What To Know Before Using AI At Work: A Plain Guide

Before using AI at work, decide what information it may receive and how you will check the result. Start with a draft or summary you can compare against the source.

For a structured introduction, AI Literacy and Human Skills is a free beginner course on the topic.

Know What It Does Well And Badly

Use AI to try drafts, summaries, rewording and ideas. Check facts and current information against sources rather than relying on fluent wording. A fluent answer is not proof of a correct one.

Spot Errors And Bias

Check names, numbers, dates and quotes against a source. Be cautious when an answer sounds confident but names no source. Watch for outputs that lean on stereotypes or leave out perspectives, and ask the tool to consider others.

Ask Better Questions

Give context: who the answer is for, what you need and what format. Say what you already know. If the first answer misses, say what is wrong and ask again instead of starting over.

Protect Privacy And Company Data

Before pasting something into a tool, ask whether it contains customer details, confidential plans or anything your employer restricts. Check your organization's rules and the tool's data settings.

Be Honest About AI Use

If AI helped with work that others will rely on, say so where it matters, and take responsibility for the result. A hypothetical example: a manager who sends an AI-drafted summary still checks it matches the meeting.

Build The Human Skills

Use judgment, taste and clear communication when choosing and editing a draft. Choosing what is worth saying, and saying it in a way people trust, remains your job.

If You Want A Structured Course

The course page for AI Literacy and Human Skills lists 10 beginner lessons: what AI is and is not, using AI well, and the human skills that matter more now, ending with a 30-day learning plan. The page lists the course as free, and lesson 1 is a free preview.

Open the course outline and try the first lesson to see whether the beginner level fits what you need at work.