(Online Delivery) Using AI Assistants in Business
Description
Overview:
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become a phenomenon, a much-talked-about technological sea change and a major disruptive force in the world of business. Generative AI (genAI) tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Anthropic Claude are now deeply woven into everyday business workflows, and professionals have found numerous ways to use these tools to get their work done faster and more efficiently. This course moves participants from AI curious to AI confident. You will gain a practical understanding of how modern AI assistants work, how to navigate and configure your organization's AI tools, and how to craft high-quality prompts that consistently produce useful results. You will then apply those skills across the office applications you use every day, including documents, presentations, and spreadsheets.
Note: This course is designed around the use of the Microsoft 365 desktop productivity apps. However, the course does not require the use of any one specific AI tool. You are encouraged to use the AI tool(s) that are available to you, which may include free standalone assistants like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, or an integrated assistant like Microsoft 365 Copilot that has an associated cost. Ultimately, the skills you learn in this course will be transferable to any productivity suite and any AI assistant, even if the procedures for using the services differ.
Course Objectives:
In this course, you will use AI assistants to enhance your productivity across common office productivity applications. You will:
- Get started with generative AI by using a structured prompting framework with appropriate AI tools to get the results you want.
- Use AI assistants to perform cross-application business tasks, such as drafting emails, summarizing reports, and preparing for meetings.
- Produce word-processing documents using AI for text and image content.
- Build business presentations using AI for content, visuals, and speaker notes.
- Solve spreadsheet challenges using AI for formula generation, data manipulation, and analysis.
Target Student:
This course is designed for business professionals across all functional areas who want to build practical AI fluency and apply it to the office productivity tools they use every day, including word processors, presentation tools, and spreadsheets. No prior AI experience or technical background is required. This course is designed to provide valuable techniques that work with a wide range of office productivity suites, such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or Zoho Office Suite—as well as with a variety of different AI assistants.
Account Requirements
Each student must have at least one free account for whatever AI service they will be using for the course. There is one activity where they will compare results between two AI tools, so they should have access to a secondary tool as well. In some cases, a single Google™ account is usable across multiple AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT and Gemini).
Course Content
Lesson 1: Getting Started with Generative AI
Topic A: Identify Generative AI Fundamentals
Topic B: Use the Right AI Tool for the Job
Topic C: Writing Effective Prompts
Lesson 2: Applying AI to Everyday Business Tasks
Topic A: Use AI to Assist with Communication
Topic B: Use AI to Analyze and Summarize Information
Topic C: Use AI to Improve Meeting Productivity
Lesson 3: Using AI with Documents
Topic A: Use AI for Brainstorming and Generating Text
Topic B: Use AI to Revise Existing Text
Topic C: Use AI to Generate Images for Documents
Lesson 4: Using AI with Presentations
Topic A: Use AI to Generate Presentations
Topic B: Use AI to Generate Images for Presentations
Topic C: Use AI to Generate Presenter Notes and Other Text Content
Lesson 5: Using AI with Spreadsheets
Topic A: Use AI to Help with Basic Spreadsheet Tasks
Topic B: Use AI to Help Solve Spreadsheet Problems