Studio Hyra University
AI for Makers
How to go from using AI to building with it. No code required.
10 lessons · ~30 min · Beginner
Lesson 01
What AI actually does
AI is a tool that's good at language. It reads what you type, finds patterns, and writes a response. Once you understand that, everything else makes sense.
Try This Now
Open Claude or ChatGPT right now. Type: 'Explain what you are in three sentences, as if I'm a smart person who doesn't work in tech.' Read the response. That's the level of clarity you should expect from every interaction.
Lesson 02
Your first good prompt
A prompt is the message you send to the AI. Most prompts are too vague. A good prompt has four parts: who the AI should be, what you need, what it should look like, and what to avoid.
Most people type this
This works much better
Try This Now
Take something you asked AI to do this week. Rewrite the prompt using the four parts: role, task, format, avoid. Run it again. Compare the two outputs side by side.
Lesson 03
Stop starting over
Most people start a new conversation every time they use AI. That throws away everything the AI learned about what you need. Stay in the same conversation and guide it instead.
Starting over every time
New chat, write a prompt
Get a mediocre result
Start another new chat
Get another mediocre result
Building on each round
Write your prompt
Get a first draft
Give specific feedback
Get exactly what you need
Try This Now
Open your AI tool. Start with a simple request. Whatever comes back, don't accept it or start over. Give it three rounds of feedback. Notice how much better the third version is compared to the first.
Lesson 04
Give it something to work with
AI produces much better output when you give it material to work from. Paste in your notes, old emails, or rough draft. Then ask the AI to work with that.
Try This Now
Find a piece of writing you did recently. Paste it into the AI and say: 'This is how I write. Now write a [new thing] in the same style about [topic].' Compare the output to what you'd normally get.
Lesson 05
Build a tool, not a trick
The jump from "I use AI sometimes" to "AI saves me hours every week" is building one reusable thing. Not a one-off prompt. A system you use again and again.
The Transformer
Takes one format and turns it into another
Meeting notes into action items. Research into a summary.
The Reviewer
Checks your work against specific criteria
Proofreads against your style guide. Reviews for missing sections.
The Generator
Creates new versions of recurring work
Weekly updates. Social posts. Client emails.
Try This Now
Think about one thing you do every week that involves writing or organizing. Write a prompt that handles 80% of it. Save it somewhere. Use it next time. You just built your first AI tool.
Lesson 06
Talk to the AI like a person
Telling the AI who it is and how it should behave changes everything. This isn't a gimmick. It's the most effective technique available to you.
Without a role
Generic summary. Correct but bland. Uses corporate language nobody actually speaks.
With a role
Sharp summary. Key insights first. Written like a person, not a template.
Try This Now
Start your next AI conversation with two sentences. One about who the AI should be. One about who you are. Then make your request. Notice the difference from the very first response.
Lesson 07
Know when AI is wrong
AI makes mistakes. Confidently. If you can't spot them, you'll share work that sounds great and is factually wrong.
Fully trust AI
Writing style, structure, brainstorming, rewriting, organizing information
Trust but verify
Summaries, analysis, recommendations, research starting points
Always verify yourself
Facts, numbers, dates, legal, medical, financial, anything regulated
Try This Now
Take the last piece of AI output you used at work. Read it again. Check every fact, number, and specific claim. Did you catch something? That's the habit to build.
Lesson 08
Pick the right tool
Different AI tools are good at different things. Knowing which to use when saves you time and frustration.
Claude
Best at thoughtful writing, analysis, and working with uploaded documents.
Reports, proposals, quality writing
ChatGPT
Best at general tasks, brainstorming, images, and browsing the web.
Quick tasks, ideas, current info
Google AI Studio
Best at Google Workspace integration and processing large text volumes.
Google data, large documents
No-code builders
Turn ideas into visual products without writing code. Bolt, Lovable, v0.
Websites, forms, dashboards
Try This Now
If you've only used one AI tool, try the same task in a different one this week. Give both the exact same prompt. Compare. You'll quickly see which fits which type of work.
Lesson 09
Build a system that sticks
The difference between using AI once and making it part of how you work is a simple system. Save your best prompts. Organize them. Build on them over time.
Your prompt library
Client communication
Weekly summary, Proposal template, Follow-up email
Content creation
LinkedIn post generator, Blog outline, Case study writer
Internal docs
Meeting notes cleanup, Status report, Process documentation
Try This Now
Open a new document right now. Call it 'My AI Prompts.' Save the best prompt you've written so far. Add a title and when to use it. You just started your prompt library.
Lesson 10
What comes next
You now know more about working with AI than 90% of professionals. Here's how to keep growing.
This week
Refine your prompt library. Use your best tools daily.
This month
Build three more tools. Share them with your team.
This quarter
Evaluate your biggest manual workflow. Could AI handle part of it?
Try This Now
Pick one thing from this course that surprised you. The technique you didn't expect to work. Use it every day this week. That's how a lesson becomes a habit.
Ready to build more?
You now know more about working with AI than most professionals. Want to go deeper? Assisted Coding is the next step.