AI for Dummies - my Top 5
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AI. AI. AI.
The hot topic of the year.
Everyone around you keeps talking about it.
You know you want to go deeper.
But you just can’t find the time.
But you just don’t know where to start.
But it is all evolving too fast.
Lazy excuses, no more - you’re starting here with the simplest ever AI superpowers 👇
My Top 5 Tips
AI Prompting 👨💻
AI Projects 📁
AI Formula in Google Sheets 🔢
AI Copilots 🧑✈️
AI Agents 🕵️♀️
Personal Story Context
I’m on a mission to get the Startmate team to use more AI in their day-to-day work.
A lot of the work we do is very manual, repetitive - what better way to make your everyday a bit more enjoyable than getting AI to handle it.
So each week, I’ve been presenting a 5mins AI Superlearners segment with a tiny AI tool, coupled with a work use case.
What you’re reading is a snapshot of my first few segments.
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1. AI Prompting 👨💻
Ok, you’re probably not starting completely from zero.
You’ve probably tried ChatGPT or your work gives you access to Gemini.
You’ve tried a couple of prompts, but they didn’t stick with you.
Tip #1 - hit the mic
“Prompting” AI is much more fun if you don’t have to give perfect written instructions. Hit the mic, at the bottom left and just freely talk to your AI. No need for concise, exact questions like when you Google something.
Instead, take it away, waffle, the more you talk, the better, give it all the context.
You’ll have more fun this way, and the answer will be so much better.
Tip #2 - make lazy prompts, legendary
This one is my favourite tool, built by Matt Boustred, an Aussie founder and Startmate Alumni.
👉 Prompt Cowboy 🤠
What does it do?
What it says on the box.
Turns your lazy, terrible, (most likely one-liner prompts) in GREAT prompts.
Just try it out » and A/B test it with (1) your usual prompt vs (2) the Prompt Cowboy prompt » I can guarantee you’ll get better results.
My personal favourite is that the upgraded prompts always end with:
“Your life depends on you [doing a good job at answering the prompt]…”
Makes ChatGPT work extra hard and makes me lol every time I see it. A touch of evil in that prompt, but if it will give me better results, I’m all for it 😈
2. AI Projects 📁
LOVE me projects.
What are they?
ChatGPT projects or Gemini Gems.
In short, a “folder” within ChatGPT, which you can give specific instructions to and it retains the history of all your prompts in that folder.
✅ Custom memory: Remembers context, goals, preferences across sessions
✅ Tool integration: Connects to web browsing, code execution, documents, and APIs
✅ Step-by-step automation: Executes complex tasks or multi-step workflows (like agents)
✅ Personalisation: Acts according to your tone, rules, or priorities
How?
Click projects.
Give it instructions for that “folder”.
Now, every time you pop in a prompt, it will apply your instructions to it.
Give me examples!
Ok, ok - here’s how I use it:
🐣 Baby Advisor
give me bulletpoint answers tailored to my son Rapha (born 1 Feb 2025, Sydney), always based on the latest research with study name, year, sample size, and significance.
» game-changer
🐘 Elephants
transcribe this audio message into a structured 5-part format for messaging (Goals, Good, Bad, Ugly, Feelings), preserving exact phrasing, asking deep goal-related questions first, and highlighting key points in bold—like your life depends on it (lol).
» weekly, I talk about my week for 5mins, get follow-up questions, and a great summary that I send friends
🎙️ Voice Whatsapp
turn my voice note or text into a WhatsApp message written exactly in Michael Batko’s style: stacked, lowercase, casual, warm, with emojis, slang, and light humour—like I just typed it on my phone.
» again audio to text, BUT I also uploaded a whole heap of my history Whatsapp messages as context, so it knows my style :)
🪝 LinkedIn Hooker - ok, now I was just having some fun with silly names
turn my story into 3 high-performing, and value-driven LinkedIn posts—with different angles, strong hooks, clear lessons, and zero jargon or self-promotion.
» just a good starting place, when I’m out of ideas
🇵🇱 Polish Translator
Translate my text into natural, family-appropriate Polish only—no explanations, just the translation, exactly as I’d send it to relatives.
» simple, is best and this works well
Note: the above is my one-line summarised instruction, I put that through PromptCowboy (to make it epic) and use that as the full instruction.
3. AI Formula in Google Sheets 🔢
=AI()
That’s all you need.'
And the world (well, in this case, the spreadsheet) is your oyster.
Example:
=AI("Summarise the feedback from here: " &B39& " and here: " &B50& " in bulletpoints)")
4. AI Copilots 🧑✈️
You’ll keep seeing these AI copilots now everywhere.
What are they?
The simplest integration for any software to help you get started and get the full value out of a product. Read: like live customer support, that can even execute for you.
It’s the co-pilot who sits next to you, you can ask them anything and if you want they even take over flying the plane.
Use Case?
Zapier.
Instead of you building the workflow.
Let Zapier build it for you.
Describe what you want to happen.
Zapier tells you about the steps.
Now, all you need to do is hit the “+” and it’s added to your workflow.
💥
5. AI Agents 🕵️♀️
This is the one which blew my mind last week.
I kept hearing about these magical agents that just do things for you. Truth be told, I also didn’t have the time to check it out and go deeper.
Then, ChatGPT added “Agent” to its functionality - so I was curious.
To get started, try this prompt:
“Explain how Agent Mode in ChatGPT can enhance my past interactions. Give me 10 specific use cases based on questions I’ve asked before, showing how it would’ve improved the experience.”
Unreal - ChatGPT will literally get you started with all the repetitive questions you kept asking and suggest a use cases.
Example
Paste one of the use cases
Tick “Agent”
Watch the magic happen before your eyes ✨
What happens?
ChatGPT takes a long time doing all the research.
But instead of just waiting, it describes exactly what it’s doing, looking for a solution.
Once it has found one:
Prompt: “implement it for me”
🤯 The Agent will open up a browser, log in as you and create the workflow.
Not only that, but you’ll be able to follow every step, with detailed descriptions of what it is doing - LIVE.
Now that truly feels like you’re having an assistant working with and for you.
Note: you can take over control of any part of the process, ie log in with credentials, then let AI take back over again.
Voice with AI is such a life hack 🤫