The journey with AI begins with one prompt.
Complete the activities on this page to help guide your journey into adoption of AI tools in your work activities.
Start with small wins. Build consistency then expand and share.
Starting your learning process with an ASU-developed tool is a safe way to explore the space and to get used to the process of augmenting your work.
- Try simple tasks first like “Draft a polite reminder email to a student.”
- Add supporting information from files or online resources.
- Add context, audience, tone and purpose statements to your prompts improve the output.
Principled guided practice
These exercises are designed to help you practice and explore what AI can do. But in your everyday work, FSE encourages the principle of human-generated, AI-augmented, human-validated.
This mindset ensures that your generative AI tool will fully support your creativity and judgment. Not the other way around.
- Human-generated
- You define the task and provide direction.
- AI-augmented
- The tool helps you draft, brainstorm, or analyze.
- Human-validated
- You review, refine and ensure accuracy and alignment with our standards and values.
Deliver answers and boost efficiency with CreateAI Chat
CreateAI Chat is a free-to-use chatbot created specifically for ASU employees that can interact directly with your documents and other resources to supercharge your work processes.
Login with your ASURITE ID to get started. Continue with the guided practice examples below to learn more.
Guided practice activities
Starter exercises
Example: Drafting communications
Ask Create AI Chat to draft a student reminder email about an tutoring services.
- In the chat box, enter the following prompt: “Please generate the body of an email in which I remind an ASU student that FSE offers free tutoring services tailored to engineering students.”
Try adjusting the tone: professional, friendly, urgent.
- Type the following, “Rewrite this in a more friendly tone.”
- Ask AI to create different versions: “Now create 5 variations of this message covering various tones from professional to friendly to urgent.”
Finalize the results.
- Choose the best version and edit it to make your own.
- When drafting communications, double-check tone and inclusivity before sending.
- Send the message to a colleague and ask them to critique your message for authenticity.
Troubleshooting
If the output feels generic: add more context about your audience and purpose.
If it makes mistakes: break the task into smaller prompts.
If it gives you something useful: save the prompt for reuse!
Other entry-level activities
Summarizing information
- Paste in a long meeting agenda or policy document.
- Ask Create AI Chat to create a one-paragraph summary or bullet-point highlights.
Brainstorming ideas
- Use AI to generate five ideas for improving an advising process.
- Then ask it to organize them into categories.
Creating first drafts
- Ask Create AI Chat to draft a welcome message for a new hire onboarding packet.
- Edit the draft to reflect FSE’s values and your unit’s voice.
Automating routine tasks
Try prompting CreateAI Chat to provide checklists and to-do lists for recurring tasks.
- “Create a checklist for organizing a student event.”
- “Draft a step-by-step process for onboarding new staff.”
Understanding the role of AI
- Describe a challenge that you currently face. Articulate the outcome you are intending.
- Ask Create AI Chat how it can help you and what you should do without AI.
Want more practice?
Our cheat sheet of prompts for ASU Engineering contains a top-ten list of common prompts to help you explore new use cases for generative AI.
Integration and skill building
Try these exercises to help move AI from a casual experiment to a systemic part of your routine.
Workflow integration
Select one recurring task and make using AI for it a non-negotiable step. Iterate on the following examples.
- Before writing a report, use CreateAI Chat to create a detailed outline or before a meeting
- Ask CreateAI Chat to generate an agenda based on recent team communications.
Prompt engineering practice
- For three days, dedicate 10 minutes to refining your prompts with an AI chatbot.
- Start with a simple prompt and observe the output.
- Add details, context, and a specific format (e.g., “in a bulleted list” or “in a professional tone”) to get a better result.
- Repeat the prompt, asking for the output in a different format.
The “AI-powered” document
- Try using CreateAI Chat for a specific type of document, such as a presentation or a new project requirements document.
- Use CreateAI Chat to generate a rough draft, then spend your time editing and polishing it. This helps you build muscle memory for the AI-assisted process.
Information verification
- For one week, fact-check every piece of AI-generated factual content using at least two independent sources. This builds the critical habit of “human-in-the-loop” review, protecting you from AI hallucinations.
Forming a habit
Try keep an “AI journal” where you jot down prompts, reflections, and ideas related to your AI learning.
Be sure to explore a variety of AI tools to find ones that fit well into your existing workflows and routines.
Expansion and mastery
Become a role model for AI usage and look for broader applications.
Complex task challenge
Identify one new, complex project and use AI to assist with a strategic element, such as risk analysis, competitive research, or developing a project plan with a detailed timeline.
AI champion session
- Host a 15-minute informal session with a colleague.
- Demonstrate a task where AI saved you time and show them how to do it.
- Focus on a practical, easy-to-replicate use case.
Build with AI tools
Switching from Create AI Chat to Create AI Builder can unlock a completely different way to utilize generative AI in your workflow.
Learn to automate workflows and build custom solutions for specific audiences and problems.