For a learner who wants to use generative AI as a controlled part of study, research, writing, analysis, planning, or work. Start with the supplied fictional task comparison; no job is required. The course assumes outputs require human ownership and focuses on repeatable workflows, verification, privacy, and judgment—not magic prompts or replacing expertise.
Course 08 · Digital course 01
Use AI to Work Faster
Turn AI from a novelty into a repeatable assistant for research, writing, analysis, planning, and quality control.
Before you start
Use the four fictional tasks in lesson one to choose a low-risk draft workflow. No AI account is needed for that comparison; later workflow tests need permitted source material and a tool you can use.
See everything you’ll needWhat you’ll leave with
1 reusable AI-assisted workflow with clear instructions and a verification checklist tested on 2 examples.
Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.
Your project
Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.
Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.
- Get your materialsDownload the practice worksheetUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
- Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
- Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview
Watch an introduction.
This overview from Google Cloud introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.
Watch directly on YouTubeGoogle CloudAI and Machine Learning with Google CloudYouTube
Course handbook
Know the route before you begin.
Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.
For the eight-week program, use the weekly project checklist. Larger course examples are optional extensions.
- Use the four fictional tasks in lesson one to choose a low-risk draft workflow. No AI account is needed for that comparison; later workflow tests need permitted source material and a tool you can use.
- Collect two good examples, one bad example, and the criteria used to tell them apart.
- Review employer rules, client agreements, and tool settings before entering any data.
- Create a simple log for inputs, model or tool used, output, checks, edits, and outcome.
Finish with proof you can use.
1 documented AI-assisted workflow for one task, including task boundaries, approved inputs, reusable instructions, decomposition, source grounding, a verification checklist, human approval points, failure handling, and a test record. Log 2 tests: a fresh example and a deliberately flawed output that your checks must catch.
Save a project record in My ProofSee project checklist and review criteria
- A ranked fictional task inventory with 1 low-risk workflow selected and justified for later testing.
- A reusable prompt template and one completed brief for a real task.
- A workflow map with the stages this task needs and human and AI ownership labeled at every step.
- A verification checklist applied to one AI-generated analysis with corrections documented.
- A one-page AI use policy and redaction checklist for your actual environment.
- 1 tested workflow card with baseline time, assisted time, error notes, and approval criteria. Log 2 tests: a fresh example and a deliberately flawed output that your checks must catch.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas
The rules behind the steps.
Judgment stays with the operator
A fluent answer can still be false, incomplete, biased, insecure, or inappropriate; the person using it owns the decision.
Give useful background and examples
Clear purpose, source material, constraints, examples, and acceptance criteria improve work more reliably than a supposedly perfect phrase.
Risk determines control
Brainstorming a headline and deciding medical, legal, financial, employment, or safety action require very different evidence and review.
What do these words mean?
Key words
Key terms worth knowing.
- Grounding
- Constraining or supporting an output with supplied, retrievable, or cited source material.
- Hallucination
- Model-generated content presented plausibly despite being unsupported or false.
- Evaluation
- A defined method for judging whether an output meets quality, safety, and usefulness criteria.
- Prompt injection
- Instructions embedded in untrusted content that attempt to redirect a model or expose information.
- Human-in-the-loop
- A workflow in which a person reviews, decides, or authorizes consequential steps.
Your route6 lessons.
6 lessons.
One useful project.
Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.
- 1Up next
Find the right work for AI
Select tasks where AI can increase speed or quality without creating unacceptable risk.
- 228 min
Write strong instructions
Give the model enough context, boundaries, and output structure to produce useful work.
- 331 min
Break complex work into steps
Split multi-step work into observable stages with review points.
- 433 min
Ground and verify outputs
Reduce fabricated facts, stale information, hidden assumptions, and citation errors.
- 526 min
Protect data and rights
Use AI without leaking sensitive information or ignoring ownership and policy constraints.
- 629 min
Build a workflow library
Turn successful experiments into repeatable, measured operating procedures.
Use the tools
See all tools Tools to help you practice.
Source transparency
Sources and further study.
Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.
Ready when you are
Start lesson one Start with the first useful move.
You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.
Open collaboration ideaHelp keep this complete course free.
Potential collaboration: AI software, cloud tools, professional training
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