AI for Working Professionals

Turn everyday AI tools into your personal productivity multiplier.

Course Overview

Who This Course Is For

You're a working professional — a manager, analyst, marketer, consultant, operations lead, or executive. You've heard about AI and maybe tried ChatGPT once or twice. But you know there's more to it and you're tired of guessing what works.

This course gives you a structured, practical foundation. No hype. No jargon. Just what you need to get real work done faster and better.

What You'll Walk Away With

• A personal AI workflow tuned to your actual job
• Confidence using Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini as daily tools
• The ability to write effective prompts that get useful results on the first or second try
• Practical skills for email, reports, spreadsheets, documents, and review tasks
• Understanding of memory, context, and multi-step AI workflows
• Knowledge of AI skills, app connections, and computer use capabilities

Module 1 — Meet Your AI Assistants

Goal: Understand the landscape. Know which tool to reach for.

1.1 The Big Three

• Claude (Anthropic) — Best for long-form writing, analysis, reasoning, and document work. Excel at understanding nuance and following complex instructions.
• ChatGPT (OpenAI) — Broadest feature set. Strong at creative tasks, coding, and integrates with many third-party services.
• Gemini (Google) — Deep integration with Google Workspace. Great if your workflow is Gmail, Docs, and Drive-heavy.

1.2 Desktop Apps

Installing and configuring each desktop application:

• Claude Desktop — Mac / Windows. Local file access. Clean, focused interface.
• ChatGPT Desktop — Mac / Windows. Voice mode. Screenshot sharing.
• Gemini Web & Mobile — Browser-based primarily. Mobile apps for iOS and Android.

1.3 Web vs. Desktop

When to use each:

• Desktop: sustained work sessions, file-heavy tasks, focused writing
• Web: quick questions, sharing links, collaborative sessions

Exercise

Install all three desktop apps. Send the same task to each ("Draft a polite email declining a meeting invitation") and compare the results. Note differences in tone, structure, and what each assistant asks in follow-up.

Module 2 — Prompting Fundamentals

Goal: Learn to write prompts that work. Stop guessing.

2.1 The Anatomy of a Good Prompt

The four-part formula:

[Role]     — "You are a senior marketing manager..."
[Task]     — "Write a project update email..."
[Context]  — "The project is behind schedule by two weeks. Budget is intact.
             The client has been patient but wants details by Friday."
[Format]   — "Use bullet points for key metrics. Keep it under 200 words.
             Professional but not stiff."

2.2 Common Anti-Patterns

2.3 Prompting Patterns

• Chain of Thought — "Think through this step by step before answering."
• Role Prompting — "You are an experienced financial analyst reviewing this P&L..."
• Few-Shot — Give 2-3 examples of the output format you want, then ask for more.
• Structured Output — "Format the response as a JSON object with keys: summary, actionItems, risks."

2.4 System Prompts vs. Message Prompts

• System prompts set standing instructions (tone, rules, constraints)
• Message prompts are your actual questions and tasks
• How to use Claude's system prompt feature effectively

Exercise

Draft and refine 5 prompts for your actual job. Start with one, iterate until the output feels right. Submit your before/after prompt pairs.

Module 3 — Memory & Context

Goal: Stop repeating yourself. Teach AI to remember what matters.

3.1 How AI Memory Works

• Session context — everything in the current conversation window
• Token limits — what fits, what falls off, and how to manage it
• Project context — Claude's Projects feature, ChatGPT's custom GPTs

3.2 Persistent Memory Strategies

• Project / Custom GPT setup — Pre-loading context that persists across sessions
• Memory files — What to include in CLAUDE.md or equivalent
• Context windows — Understanding the 200K / 128K / 1M token differences
• When to start fresh — Recognizing when the conversation is bloated

3.3 Managing Multi-Session Workflows

• Saving session summaries for continuity
• Using AI to write context documents for future AI sessions
• Template prompts for recurring tasks (weekly reports, monthly reviews)

Exercise

Create a Claude Project for your role. Write a project instructions file that includes: your job title, key responsibilities, company context, communication style preferences, and three recurring tasks you want the assistant to handle. Test it across two separate sessions.

Module 4 — Connecting Apps & Services

Goal: Extend AI beyond the chat window into your actual tools.

4.1 Built-In Integrations

• ChatGPT — Browse the web, DALL-E image generation, data analysis (Code Interpreter)
• Claude — File uploads (PDF, CSV, images), artifact creation
• Gemini — Google Workspace integration, Google Search grounding

4.2 MCP (Model Context Protocol)

• What MCP is and why it matters
• Connecting Claude Desktop to:
  • Google Drive (search and read documents)
  • Slack (read messages, post updates)
  • GitHub (review issues and PRs)
  • Databases (query data directly)
• Setting up MCP servers — a practical walkthrough

4.3 Third-Party Tools

• Zapier / Make — Connecting AI to thousands of apps without code
• Notion AI — AI inside your knowledge base
• Microsoft Copilot — AI inside Office 365
• Grammarly / Wordtune — AI-assisted writing

4.4 Automation Patterns

• "Every Monday morning, summarize my calendar for the week and draft priority emails"
• "When I receive a contract, review it for unusual terms and flag risks"
• "Pull this quarter's sales data, create a summary, and email it to my team"

Exercise

Set up one MCP connection in Claude Desktop (Google Drive or Slack recommended). Complete a task that reads real data and produces a useful output. Document your setup steps.

Module 5 — Skills & Computer Use

Goal: Go beyond chat. Give AI the ability to act.

5.1 Understanding AI Skills

• What "skills" are — packaged instructions for specific tasks
• Built-in skills vs. custom skills
• When to create a skill vs. when to prompt inline
• Examples: document reviewer, email drafter, spreadsheet analyzer

5.2 Computer Use

• What computer use means — AI controlling a browser or desktop
• Current capabilities and limitations
• Practical use cases:
  • Research: "Find pricing data across 10 competitor websites and compile it"
  • Data entry: "Take this PDF invoice and enter it into our tracking spreadsheet"
  • Testing: "Walk through our signup flow and note any friction points"
• Safety and oversight — why you should always watch

5.3 Building a Personal Skill Library

• Identifying your top 5-10 repeatable tasks
• Writing skill instructions that work
• Organizing and maintaining skills over time
• Sharing skills with teammates

Exercise

Identify three tasks you do at least weekly. Write a skill prompt for one of them. Test and refine it. Submit the final skill prompt and a sample output.

Module 6 — Practical Workflows

Goal: Put it all together. End-to-end workflows for real work.

6.1 Email Mastery

• Drafting — From bullet points to polished email in one prompt
• Replying — Paste the thread, describe your position, get a draft
• Triage — "Summarize my last 20 unread emails. Flag anything urgent."
• Tone calibration — Adjusting for executives, peers, clients, and conflict situations

6.2 Reports & Documents

• Weekly status reports — Template → Data → Draft → Polish
• Project proposals — Structure, research, writing, formatting
• Meeting summaries — Paste raw notes → organized minutes with action items
• Performance reviews — Self-reviews, peer feedback, manager write-ups

6.3 Spreadsheets & Data

• Formulas — "Write an XLOOKUP that matches employee IDs across two sheets"
• Analysis — "Here's our Q1 sales data. Find trends, flag outliers, suggest actions."
• Cleaning — "Standardize these 500 addresses into a consistent format"
• Visualization — "Create a pivot table that shows revenue by region and product line"

6.4 Reviewing & Proofing

• Document review — "Review this contract. Flag anything unusual. Suggest improvements."
• Presentation feedback — "Critique this slide deck. Is the narrative clear? Are the visuals effective?"
• Code review — "Review this script for errors and suggest cleaner patterns"
• Bias & tone check — "Read this memo. Does it come across as defensive? How can I soften it?"

6.5 Research & Synthesis

• Competitive analysis — "Research our top 3 competitors' pricing pages and summarize"
• Market research — "What are the current trends in [industry]? Cite sources."
• Learning acceleration — "Explain [topic] like I'm a beginner. Then give me an intermediate deep-dive."

Capstone Project

Pick one real task from your job. Use everything you've learned — prompting, memory, app connections, and a workflow — to complete it with AI assistance. Submit:

1. The original task description
2. Your prompt chain (all prompts used, in order)
3. The AI output
4. Your reflection: what worked, what surprised you, what you'll do differently

Course Resources

Tool Setup Checklist

• Claude Desktop installed and configured
• ChatGPT Desktop installed and configured
• Gemini accessible via browser
• At least one MCP server connected
• Claude Project created with role context

Prompt Templates

A growing library of battle-tested prompts for common tasks. Available in the course portal after enrollment.

Community

Live Q&A during every session, plus a student Slack community for sharing prompts, workflows, and wins before, during, and after the cohort.

FAQ

Do I need to know how to code? No. This course is designed for non-technical professionals. All exercises use natural language. You'll type instructions in plain English.

Which AI tool should I focus on? All three. Each has strengths. By the end of Module 1 you'll know which to use when. Most students end up using Claude as their daily driver and ChatGPT/Gemini for specific tasks.

How much time does it take? Five 1-hour live sessions, Mon–Fri (7:00–8:00 PM). Set aside a little time between sessions to practice the exercises in your own work.

Is this just a bunch of prompt templates? No. Templates are included, but the goal is understanding. You'll learn why prompts work so you can adapt to any situation — including tools and features that don't exist yet.

What if I miss a session? Slides and exercises are shared after each session, so you can review or catch up. Bring any questions to the next live session.

Syllabus last updated: July 2026. Tools and features evolve rapidly — course content is reviewed and updated quarterly.