How to Use AI: The Complete Plain-English Guide

A practical guide for people who have barely used AI, or who have only used it for fun.

This guide gives general information and example prompts. It is not legal, medical, financial or professional advice. AI tools change quickly; anything that depends on the current state of the tools is marked "as of late 2026" or "typical, check the app". Always review AI output before relying on it.

Contents

• Before You Begin
• Part 1: Start Here
  • 1.1 What an AI chat assistant is, and what it is not
  • 1.2 Five things AI is great at, and five things it is bad at
  • 1.3 Choosing a tool without brand loyalty
  • 1.4 Accounts, free versus paid, and privacy settings to check
  • 1.5 Your first 15 minutes: ten conversations to try
• Part 2: Talking to AI
  • 2.1 The one-sentence formula for a good request
  • 2.2 Adding context
  • 2.3 Asking follow-ups
  • 2.4 Giving it your own text
  • 2.5 Getting the format you want
  • 2.6 Telling it when it is wrong
  • 2.7 Keeping a conversation useful
• Part 3: Seventy Everyday Uses
  • 3.1 Home and family (Uses 1 to 6)
  • 3.2 Money admin (Uses 7 to 12)
  • 3.3 School and study (Uses 13 to 18)
  • 3.4 Work and email (Uses 19 to 24)
  • 3.5 Job search (Uses 25 to 30)
  • 3.6 Health information literacy (Uses 31 to 35)
  • 3.7 Travel (Uses 36 to 41)
  • 3.8 Cooking and meal planning (Uses 42 to 47)
  • 3.9 Hobbies (Uses 48 to 52)
  • 3.10 Writing (Uses 53 to 58)
  • 3.11 Learning a language (Uses 59 to 64)
  • 3.12 Small b

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