Google AI Essentials
A practical beginner program from Google that teaches how to use generative AI for everyday work, productivity, prompting, responsible AI, and evaluating new AI tools.
About
Google AI Essentials is a beginner-friendly, self-paced program created by Google to help learners across roles and industries develop practical AI skills. The program focuses on using generative AI in real-world workplace situations, improving productivity, writing effective prompts, critically evaluating AI output, using AI responsibly, and developing strategies for keeping up with new AI tools and capabilities. No previous AI experience is required.
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Learning Outcomes
- Understand foundational artificial intelligence concepts
- Recognize the capabilities and limitations of AI tools
- Use generative AI to support everyday workplace tasks
- Identify tasks and workflows where AI can improve productivity
- Write clear and specific prompts for different use cases
- Apply prompting techniques including few-shot prompting
- Critically evaluate AI-generated output
- Recognize AI risks, biases, privacy concerns, and potential harms
- Develop strategies for evaluating and adopting emerging AI tools
Skills Covered
AI literacy, Generative AI, Prompt Engineering, Prompt Patterns, AI productivity, Critical Thinking, AI Integrations, Responsible AI, AI workflow analysis, Technology evaluation
Syllabus
- Introduction to AI
Introduces artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, AI capabilities and limitations, and the importance of human oversight.
- Maximize Productivity With AI Tools
Explores practical workplace applications of generative AI and how to identify opportunities to improve productivity and work processes.
- Discover the Art of Prompting
Teaches how to write clear prompts and apply prompting techniques, including few-shot prompting, for a variety of generative AI tasks.
- Use AI Responsibly
Covers AI harms, bias, privacy and security considerations, critical evaluation, and responsible approaches to using artificial intelligence.
- Stay Ahead of the AI Curve
Explores strategies for keeping up with AI developments and evaluating emerging AI tools for future workplace applications.
Prerequisites
- No prior AI experience required
- No programming knowledge required
Target Audience
AI beginners, Business professionals, Knowledge workers, Marketers, Content creators, Managers, Students, Professionals seeking practical AI skills
Best For
- Complete beginners who want practical AI skills
- Professionals who want to use AI in everyday work
- Learners interested in prompt engineering fundamentals
- People seeking a structured introduction to responsible AI use
- Professionals who want a Google-issued AI credential
Pros
- No previous AI experience required
- Created and taught by Google experts
- Strong focus on practical workplace applications
- Includes hands-on AI activities
- Covers prompt engineering and responsible AI
- Short overall completion time
- Includes a Google career certificate
Cons
- Designed primarily for beginners rather than advanced AI practitioners
- Does not provide deep AI programming or machine learning engineering training
- Focuses more on practical AI usage than mathematical or technical implementation
Course Facts
- Provider:
- Instructor:
- Google Career Certificates
- Duration:
- Under 10 hours
- Level:
- Beginner
- Language:
- English
Certification & Delivery
Certificate Available
Format: Online, Self-paced, Hands-on activities
Tools you can use with this course
ChatGPT
A conversational AI model developed by OpenAI that excels at answering questions, writing code, and generating creative content.
- This course directly references the tool
- The tool category matches this course
Claude
A sophisticated AI assistant known for its large context window, nuanced writing style, and strong reasoning capabilities.
- This course directly references the tool
- The tool category matches this course
Gemini
Google's most capable AI model, built from the ground up to be multimodal and highly efficient.
- This course directly references the tool
- The tool category matches this course
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that integrates directly into your daily workflow to help you create, analyze, and collaborate more effectively.
- The tool category matches this course
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Related Glossary Terms
AI Hallucination
An AI hallucination occurs when an AI system generates information that appears plausible but is unsupported, incorrect, fabricated, or inconsistent with reliable evidence.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence is the field of creating computer systems that can perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, making predictions, generating content, and supporting decisions.
Few-Shot Prompting
Few-shot prompting is a technique in which an AI model is given a small number of examples demonstrating the desired task or output pattern before processing a new input.
Generative AI
Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to create new content such as text, images, audio, video, software code, or structured data.