Google Prompting Essentials from Coursera

Want to use generative AI tools but not sure where to start? Google Prompting Essentials teaches you how to give clear and specific instructions to generative AI - known as prompting. In 5 easy steps, you'll learn how to prompt effectively and unlock more of AI’s benefits.

Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, you’ll learn how to use AI to:

- Save time: Craft emails, brainstorm with ease, build tables and trackers, and summarize lengthy documents.

- Uncover and share powerful insights: Identify patterns in data, create compelling data visualizations, and even rehearse presentations.

- Tackle complex projects: Transform abstract ideas into actionable steps, use AI to role-play conversations, and get expert feedback.

- Use AI responsibly: Evaluate your outputs for bias and errors, and iterate to get more helpful results.

Taught by AI experts at Google, this self-paced course can be completed in under 10 hours, requires no prior experience, and is applicable across industries. Throughout the course, you’ll build a library of reusable prompts, so the next time that you need a little help from AI, you’re not prompting from scratch. And, you’ll earn a certificate from Google to share with your network and employer.

What's inside

Syllabus

Start writing prompts like a pro

Need a dependable formula for writing prompts? We’ll share a 5-step prompting framework that you can use across tools and models. And if your prompt doesn’t produce what you need on the first try, don't worry – that's part of the process! You’ll learn how to evaluate and iterate until you get the results you’re looking for.

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Teaches a prompting framework applicable across various AI tools and models, providing a versatile foundation for diverse applications

Develops skills in using AI for data analysis and presentation building, which are valuable for professionals who need to derive insights and communicate findings effectively

Presented by Google, which is known for its AI-based products like Search and Assistant and for its groundbreaking research in artificial intelligence

Explores the use of AI as a creative and expert partner, which can be useful for professionals who need assistance with brainstorming and problem-solving

Reviews summary

Practical prompting essentials

According to students, this course is a highly effective introductory guide to generative AI prompting, particularly lauded for its practical application in everyday work tasks. Learners appreciate the clear, 5-step framework provided, finding it easy to grasp and immediately useful for improving outputs from AI tools. Many absolute beginners found the course perfect for building confidence and getting started. The course is often described as concise and well-paced, making it ideal for busy professionals looking to save time. However, some students with prior experience using AI found the content too basic and noted a lack of depth, especially regarding the more advanced techniques mentioned in the syllabus.

Short duration, easy to fit into a busy schedule.

"The pace is just right for busy professionals."

"Fantastic short course!"

"The course is concise and doesn't waste time. Ideal for busy people."

"This self-paced course can be completed in under 10 hours..."

Provides a clear, actionable method for prompting.

"The 5-step framework is easy to grasp and immediately applicable."

"Need a dependable formula for writing prompts? We’ll share a 5-step prompting framework..."

"Helpful for structuring my approach to using AI. The 5-step method is logical and provides a solid base."

"The step-by-step approach is brilliant, and the exercises reinforce the concepts well."

Useful for everyday work tasks and efficiency.

"The real-world examples for work tasks were super helpful. It really helped me feel confident using AI for emails and brainstorming."

"Design prompts that help you draft emails... turn meeting notes into action items, and summarize lengthy documents."

"I can already see how this will save me a lot of time at work."

"Useful for automating mundane tasks and boosting productivity."

Excellent starting point for generative AI novices.

"Excellent introduction to prompting!"

"As a complete novice to generative AI, this course was perfect."

"Highly recommend for beginners."

"Good for absolute beginners only."

"Advanced techniques" felt rushed or not truly advanced.

"The 'advanced techniques' mentioned in the syllabus felt rushed and weren't really that advanced."

"I was hoping for more advanced techniques or deeper dives into specific AI models."

"Doesn't delve deeply into the nuances of prompting different models or handling complex scenarios."

"Might find much of the content familiar... if you're looking to go beyond the surface."

May not provide new insights for those with experience.

"Honestly, I was expecting more. The course covers the absolute basics..."

"If you've experimented with AI tools at all, you might find much of the content familiar."

"Disappointing if you're looking to go beyond the surface."

"It's a good starting point, nothing more."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Google Prompting Essentials with these activities:

Review Basic Communication Principles

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Reviewing basic communication principles will help you formulate clearer and more effective prompts, leading to better AI outputs.

Browse courses on Communication Principles

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Review the elements of effective communication.
Identify common barriers to clear communication.
Practice writing clear and concise messages.

Read 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'

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Reading 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' will help you understand cognitive biases that can affect prompt design and interpretation.

View Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment on Amazon

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Read the book, focusing on cognitive biases.
Reflect on how these biases might affect prompt creation.
Identify strategies to mitigate these biases in your prompts.

Prompt Engineering Journal

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Starting a prompt engineering journal will allow you to document your experiments, track your results, and refine your prompting techniques over time.

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Create a document or spreadsheet to record your prompts.
Document the AI's responses to each prompt.
Analyze the results and identify areas for improvement.
Refine your prompts based on your analysis.

Four other activities

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Create a Prompt Template Library

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Creating a library of reusable prompt templates will save you time and effort in the long run, and help you apply the course's principles more effectively.

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Identify common tasks you perform regularly.
Develop prompt templates for each task.
Organize your templates in a searchable format.
Test and refine your templates over time.

Prompt Iteration Exercises

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Performing prompt iteration exercises will help you develop the skill of refining prompts to achieve desired results.

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Start with a basic prompt for a specific task.
Evaluate the AI's response.
Iterate on the prompt to improve the response.
Repeat the process until you achieve the desired result.

Read 'AI-First Creator'

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Reading 'AI-First Creator' will provide insights into leveraging AI for creative tasks, complementing the course's focus on AI for work.

View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon

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Read the book, focusing on practical AI applications.
Identify strategies for using AI in your own work.
Experiment with the techniques described in the book.

AI-Powered Presentation

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Creating an AI-powered presentation will allow you to apply the course's principles to a real-world project and showcase your skills.

Show steps

Choose a topic for your presentation.
Use AI to generate an outline and speaker notes.
Create visuals using AI tools.
Practice your presentation and refine your prompts.

Career center

Learners who complete Google Prompting Essentials will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Content Creator

A Content Creator develops engaging material for various platforms. This course provides a foundation for effectively using AI to generate content, including drafting emails and summarizing documents. The course also covers the crafting of different tones and styles, which is useful in crafting content for a variety of audiences and purposes. As a content creator, the exercises on extracting insights from data and creating visualizations will be beneficial to include data in one's output. This course is helpful for those creating content of all kinds.

See salaries and explore the career path for Content Creator

Project Manager

A Project Manager oversees the planning, execution, and completion of specific projects. This course provides instruction in using AI to turn abstract ideas into concrete, actionable steps, which is invaluable for project planning. Project managers also need to be able to effectively communicate project updates, so email drafting and document summarization skills will be helpful. The course will be useful for anyone seeking to organize and streamline project workflows, including using AI to brainstorm effectively.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Manager

Marketing Specialist

A Marketing Specialist develops and executes marketing campaigns, often requiring the ability to quickly generate and iterate on ideas. This course can help a marketing specialist quickly develop marketing copy through the use of prompts. The course's instruction in AI's capacity to analyze data and generate visualizations will be helpful in market research and report preparation. This course is pertinent to a marketing specialist because it provides relevant skills that speed up the marketing process, while also allowing the user to remain in control of the final product.

See salaries and explore the career path for Marketing Specialist

Data Analyst

A Data Analyst collects, processes, and performs statistical analysis on data. While this course may not teach statistical methods, a data analyst needs to communicate their insights, and this course helps a user extract insights from data and build graphs and visualizations. Furthermore, the course teaches how to summarize data, which is useful when creating reports and documentation. A data analyst may find this course useful for learning to better communicate data to stakeholders.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Analyst

Business Consultant

A Business Consultant provides expert advice to organizations to improve performance. This course helps a business consultant use AI to brainstorm ideas and develop solutions. The course also helps in creating presentations and practicing delivery, which are key skills for consultants. A business consultant can also leverage AI to quickly summarize reports and other document, thereby speeding up their workflow. This course is pertinent for consultants who wish to enhance their performance.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Consultant

Technical Writer

A Technical Writer creates documentation for various technical products and processes. This course may be helpful for a technical writer, as it teaches users how to summarize documents quickly and effectively, which is a valuable skill when crafting specifications or instruction manuals. The course further provides instruction on prompt generation for more effective AI output, which a technical writer may use for brainstorming ideas and generating text. This course may be useful for those who want to augment their writing process with AI.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Writer

Research Analyst

A Research Analyst collects and analyzes data to identify trends and patterns. The course's instruction on using AI to extract insights and understand spreadsheet formulas may be helpful to a research analyst's workflow. As research analysts present findings, the practice in creating data visualizations and rehearsing presentations is relevant. This course may provide help to research analysts seeking to augment their process with AI.

See salaries and explore the career path for Research Analyst

Teacher

A Teacher educates students on a variety of subjects. This course may be helpful to a teacher who plans curriculum, as the course teaches users how to transform abstract ideas into actionable steps. A teacher may also use the course to help them draft emails to parents or summarize documents. Furthermore, a teacher may use AI tools in their own content creation and presentation building, which aligns with skills in the course. This course may be useful for teachers seeking to speed up their process using AI.

See salaries and explore the career path for Teacher

Sales Representative

A Sales Representative sells products or services to customers. The course may be helpful to a sales representative who seeks to prepare for client interactions. The course covers using AI to role-play conversations and get expert feedback. Further, sales representatives often need to draft persuasive emails, a skill mentioned in this course. The skills in this course may be useful to salespersons looking for an edge.

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Human Resources Specialist

A Human Resources Specialist manages employee relations and company policies. This course may be helpful to a human resources specialist by speeding up administrative tasks, such as drafting emails and summarizing documents. The course also provides instruction in brainstorming and tackling complex projects, which can be useful in HR initiatives. This course may be helpful for those seeking to use AI to improve workflow.

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Customer Service Representative

A Customer Service Representative assists customers with inquiries and issues. A customer service representative often needs to draft emails and summarize details of customer inquiries. This course is useful because it covers using AI to draft emails, summarize documents, and practice conversations. This may be helpful to a customer service representative. This course may be useful for those looking for ways to use AI to improve their communication skills.

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Administrative Assistant

An Administrative Assistant performs clerical duties in an office environment. This course may be helpful for administrative assistants who need to summarize documents or draft emails, as this is mentioned in the course description. Further, administrative tasks may be structured and made more efficient by learning to break down abstract ideas into action items. This course may be useful for administrative assistants seeking to streamline their workflow.

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Social Media Manager

A Social Media Manager develops and implements social media strategies. This course may be helpful because it will allow one to generate content more quickly through the use of AI. The course may also be useful for those looking to better understand their data, as it provides instruction in data analysis and visualization. Therefore, this course may be useful for those looking to work as a social media manager.

See salaries and explore the career path for Social Media Manager

Grant Writer

A Grant Writer prepares proposals for funding from various organizations. A grant writer may find this course useful as it covers using AI to transform abstract ideas into actionable steps and get expert feedback. Grant writers often need to summarize background information and present technical ideas; these align with skills covered in the course. This course may be useful for those who seek to augment their grant writing process.

See salaries and explore the career path for Grant Writer

Journalist

A Journalist gathers and reports information on current events. A journalist typically needs to be able to summarize information and adapt their style and voice to different audiences. These are skills taught in the course. Journalists may use the skills covered in this course to better analyze and present information. This course may be useful for journalists who want to enhance their workflow.

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