Learn AI Tools
Everything you need to understand and use AI tools effectively — from essential vocabulary to advanced techniques. Start with the basics or dive into specific tool categories.
Universal AI Principles
These fundamentals apply across every AI tool. Master these first.
Context is Everything
AI models have no memory between conversations and limited understanding of your situation. The more relevant context you provide — your role, audience, goals, constraints — the better the output.
- Start with background: "I'm a marketing manager at a B2B SaaS company targeting enterprise buyers..."
- Share relevant documents, data, or examples when possible
- Explain the "why" behind your request, not just the "what"
- Mention constraints: word count, tone, format, audience level
Prompting is a Skill
The quality of your prompt directly determines output quality. Vague prompts get vague results. Specific, structured prompts get actionable responses.
- Be explicit about format: "5 bullet points" or "200-word paragraph" or "markdown table"
- Use examples of what good looks like (few-shot prompting)
- Ask the AI to think step-by-step for complex reasoning (chain-of-thought)
- Iterate on prompts based on what works — prompting is experimentation
Understand Token Economics
Tokens are how AI measures text. One token ≈ 4 characters or ¾ word. Context windows limit how much text AI can see at once. APIs charge per token.
- Context windows: Claude ~200K tokens, GPT-4 ~128K, Gemini up to 2M
- API pricing: $0.15 to $15+ per million tokens depending on model
- For long documents, summarize first or use RAG instead of full context
- Shorter, focused prompts often outperform lengthy ones
Embrace Iteration
Rarely is the first output perfect. AI conversations are collaborative — the real skill is knowing how to refine and redirect.
- "Make it more concise" — "Add more technical depth" — "Change the tone to..."
- Ask for multiple versions: "Give me 5 different approaches to this headline"
- Use the AI to critique its own work: "What are the weaknesses in this argument?"
- Build on partial successes rather than starting over
Verify, Verify, Verify
AI can confidently generate false information (hallucinations). This is especially common with specific facts, statistics, quotes, URLs, and citations.
- Always verify statistics, dates, names, and citations from primary sources
- Be skeptical of specific URLs — AI often invents plausible-looking but broken links
- Cross-reference important claims with authoritative sources
- Use AI research tools with citations (Perplexity, Elicit) when accuracy matters
Know When AI Helps vs. Hurts
AI excels at certain tasks and fails at others. Knowing this distinction makes you dramatically more effective.
- AI excels at: drafting, summarizing, brainstorming, explaining, translating, formatting
- AI struggles with: novel reasoning, up-to-date facts, precise calculations, personal opinions
- Use AI for volume, yourself for judgment — generate options, then curate
- The best results come from human-AI collaboration, not full automation
Category-Specific Guidance
Select a tool category for tailored advice.