Your first useful AI conversation

Welcome. We will practise one useful conversation with Chat GPT. First, send a request. Next, improve the reply. Then, check it. Finish with a fresh task on your own. You can pause, listen again, or take a break at any time. Use the fictional details in these lessons. Keep passwords, bank details and private documents out of your chats. This course is free and does not require a paid subscription. Chat GPT is a separate website, and it may ask you to sign in. We cannot see your activity there. Only tick tasks you have actually done. When you are ready, choose Start lesson one.

Find the right place to type. In the next step, open the official Chat GPT website. Look for the message box. If you see a choice between Chat and Work, choose Chat. A prompt is simply your request. You do not need special words. Our example asks for a friendly coffee morning invitation using made-up details: Tuesday, from two p.m. to four p.m., with a request to reply and no location. The example reply uses those details. Now choose the safer first practice task. Option one: upload a bank statement so the assistant has a real example. Option two: draft an invitation using the made-up details above. Option three: ask the assistant which password you should use for your email. Select one answer, then choose Check my answer. You can try again.

Your turn. Keep this lesson open. Open Chat GPT in a new tab using the button on this page. Sign in if asked. You do not need to buy a subscription for this lesson. Find the message box and copy or type this request: Help me write a friendly invitation using these made-up details: a coffee morning on Tuesday, from two p.m. to four p.m. Ask people to reply if they can come. Keep it short. Do not add a location. Use the send control beside the message box, wait for the reply, and read it. Return to the Spinnit tab. On a phone, use your browser's tab switcher. Tick the actions you completed: finding the message box, sending the request and reading the reply, and returning here without losing the conversation. Then choose Finish lesson one, or Try this task later.

You can ask for a change. Stay in the same conversation to improve the reply. Start a new chat for a different task. Our example invitation sounds formal: You are cordially invited to attend our forthcoming coffee gathering. We would be most grateful if you could confirm your availability. You want it to sound like a friendly text message. What would you type next? Option one: Make it warmer and less formal. Use two short sentences and keep the event details unchanged. Option two: Make it better. Option three: Start a new chat and type, change that. Choose one answer, then select Check my answer. A follow-up may still need another edit.

Make the invitation sound like you. Return to your coffee morning conversation in Chat GPT. In the same message box, ask for one change in your own words. You could ask for a warmer tone or shorter wording. Read the new reply and compare it with the first one. Did it change as you wanted? Check that Tuesday, two p.m. to four p.m., and the request to reply are still correct. Check that no location was added. Ask for another correction if needed. There is a hint on this page if you want help. Return here and tick what you did: send a follow-up, compare the replies, and check the event details. Then choose Finish lesson two, or Try this task later.

A confident answer can add a wrong detail. Asking an assistant not to invent details does not guarantee accuracy. Compare the reply with what you supplied. Check real-world facts using an authoritative source yourself. Asking, are you sure, is not independent verification. Here is a deliberately flawed example. Your request gives Tuesday, two p.m. to four p.m., a coffee morning and a request to reply. You did not supply a location. The reply says: Join us at Oak Hall on Tuesday, from two p.m. to four p.m., for a coffee morning. Please reply if you can come. What needs correcting? Option one: Nothing. The reply sounds friendly and confident. Option two: Tuesday, because AI can never use days of the week. Option three: Oak Hall. No location was supplied, so I should remove it rather than assume it is correct. Choose an answer and select Check my answer.

Decide whether your draft is usable. Look at your actual invitation in Chat GPT. Compare it with Tuesday, two p.m. to four p.m., coffee morning, and a request to reply. Look for anything extra: a place, a price, a calendar date or a promise you never supplied. Remove or correct it. Select and copy the final message, or use a copy control if available. Paste it into a blank note and read it again. This is a fictional exercise. You do not need to send the invitation to anyone. Tick the actions you completed: checking the supplied details, removing unsupported details or confirming there were none, and copying and checking the message in a note. Choose Finish lesson three, or Try this task later.

Now try a fresh task on your own. A fictional book group meets on Friday, from eleven a.m. to noon. People should bring a book they enjoyed. No location has been decided. Find New chat in Chat GPT. Write your own request for a friendly reminder using those facts. Ask for one change in the same conversation. Check every detail, then copy the final version. Try without opening the hint first, but use it if you need help. Tick what you actually did: start a new chat and write your request, ask for a change, check the facts, and copy the final text. Can you explain why the result is suitable? Choose See my next steps when you are ready. You can also try this task later.

What feels comfortable now? Your summary on this page shows the tasks you reported completing. Completing a page is not the same as doing a task independently. How did the independent challenge feel? Choose: I did it on my own; I managed with a hint or some help; or, I have not tried it yet, or would like more practice. On another day, try a short thank-you note to a fictional neighbour who watered your plants. Write your own request, ask for one change, and check that no gifts or promises were added. Repeat any step where you need help. There is no deadline. You can print the lessons and open the take-away checklist below. Your confidence grows through practice, at your own pace.