How to start using AI today — step by step
Most ‘getting started with AI’ guides start in the wrong place.
They start with the tools — here’s ChatGPT, here’s Copilot, here’s how to create an account. And then you’re staring at a blank text box with no idea what to type.
I’m going to start differently. With the problem you’re trying to solve today.
Pick one problem
Don’t try to learn AI. Try to solve one specific thing with it.
Something that’s on your list right now. An email you need to write. A meeting you need to prepare for. A report that needs a first draft. A long thread you haven’t had time to read.
That’s your starting point. One real task.
Pick one tool
If you use Microsoft 365 at work, open Outlook. Find the Copilot icon — a small sparkle or star, usually in the top right of your inbox. That’s your tool.
If you don’t use Microsoft 365, go to chat.openai.com and create a free account. That’s ChatGPT. That’s your tool.
Don’t worry about the others yet. One tool. One task.
Type what you want
In plain English. Exactly as you’d say it to a capable colleague.
Not: “email”
But: “Write a professional email to my client explaining that their project will be delayed by two weeks. Tone should be apologetic but confident. Under 200 words.”
The more specific you are, the better what comes back.
Read what comes back
It won’t be perfect. It rarely is first time.
Read it. Notice what’s good. Notice what’s wrong or off-tone. Then either:
Edit it yourself — faster than writing from scratch.
Or ask again: “Make it shorter” or “Make the tone more direct” or “The third paragraph isn’t right — try again.”
That back-and-forth is how AI works best. It’s a conversation, not a vending machine.
Do it again tomorrow
The learning happens through use, not through reading about it.
Do one thing with AI today. One thing tomorrow. By the end of a week you’ll have a feel for it that no guide can give you.
What That Clicked adds
That Clicked gives you the exact prompts for real professional situations — so you’re not starting from a blank box. Every lesson has the words ready to copy.
The first two lessons are free. They cover exactly this: finding Copilot in Outlook and using it on a real email thread.
Twenty minutes. Then you’ll know if it’s useful.
— Anna