Who this is for
You've been asked to help a group of beginners get started with AI, and you'd like a plan you can pick up and run. This one needs no slides, no projector and no expert. It works for six people round a table or thirty in a hall.
By the end, everyone should have used an AI tool three times, seen it get something wrong, and gone home with three rules that keep them safe.
What you need
- A room and 45 minutes
- One phone, tablet or laptop between two people. Pairs work better than one each
- Wi-fi or mobile data
- One free AI tool that you have tried on that wi-fi beforehand
- The printed handouts below
- You don't need slides, a projector or a technical background
Making accounts can take half your time. Some tools can be tried without an account, and this changes, so test it on the day before on the venue's wi-fi. If people need an account, ask them to set one up at home or come ten minutes early. On a shared device, ask people to sign out at the end. If anyone under 18 is coming, check the tool's minimum age first.
Print these
Each guide has a "Download the PDF" button at the top.
- A gentle start with AI: one each. It covers what AI is and answers the common worries.
- What never to paste into AI: one each, to take home.
- The one-page AI prompt cheat sheet: a few copies for people who want more.
The plan
| Time | What happens | Your job |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 min | Welcome. Ask: "What have you heard about AI, good or bad?" | Listen. Write the worries on a big sheet. Don't answer them yet |
| 5 to 10 min | What it is, in four sentences | Read out the words below |
| 10 to 20 min | Activity 1: ask it to explain something | Walk round. Help with typing, not with answers |
| 20 to 30 min | Activity 2: the message you've been putting off | Remind people: no real names or details |
| 30 to 38 min | Activity 3: catch it out | Ask each pair to find one thing it got wrong |
| 38 to 45 min | Back to the worries sheet, then three rules to take home | Give out "What never to paste into AI" |
Words you can say
Read these out as they are, or put them in your own words.
What it is. "An AI chat tool is a computer program that has read an enormous amount of writing and learned how words usually follow each other. You type a question in ordinary words and it types back. It's very good at drafting, explaining and tidying up. It knows nothing about you unless you tell it, and it is sometimes wrong while sounding sure."
Before activity 2. "Treat it like a postcard. If you wouldn't write it on a postcard, don't type it in. No passwords, no bank details, and nobody's private details."
Before activity 3. "Now try to catch it out. Ask it about something you know really well: your street, your trade, your team. See what it gets wrong."
The three activities
Write each one on a sheet, or read it out slowly. People swap the [brackets] for their own words.
Activity 1: ask it to explain something
Ten minutes. There is no wrong way to do this one.
Explain [something you've always nodded along to] in plain English, as if I were a clever friend who has never been told. Keep it to five sentences.
Tip: If a pair finishes early, get them to type "shorter" or "explain that to a ten-year-old" and see what changes.
Activity 2: the message you've been putting off
Ten minutes. Everyone has one.
Help me write a short, polite message to [who, e.g. a landlord, a neighbour, a company] about [what, real or made up]. I want to [ask, complain, say thank you, say no]. Friendly but clear, under 100 words. Leave gaps for names.
Activity 3: catch it out
Eight minutes. This is the one that matters most.
Tell me five facts about [something you know very well, e.g. your home town, your trade, your favourite team. Not a person].
Tip: Ask the room, "What did it get wrong?" People who have seen it make a mistake remember to check it. If it gets everything right, ask about something more local, or ask where each fact came from.
The worries sheet
Go back to the sheet from the start. These are the five you are most likely to see, with honest answers.
| Worry | An honest answer |
|---|---|
| Will I break something? | No. You can't break it by asking. The two things to watch are typing in private details and trusting a wrong answer |
| Is it listening to everything? | It sees what you type, say or upload. Free versions may use that to improve the tool, and many have a setting to switch this off. Keep to what you'd put on a postcard |
| Does it cost money? | The free versions are enough to start. Use the tool's own website or app, because copycat sites exist. If a site asks you to pay before you've tried anything, close it |
| Can I trust what it says? | For wording and ideas, mostly, and still read it first. For health, money or the law, treat it as a first opinion and check with a proper source |
| Will it take my job? | Nobody knows for certain. It is changing how some jobs are done. Learning to use it, and to check it, is a sensible step |
If someone asks something you can't answer, say so, and write it down to look up afterwards. Nobody expects you to know everything.
Three rules to take home
- Never type anything you wouldn't write on a postcard.
- Read it before you use it. It makes confident mistakes.
- You are in charge. It's a helper, not the boss.
After the session
- Ask each person for one job they'd like help with next. There are free guides by job on the guides page.
- "A gentle start with AI" has a third thing to try at home: asking AI to plan something.
- Planning a follow-up? Your first hour with AI makes a good second session.
Run this session wherever it's useful, print as many handouts as you need, and change the plan to suit your group. Please leave the doingit.today line on the handouts. If you run it, we'd like to hear how it went: jamil@doingit.today.