Your First Real Use of AI: Start Simple and Build Confidence

Your First Real Use of AI: Start Simple and Build Confidence. 

If you’re curious about AI but not sure where to start, begin with something you already do every day: writing. It’s one of the easiest and most practical ways to see how AI can help. Whether it’s drafting an email, summarizing a meeting, or organizing your tasks, AI can make your work faster, clearer, and less stressful—no technical background required. 

This guide will walk you through a few everyday ways to use AI. I’ll use ChatGPT for the examples, but you can also try tools like Gemini, Grok, or DeepBlue—they all work similarly.

1. Real-Life Writing Task: Team Email

Let’s say you’re getting ready for a team meeting and want to send a thoughtful message that sets the tone. AI can turn your ideas into a clear, professional message in seconds. 

Prompt to try:

“Write an encouraging team email for a meeting tomorrow about staying focused. Ask everyone to share one focus tip via Slack or email. Include a quote about focus from someone like Steve Jobs. Keep it warm but professional.”

AI might generate:

Subject: Getting Ready for Tomorrow’s Team Discussion on Focus

Hi team,

As we prepare for tomorrow’s meeting, I’d love to hear your perspective on something we all wrestle with: focus.

It’s easy to get pulled in different directions—Slack, meetings, shifting priorities—but staying focused helps us solve the right problems and move with purpose.

In advance of our meeting, please send me a quick note (Slack or email) sharing one way you stay focused. It could be a tool, a boundary, a habit—anything that works for you.

Here’s a quote from Steve Jobs to set the tone:

“Focus is about saying no.”

Looking forward to the conversation and your insights.

Best,

[Your Name]. 

You can always adjust the tone or add your own touch. AI gives you a solid starting point.

2. Summarize Messy Notes

Have scattered meeting notes? AI can clean them up into a professional summary. 

Messy Notes Example: 

Team Sync – May 7, 2025

• Dev: Frontend’s fine, backend…ugh again. Might delay 1–2 weeks??

• Marketing: Campaign June 15. Screenshots still missing?? Creative due 5/25, like ASAP.

• Product: Onboarding’s rough—lots of drop-off. Tons of support tickets. Fix next sprint maybe?

• Sales: Demo crashed AGAIN—infra said they’ll “look into it.”

• Everyone’s supposed to post blockers somewhere—Slack? End of week??

• QBR slides…Tuesday? For execs?

Prompt to try: 

“Clean up and summarize these meeting notes into something clear and professional I can send to the team.”

AI might generate: 

Meeting Summary – May 7, 2025 Team Sync

• Frontend on track; backend issues may delay timeline by 1–2 weeks.

• Marketing campaign launches June 15; creative assets due May 25. Screenshots still pending.

• Product team noted onboarding challenges; UX improvements planned for next sprint.

• Sales reported demo outages; Infra team is investigating.

• Team members should post blockers in Slack by EOD Friday.

• Reminder: QBR slides due Tuesday for executive review.

This polished summary is ready to copy and share—saving you time and stress.

3. Get Help with Spreadsheets

 AI can also support your work with data, especially in tools like Excel or Google Sheets. 

Prompt to try:

“What formula calculates the number of days from today to a future date in column B?”

AI answer:

=DATEDIF(TODAY(), B2, "D")

Paste this into your sheet, drag it down, and you’ll see how many days remain for each deadline.

Bonus for Google Sheets users:

If you’re using Gemini or the built-in AI in Google Sheets, try:

=AI("Summarize trends in this data", A1:B20)

AI might reply:

“Sales increased 12% in April; churn remained steady compared to March.”

4. Try a Few Fun Prompts

Once you’re comfortable, experiment a little. Here are a few simple prompts to try:

• “Write a thank-you note to a colleague who helped me finish a big project.”

• “Suggest three icebreaker questions for a virtual team meeting.”

• “Create a 15-word Instagram caption for a cozy coffee photo.”

• “Summarize this article in a witty one-liner.”

AI can be both useful and fun—don’t be afraid to play around with it.

Why Writing Is the Best First Step. 

You already write every day—emails, updates, notes, reminders. Utilizing AI to assist with these tasks is a straightforward, low-risk approach to building confidence and saving time. You still stay in control of your voice and message—AI just speeds things up and brings clarity.

Start with one task. Let AI draft a message, summarize your notes, or help in a spreadsheet. It’s a small shift that can make a big difference in your day.