How to Kickstart Your AI Learning Journey: Practical Steps and Tips
Over the last year, I’ve been on an exciting learning journey, diving into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) to understand how it can be leveraged for business. My journey began while leading a global Customer Success Team distributed across five continents. Faced with the challenge of managing different platforms to service and support customers, which proved costly and ineffective, we transitioned our entire team to Salesforce. From there, we brainstormed how AI could not only ease our workload but also significantly improve the customer experience.
Creating a Seamless Customer Experience with AI
One of the most enlightening discoveries was learning to create a knowledge base from calls and cases using a human-in-the-loop process. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) assessed the AI-generated knowledge articles and approved them for the repository. This process was coupled with a chatbot that assisted in onboarding new employees, meant to reduce the employee onboarding time from approximately six months to just six to eight weeks. The result was a seamless customer experience, irrespective of the service representative’s tenure, coupled with significant cost savings.
Moreover, the potential of AI extended to creating customized chat agents to work directly with customers rather than internal team members. This approach requires time and careful integration into the customer framework to ensure adoption. Over time, AI could automate the routing of calls and cases, freeing up human capital for higher-value, engaging work.
Exploring AI: Three Practical Steps
You might wonder, “What did I do to satisfy my insatiable desire to learn about AI?” Here are three ways I dove into the topic to quench my curiosity and fuel my passion for knowledge:
1. Be Curious and Just Start Experimenting
Experimenting with ChatGPT and Claude
I began by experimenting with ChatGPT and Claude to improve my writing. My prompt was simple: “Please improve this paragraph for clarity and impact or suggest improvements to this paragraph line by line.” I gave the generative AI specific roles, such as reviewing a contract and breaking it down or acting as a thought partner to think through processes and improvements. Each interaction provided valuable insights and accelerated my learning.
Exploring Custom GPTs
I also delved into the GPTs within ChatGPT. These are custom-created versions of ChatGPT with extra information or knowledge. Created by ChatGPT users or OpenAI, these GPTs can help synthesize and explore your curiosities. For instance, I found a legal GPT that assisted in quickly reviewing contracts, making complex legal jargon understandable in layman’s terms.
Utilizing Perplexity
Perplexity, a retrieval-augmented generative model, was another tool I used. When I asked Perplexity a question, it provided cited sources and next steps to continue my research. This was invaluable for deepening my understanding of complex topics.
2. Sign Up for Newsletters
There are numerous AI-focused newsletters that keep you updated on the latest developments and offer tips on leveraging AI for productivity. Here are two of my favorites:
The Neuron
The Neuron is a great daily newsletter featuring hot topics and cat humor. They offer a free, approachable Intro to ChatGPT course delivered through a series of quick, hands-on videos under ten minutes each.
Superhuman
Superhuman is another daily newsletter aimed at making AI accessible to a general audience. It provides overviews of how AI impacts our lives and the companies delivering it. The newsletter often includes prompts tailored to your needs and showcases tools to boost productivity.
3. Take a Class
The options for AI courses are increasing every day, catering to various budgets. Here are some courses that worked for me and might help you too:
Free Courses:
- Google Cloud — Beginner: Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path — This starter course provides an overview of generative AI and LLMs. It takes about 45 minutes to complete and offers a credential badge at the end.
- AI is for Everyone on Coursera by DeepLearning.ai — This course defines AI and details how to build an AI project within your company.
Paid Courses:
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence on LinkedIn Learning — This course provides an overview of AI, Machine Learning, and Neural Networks.
- Artificial Intelligence: Business Strategies and Applications by Berkeley Haas Executive Education — This certificate program allows you to network with professionals worldwide and learn strategies to leverage AI at work. It covers AI basics, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, and Robotics.
- AI for Business Leaders by Great Learning and the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business — This intensive course provides an overview of AI concepts with mentored learning sessions, industry sessions, quizzes, and hands-on projects. It requires a commitment of 1–1.5 hours per day but covers topics like Data Modeling, Neural Networks, Ensemble Techniques, Deep Learning, Generative AI, and how to build AI teams and projects.
Getting Started with AI: Final Thoughts
These are just a few ways to begin your AI journey. AI offers numerous productivity hacks to help you eliminate mundane tasks (goodbye, typed meeting notes; hello, AI notetaker!) and integrate AI into your daily routine. I encourage you to stay curious, try different approaches, and adopt the methods that help you overcome uncertainty.
Embarking on an AI learning journey can seem daunting, but with the right tools and resources, it’s an achievable and rewarding endeavor. By experimenting with AI tools, subscribing to informative newsletters, and taking relevant courses, you can quickly get up to speed and leverage AI to enhance your professional and personal life. Stay curious, keep experimenting, and embrace the transformative power of AI.
