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AI courses for beginners

Learn how AI works, write better prompts, and use AI for everyday work. No coding experience needed. Start with AI Foundations, then explore six courses that build your skills from the basics to practical workflows.

All six courses are included with Rundown University Pro. Try Part 1 of How Does AI Work for free.

Start here AI Foundations (New & Improved) with Nate Grahek Beginner · 22 chapters · 2h 52m View the course

Not ready to buy? Read a free guide.

The courses

Every course below is included with Pro.

  1. Understand how AI works

    1. How Does AI Work

      Part 1 free

      Understand tokens, context windows, agents, retrieval, and evaluation through interactive lessons.

      Interactive courseBeginner1h 6m

    2. AI Foundations (New & Improved)

      Start here

      Build core AI literacy, write more useful prompts, and turn everyday tasks into repeatable workflows.

      Beginner2h 52m Nate Grahek

  2. Prompt with confidence

    1. Mastering Prompting: Techniques for Better AI Responses

      Learn practical prompting techniques for clearer, more useful AI responses.

      Beginner1h 11m

    2. Context Engineering: The Core Skill Worth Learning Even As Models Improve

      Organize instructions, examples, and source material so AI can work with the right context.

      Intermediate1h 4m Nate Grahek

  3. Put AI to work

    1. Essential ChatGPT Tips: Latest Features & Practical Use Cases

      Learn key ChatGPT features and apply them to common work and productivity tasks.

      Beginner1h 4m Nate Grahek

    2. The AI Foundation Workshop: Your New Operating System for the Future of Work

      Build a practical operating system for using AI across your work.

      WorkshopBeginner1h 3m Nate Grahek

All 6 courses above, plus the full library, for $29 a month.

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Free guides

Short, practical reads you can finish today. Pick a tool, get better answers, and see what the popular assistants can do.

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Common questions

Where should a complete beginner start?

Start with AI Foundations. It is a beginner course that covers how AI works, how to prompt it, and how to turn everyday tasks into repeatable workflows. If you want a free taste first, Part 1 of How Does AI Work is free.

What is free, and what does Pro add?

Every guide on this page is free to read, and weekly live sessions are free for everyone with an account. Pro adds every on-demand course, including all of the courses in this path, plus certifications when you finish a course, member resources, and perk drops. Some downloadable resources in guides require Pro or an active trial. Pro is billed monthly and you can cancel anytime.

Do I need a technical background?

No. None of these courses require coding. They start with plain-English explanations, and the guides walk through everyday tools step by step.

Which AI tools do I need, and are they included?

The courses and guides use widely available assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Their free versions are enough to get started, though some features covered in the guides need a paid plan from that tool's maker. Those subscriptions are separate and are not part of Rundown University Pro.

Do I have to take the courses in order?

No. The order is a suggestion for people starting from zero. If you already use AI, jump to the course that matches what you want to do next. Context Engineering is an intermediate course, so it is easier after the prompting course that comes before it.