A plain-English starting point
AI Made Simple
Useful things to try. Clear instructions. And a little help knowing what not to trust.
You do not need to be technical to get started with AI. Learn the words, understand the basics, then try one small task you can check yourself.
Start with the foundations
New to the language? Begin with the glossary. Want the bigger picture? Read our introduction to AI.
The AI glossary
What is a prompt? Why do people talk about hallucinations? Get short explanations of 23 terms, with everyday examples.
Browse the glossary →What is AI?
AI is more than chatbots. Find out what it does, what generative AI means, and how to try a useful first task.
Read the beginner’s guide →A useful first experiment
Ask an AI chat tool to tidy a short, made-up invitation. Give it the details it must keep and the format you want. For example:
Turn these notes into a friendly invitation in British English, using no more than 60 words: tea at my home; Saturday at 3pm; bring a favourite book. Leave names and the address as placeholders. Do not add any other arrangements.
Then check the reply. Has it kept the time? Added an RSVP deadline? Changed your plans? You can ask for a shorter or less formal version, and edit the result yourself. Our introduction walks you through the checks.
Next: get started with the big platforms
We are preparing separate, step-by-step guides for these five tools. Each will cover where to start, a useful first prompt, privacy checks and the limits to watch for.
The platform guides will appear here as they are published. In the meantime, the glossary and introduction are ready to read.