Module 1 – AI Foundations

Overview

In this module, you’ll get a clear mental model for how to think about AI as a work assistant. You’ll learn what it’s good at, where it struggles, and how to brief it so that you get reliable, useful output.

What you’ll learn

The 3 types of work AI is best at (and 2 it struggles with).
How to structure prompts so AI understands your real goal.
A reusable “assistant briefing” template you’ll use throughout the course.

1. What AI is (and isn’t) good at

For productivity, it helps to think of AI as a very fast, reasonably smart junior assistant with a huge memory but no common sense or context unless you give it some.

It’s especially strong at:

Writing: drafting, rephrasing, summarising, and expanding.
Thinking: brainstorming ideas, outlining, comparing options.
Structuring: turning messy notes into clearer formats (tables, lists, checklists).

It’s weaker at:

Up-to-the-minute facts: use it for thinking, not as a source of truth.
Nuanced judgement: final decisions should stay with you.

2. Four elements of a strong prompt

Every effective prompt has four ingredients:

Role – who the AI should act as.
Input – what you’ll provide (notes, emails, context).
Task – what you want it to do.
Constraints – style, tone, length, format.

Core template

You are my <ROLE>. I will give you <INPUT>.

Please help me <TASK> for <AUDIENCE>.
Constraints: <STYLE, LENGTH, TONE, FORMAT>.

First, ask any questions you need to clarify. Then do the task.

3. Real-life scenarios

Here are three common situations where this template is useful.

Scenario A – Clarifying a vague task

Before: “Write something about our new service.”

After (prompt):

You are my marketing copywriter. I will give you notes about our new service.

Please write a short website section introducing this service for small business owners.
Constraints: 200–250 words, friendly but professional, UK English.

First, ask up to 3 questions to clarify the audience and main benefits.
Then, write the copy.

Here are my rough notes:
[PASTE NOTES]

Scenario B – Turning bullet points into a clear explanation

You are my explainer assistant. I will give you bullet points.

Please turn them into a clear explanation suitable for a busy manager
who has 2 minutes to read.
Constraints: max 250 words, UK English, short paragraphs.

Here are the bullet points:
[PASTE BULLETS]

Scenario C – Preparing a decision summary

You are my briefing assistant. I will paste some notes from different sources.

Please:
1) Summarise the situation in 5 bullet points.
2) List 3 options with pros and cons.
3) Suggest which option seems most sensible and why.

Here are my notes:
[PASTE NOTES]

4. Prompt variants library

Save these into your AI Playbook under “Foundations”.

Short, fast prompt

Act as my <ROLE> and rewrite the text below for <AUDIENCE>.
Tone: <TONE>. Length: <LENGTH>.
[TEXT]

Deep, context-aware prompt

You are my <ROLE>. Read the context and then complete the task.

Context:
[CONTEXT]

Task:
Please <TASK> for <AUDIENCE> with these constraints:
[CONSTRAINTS]

If anything is unclear, ask clarifying questions before starting.

5. Mini exercises

Take a real task you’re currently stuck on (email, explanation, summary). Write the “before” version of your prompt, then rewrite it using the 4-element structure.
Save at least two prompt versions into your AI Playbook: one short “fast” prompt and one detailed “deep” prompt.
Use each prompt with a real piece of work and compare the results.

6. Advanced techniques

Ask for questions first: this forces AI to clarify, reducing rework.
Iterate instead of starting over: ask it to “improve” output based on feedback.
Make the format explicit: bullet points, numbered list, table, email, etc.

Today’s action

Choose one real work task and write a detailed prompt for it.
Run it through your AI tool and refine the prompt once.
Create a new section in your AI Playbook called “Core Prompt Templates” and store your best prompts there.