AI has moved quickly from novelty to something that affects how people work. But most of us have only encountered one small corner of it: a chatbot, maybe an image generator, perhaps a feature that appeared inside something we already used. The full picture is bigger, more varied, and, once you start exploring, more useful than most people realise.
The big picture: AI is not just one thing
Pause on something you've probably never thought about deliberately: you're already using AI constantly. The spam filter in your email, the predictive text on your phone, the reason Netflix knows you'll like that documentary. All of it runs on some form of machine learning. AI isn't something you go and visit. It's already woven into your daily digital life.
What's changed in the last couple of years is that AI has become something you can talk to and direct. That's the shift this programme is about.
It helps to think of AI not as a single product but as a category, a bit like "the internet". When someone says they "use the internet", they might mean email, video calls, streaming, or online banking. AI is similar. The tools in this programme span several distinct areas:
Throughout the 23 Things, you'll spend time in each of these areas. The goal isn't to master every tool. It's to build a working sense of what's available and develop the judgment to pick the right kind of tool for a given task.
The main players (and why the differences matter)
A handful of large providers dominate the AI space. You don't need to memorise the details; the differences become intuitive as you use them through this programme. But a quick orientation helps.
All four have free tiers that cover everything in this programme. You don't need to pay for anything to get started.
There are multiple tools rather than one clear winner because each has real strengths. Over the next 23 Things, you'll develop your own preferences, and that judgment is one of the most valuable things you'll build.
A note on pace and change
This field moves fast. Tools that didn't exist eighteen months ago now have millions of users. Pricing changes, features come and go, and new categories of tool appear with little warning.
That's not a reason to feel anxious. It's just the nature of this particular moment. The skills you'll build here (writing clear prompts, evaluating outputs critically, knowing what different tools are good for) last in a way that knowledge of any specific product doesn't. If a tool changes or disappears, those skills transfer to whatever replaces it.
Where content in this programme is particularly likely to date, we'll flag it.
Resources to explore
Before you start the activity, these give a useful overview of where things stand. None of them require prior knowledge.
A plain-language comparison of the main AI platforms, updated regularly. The best single page to bookmark if you want a current overview.
A solid starting point if you want the background on how these tools work and where they came from.
Free to audit, and a good companion to this programme if you'd like more structured context alongside the hands-on work.
Activity: meet the machines
You're going to give the same task to three different AI tools and compare what comes back. This immediately shows you that AI tools are not all the same, and it gives you hands-on experience of what they actually feel like to use.
- Set up your accounts. If you haven't already, create free accounts at ChatGPT (email or Google account), Claude (email or Google account), and Gemini (any Google account). This takes a few minutes. All three work in your browser.
- Give them all the same task. Copy and paste this prompt into each tool, one at a time:
I work in a medium-sized organisation and I've been asked to give a 5-minute talk to my team about how AI could be useful in our day-to-day work. I'm not technical and neither is my audience. Can you suggest an outline for this talk that would be practical and engaging?
Don't change the prompt between tools. The whole point is to see how they handle the same request differently.
- Compare the responses. Once you have all three, look at them side by side. Pay attention to:
- Length and structure. Did one give you a concise outline while another wrote a full script? Which felt more useful?
- Tone. Did they feel different to read? More formal, more conversational, more cautious?
- Practical value. Which response would you actually be most likely to use if you really did have to give this talk?
- Anything surprising. Did any tool suggest something you hadn't thought of, or take the task in an unexpected direction?
- Write up your comparison. Even just a few paragraphs covering what you noticed. Include a screenshot of each response if you can. Finish with a sentence or two on which tool you'd reach for first if you needed to do this kind of task again, and why.
There's no right answer here. The point is to start developing your own sense of what different tools are like to work with.
Why this matters
This activity gets you using AI tools rather than reading about them. For many people, it'll be the first time they've tried anything beyond ChatGPT. It also establishes a habit you'll use throughout the programme: comparison. Trying the same task across multiple tools is one of the fastest ways to learn what each one does well.
Claim your Open Badge
Once you've finished, submit your output as evidence for your Thing 1 badge via cred.scot. Your submission should include your comparison document with screenshots.
Submit your comparison document (with screenshots of all three AI responses) as evidence to claim this badge via cred.scot.
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