AI for Everyone, Part 4: How to Learn AI as a Beginner: Step-by-Step Guide in 2025

Can ordinary people learn to use AI? This may be a common question in the minds of many people who have just come into contact with AI. Many people are curious and confused about AI. However, the answer is yes. In fact, ordinary people can also learn to use AI, and they must learn to use AI. Like smartphones, it has been integrated into our lives, work and study. Proficient use of AI is a skill.

Ordinary people learn AI, not to learn advanced algorithms and principles, which is what scientists and engineers do. Ordinary people only need to master how to use AI tools and use it to solve problems encountered in our lives, work and study.

Why Learning to Use AI Matters in 2025

By 2025, artificial intelligence is deeply integrated into nearly every aspect of our lives. Learning to use AI is no longer optional—it's becoming a must-have skill for work, life, and education.

AI at Work Mastering AI tools can significantly boost productivity. From analyzing data and generating reports automatically to powering intelligent customer service systems, AI is transforming how we work.

AI in Daily Life AI plays an increasingly important role in our everyday routines—from smart home control and personalized recommendations to health monitoring and travel planning. Learning how to use AI assistants can help us manage time more efficiently, make better decisions, and access information faster.

AI in Learning AI is revolutionizing learning by offering personalized learning paths, adjusting content difficulty based on individual progress and comprehension. It empowers learners to study smarter, not harder.

1. Start by Shifting Your Mindset

1.1 See AI as Your Smart Assistant, Not Some Mysterious Tech

Before you dive in, it helps to adjust your perspective on AI. It's not some mystical, futuristic technology. Think of it as an incredibly clever helper, ready to process information, tackle problems, and boost your efficiency. Just as you'd reach out to a friend for assistance, learning how to "ask AI for help" is a crucial skill.

Imagine having an assistant available 24/7, capable of handling a vast array of tasks for you. For instance, it can:

Help you draft emails and documents
Translate foreign content
Assist with data analysis and planning
Answer all sorts of questions
Spark fresh creative ideas

and so much more.

The secret to using AI effectively? Knowing how to clearly express what you need. Thanks to natural language processing, you can simply chat with AI as if you're talking to another person.

1.2 Learn to use AI prompt words

The most important skill in using AI is to learn how to use AI prompt words. Good questions lead to good answers, which is especially important when learning to use AI.

Be Specific, Not Vague:

Not so good: "Write me a report."
Much better: "Based on the data I'm providing, please draft a summary report on our company's Q3 sales performance. Highlight the reasons for sales growth and any challenges we faced, aiming for about 800 words."

Provide Essential Context:

Not so good: "What do you think of this plan?"
Much better: "I'm a marketing specialist developing a promo plan for our new product, Tracker. Here are my initial thoughts... (insert specific content). Could you analyze its feasibility and suggest improvements?"

Clearly Define the Output:

Not so good: "Analyze this data."
Much better: "Please summarize these sales figures in a table and give me three main conclusions."

Clear, detailed questions are the key to effective communication with AI. We'll explore "prompt engineering" in the next section to really sharpen those conversational skills with AI.

2. Practical AI tool recommendations and usage tips

Before we fully embark on our AI journey, let's get acquainted with some common AI tools out there and understand what each truly excels at. While most modern AI tools are built on powerful multimodal large models—meaning they can handle all sorts of tasks—they often have a distinct flavor. Some shine at text conversations, others at creating images, and so on.

2.1 AI Tools for Writing

ChatGPT:

Best for: Everyday chats, writing copy, general Q&A.
Tip for Use: Conversations are continuous, so you can ask it to tweak or expand on its previous replies.
Real-World Use: Drafting work emails, setting up study schedules, getting quick answers.

Claude:

Best for: Handling long documents, complex analysis, professional writing.
Tip for Use: It can process much longer texts and is fantastic at logical breakdowns.
Real-World Use: Analyzing contracts, writing detailed reports, organizing research material.

Gemini:

Best for: Integrated search, image interpretation, smooth Google service integration.
Tip for Use: Perfect for tasks needing internet analysis or conversational queries.
Real-World Use: Advanced web searches, seamless integration with Google Workspace.

DeepSeek, Wenxin Yiyan, Tongyi Qianwen:

Best for: Chinese content creation, localized applications.
Tip for Use: They understand Chinese context better, making them ideal for Chinese writing.
Real-World Use: Crafting Chinese marketing copy, understanding local policies, creating localized content.

2.2 AI Tools for Graphics and Creativity

Midjourney, DALL-E:

Best for: Image generation, design inspiration.
Tip for Use: Be specific in your prompts—describe the style, colors, and composition you want.
Real-World Use: Creating posters, designing logos, illustrating concepts.

Canva AI:

Best for: Everyday design needs.
Tip for Use: Combine it with templates to quickly generate professional-looking designs.
Real-World Use: Making presentations, social media graphics, business cards.

2.3 AI Tools for Image and Video Processing

iFlytek , Otter.ai:

Best for: Speech-to-text transcription, meeting notes.
Tip for Use: Recording quality impacts accuracy, but you can always edit later.
Real-World Use: Transcribing meetings, organizing interviews, creating subtitles.

These are just a few examples; the market is brimming with many more AI tools waiting to be discovered. They're not only practical but also incredibly fun—like AI tools that let you virtually try on clothes or generate childhood photos. If you're curious, you can find a treasure trove of such useful and interesting AI tools on NavGood. NavGood is an AI tool aggregation platform that features over 10,000 AI tools, with new ones constantly being added. Its bookmarking feature is fantastic for saving your favorite finds and frequently used tools, ensuring you can quickly locate them whenever you need them.

3. Putting AI to Work in Your Daily Life

3.1 AI helps improve work efficiency

Document Handling and Writing:

AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude can help you:

Draft emails, reports, and proposals.
Proofread and polish your text.
Summarize lengthy documents.
Translate foreign language material.

Get started: Spend 15 minutes each day practicing how to write different types of documents with AI. Begin with simple emails, then gradually move on to more complex reports and proposals.

Data Analysis and Chart Creation:

Even if you're not a data analysis wizard, you can:

Copy Excel data to AI and ask it to spot trends.
Have AI suggest how to visualize your data with charts.
Ask AI to explain complex data reports.

Meeting and Learning Assistance:

Let AI help you prepare meeting agendas.
Summarize key points from meeting minutes.
Have it simplify complex concepts into easy-to-grasp explanations.

3.2 AI helps manage personal life

Smart Planning Assistant:

Travel Planning: Tell AI your budget, dates, and preferences, and it can craft a detailed itinerary.
Health Management: Based on your physical condition and goals, it can help create exercise and meal plans.
Study Plans: It can lay out a step-by-step learning path for new skills you want to pick up.

Creativity and Entertainment:

Ask AI for creative ideas for a birthday bash.
Get recommendations for movies or books tailored to your taste.
Get help writing personalized greetings or invitations.

3.3 AI helps learning and self-improvement

Language Learning:

Practice Conversations: Engage in dialogues with AI for various scenarios.
Grammar Check: Have AI review your foreign language writing.
Cultural Insights: Ask about customs and traditions of different countries.

Skill Enhancement:

Learn New Software: Let AI teach you advanced Excel functions or basic Photoshop operations.
Problem Solving: When you hit a technical snag, describe the situation in detail and let AI help diagnose it.
Knowledge Expansion: Dive deep into any topic that piques your interest.

Learning AI is all about doing. The more you "chat" with AI, the more it integrates into your life, work, and studies. Getting comfortable with this new way of interacting is surprisingly engaging.

4. Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners Who Want to Learn AI

For beginners, learning to use AI tools step by step is not a complicated thing. As long as we actively apply AI to our lives, work and study, we will gradually be able to use AI proficiently. Then, in the process of using AI, we will continue to explore and try to use AI skills.

4.1 How to do basic AI exercises

Daily Routine Practice:

Pick one AI tool to start with (ChatGPT or Claude are excellent choices).
Try out different types of conversations. Don't overthink the topics—just ask whatever comes to mind, like:
- Simple questions (weather, general facts).
- Requests for help (draft an email, explain a concept).
- Creative collaboration (brainstorming, story ideas).

Your Goal: Get comfortable with basic AI interaction. Understand its capabilities and limitations, and figure out which questioning styles yield the best results for you.

4.2 How to apply AI at work

Weave AI into Your Daily Work:

Use AI to draft work emails.
Let AI summarize long documents for you.
Employ AI to help create work plans.
Experiment with AI to solve specific work-related issues.

Your Goal: Make AI a powerful ally in your professional life, letting it handle tasks becomes second nature.

4.3 How to apply AI to life

Broaden Your Applications:

Use AI to plan personal projects.
Let AI help you master new skills.
Use AI to assist with decisions (like shopping choices or investment insights).
Explore creative uses (writing, design, music).

Your Goal: Naturally integrate AI into every facet of your life, making it your go-to personal assistant.

4.4 How to apply AI to learning

Extended application scenarios:

Use AI to plan your personal learning plan;
Let AI develop a Python learning guide from scratch;
Let AI elaborate on each truncated learning content in the learning plan;
Let AI give an outline for checking the learning results at each stage;

Goal: Let AI develop a learning plan and learning content, and let AI check your learning results.

5. Considerations and best practices for using AI

5.1 Understand AI's Boundaries

Don't Over-rely:

AI can make mistakes, so always double-check crucial information.
Handle content involving personal privacy with caution.
Always confirm specialized advice with an expert.

Stay Critical:

Form your own judgments about AI's responses.
Learn to spot potential biases or errors in AI output.
See AI as a supporting tool, not the final decision-maker.

Here's a handy trick: For the same question, try asking different AI tools. Since each AI model is trained on distinct datasets, their answers might vary. You can then compare these responses to get a more comprehensive picture.

5.2 How to Protect Your Privacy and Stay Secure When Using AI

Protect Your Personal Information:

Never share sensitive details like passwords or bank account numbers with AI.
Handle company confidential information with extreme care; avoid feeding sensitive documents directly to AI for analysis.
Familiarize yourself with each platform's privacy policies and think twice before sharing private data.

Data Security:

It's a good idea to keep important documents backed up locally, and even in multiple places.
For sensitive content, consider anonymizing it before submitting it to AI.
Regularly check your account security settings and update your passwords.

When you're prompting AI, try to use generic examples or pseudonyms instead of real, sensitive information.

5.3 Keep Learning and Adapting

Stay Current with Tech:

Pay attention to AI tool updates and new features, keeping your enthusiasm for AI alive.
Learn from other users' experiences and share your own AI insights.
Experiment with new AI applications and tools.

Build Your Own Knowledge Base:

Keep a log of useful prompt templates.
Organize your go-to AI tools and their common applications.
Share your experiences and learn from others in the community.

6. Start Your AI Journey Today

How to learn to use AI? It starts with small, actionable steps that anyone can take—no tech background required.

Pick an AI tool and dive in: Start with a free version; I highly recommend ChatGPT or DeepSeek.
Set a small, achievable goal: Like using AI to draft a work email or summarize an article.
Join relevant communities: Stay informed about AI tool tips and best practices.
Practice for 15 minutes daily: Consistency is key to building a habit.

Remember, learning how to use AI is just like learning any new tool—it's all about hands-on practice and sticking with it. Don’t let the technical complexity intimidate you. After all, a tool that can't be adopted and used by the masses truly lacks purpose. Focus on the real value AI brings. As you become more proficient, you'll discover that AI genuinely makes life and work more efficient and enjoyable.

The AI era is here. Instead of worrying about being left behind by technology, actively embrace these tools. Let them become your powerful allies in your daily life, work, and studies.

📚 Continue the Series:

AI for Everyone, Part 1: What is AI?

AI for Everyone, Part 2: How Does AI "Think" Like Humans?

AI for Everyone, Part 3: How AI is changing the world

AI for Everyone, Part 4: How to Learn AI as a Beginner: Step-by-Step Guide in 2025

AI for Everyone, Part 5: How to Talk to AI Effectively – 30 Golden Rules for AI Prompts