4. Everyday Things AI Can Help You Do
Confident with AI course contents
Part One: Begin Using AI
Use AI to explain, summarise, draft, compare, plan and brainstorm.
Estimated time: 10 minutes. Last reviewed: 11 August 2026.
What you need to know
This page stands alone. No previous AI knowledge is required. You need access to an AI assistant only for the activity.
Learning outcome: By the end, you will have matched a real task to an appropriate kind of AI help.
Before you begin: Do not enter private, confidential or identifying information. Keep your first task low-risk.
The lesson
AI can help you begin, organise or understand a task while you retain responsibility for checking and deciding.
A useful answer should reduce work or open access, not create more checking than it saves.
Match the task to the kind of help
| If you need to… | Ask AI to… |
|---|---|
| Understand something | Explain it in simpler language or with an example |
| Reduce a long text | Summarise its main points |
| Begin writing | Produce a first draft |
| Consider alternatives | Compare them using stated criteria |
| Organise a task | Suggest a plan or checklist |
| Generate possibilities | Brainstorm several ideas |
Worked example
A learner asks AI to draft questions for a broadband provider. AI helps organise the questions, but the learner checks the prices and decides which provider to use.
The assistant helped prepare for the decision; it did not make the decision.
Try it
Choose one row from the table and use it for a small, low-risk task you might otherwise postpone. Ask for a useful result, then check or edit it yourself.
Fallback prompt:
- “Give me a five-step plan for clearing and organising one kitchen cupboard.”
Checkpoint
You matched one task to an appropriate kind of AI help, produced something usable and can say what checking or decision remained yours.
About this course
Confident with AI was created by Charli-Jo Tyrer in association with the Technology Association of Visually Impaired People (TAVIP).
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.