- Use open-ended questions strategically
- Lab: Role-Based Prompting for Business Use Cases
- Lab: Processing Survey Responses using AI
- Work Smarter, Not Harder: Boost Your Productivity with AI
- Use AI to streamline work
- Automate tasks and processes with AI
- AI tools to support better decisions
- Improve personal productivity with AI apps
- AI’s role in evolving work skills
- Lab: Creating business proposals using AI
- Lab: Enhancing Business reports
- Powering Your Business with AI
- Finding insights from business data
- Getting your data AI-ready
- Spotting trends and forecasting needs
- Boosting service with automation tools
- Personalizing outreach using AI
- Common startup challenges with AI
- Lab: AI Image Analysis and Generation
- Lab: Creating AI-Powered Business Videos with HeyGen
- AI Tools for Informed Decision Making
- Using AI to streamline operations
- AI for smarter marketing strategies
- Enhancing sales with AI support
- Improving HR tasks with automation
- AI for content creation and delivery
- Tools for developers and coders
- Forecasting trends with predictive analytics
- Examples of AI use in industries
- Lab: Using Grok
- Lab: Supercharge Your Research with NotebookLM
- Staying Safe and Smart with AI Tools
- Debunking myths about AI safety
- Understanding AI’s limitations and risks
- AI and data privacy concerns
- Where AI helps in business functions
- Overview of key data laws for AI
- Keeping humans in the loop with AI
- Spotting and managing bias in results
- Creating responsible AI use policies
- Lab: Creating a Voice Clone in Descript
- The Ethics and Responsibility of AI
- Why ethical AI builds trust
- Key ethics: fairness, safety, transparency
- Spotting and reducing AI bias
- Boosting fairness with diverse data
- AI privacy and protection strategies
- Making AI explainable and open
- Knowing who’s responsible for decisions
- How to support ethical AI culture
- Lab: Perplexiti AI