Getting started with AI — Layer 1: just chatting

This is the first in a series. We'll build up in layers: this one is the simplest and most useful place to start — having a conversation. Later layers go further (using AI on your own documents, connecting it to your tools, and building things with it), but everything starts here.

If you keep hearing about AI and quietly feel like everyone else got a memo you missed — you haven't. Most people haven't actually tried it yet. And you don't need to understand how it works to start using it, any more than you need to understand engines to drive a car.

That said, a little intuition helps it click. So before we dive in, here's the base layer in plain English.

What's actually going on (the 30-second version)

The chat AIs everyone's talking about are, at heart, text-prediction machines. They've been trained on an enormous amount of writing — books, articles, conversations — and in learning to predict what comes next, they've soaked up a huge amount of genuine knowledge along the way. That's why a chat can feel so real: you can ask for advice, get a considered opinion, talk something through, and get answers that actually make sense.

A few things worth knowing:

  • It runs in their cloud, not on your computer. These models are far too big to run on a normal laptop or phone, so when you send a message it's sent off to the company's servers, answered there, and sent back. (Which is why you need an internet connection.)
  • You can often choose how hard it thinks. Most apps let you pick a level of "intelligence" or "effort". A nice way to picture it: like the two scores you got at school — one for grade, one for effort. A quick question needs neither dialled up; a tricky one benefits from both.
  • Most now "think" before answering. Newer models pause and reason through a problem before replying, rather than blurting out the first thing — so for anything harder, giving it a moment (or picking a "thinking" mode if offered) pays off.

That's the whole mental model you need. Now let's actually use one.

Getting set up (free — you don't need to pay)

There are two great ones to try, and both have a genuinely useful free tier — no need to spend anything to start:

  • Claude — claude.ai
  • ChatGPT — chat.openai.com

Where to get it: just go to the website above in any browser and make a free account — that's the quickest way. If you'd rather have it on your phone, search "Claude" or "ChatGPT" in the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) and install the official app. Web and app do the same thing; use whichever suits you.

Free vs paid: the free tier lets you have plenty of conversations each day and is more than enough to get a real feel for it. The paid tier (around £16–20 a month) mainly removes the daily limits and unlocks the most capable "thinking" models. Start free — only consider paying once you find yourself using it enough to hit the limits.

Which model to pick: on the free tier you'll usually just get their standard model, and it's great — no decision needed. If you ever see a little menu of model names, the simple rule is: pick the newest / highest-numbered one you're allowed, and if there's a "thinking" or "extended" option, switch it on for anything you want a careful answer to.

A handful of things to try first

Give it real jobs from your actual day — that's how it clicks. Copy these, tweak them, see what comes back:

  • "Explain [something you've always found confusing] to me simply, like I'm new to it." — pensions, cloud storage, the offside rule, anything.
  • "Help me write a polite email to [someone] about [situation]." — then tell it to make it warmer, shorter, or firmer.
  • "I've got chicken, rice and whatever's in a normal fridge. Give me three easy dinner ideas."
  • "Here's a long email/document — give me the three key points." Then paste the text straight in.
  • "Help me plan a weekend in [place] for two who like [walking / food / museums]."
  • "I need to send a tricky message to [my landlord / a colleague]. Here's the situation… help me word it kindly."

And try the camera trick. Nearly all the chat apps can now look at photos. Snap a picture of something and ask "what is this?" — a plant in the garden, a landmark on holiday, a mystery gadget in a drawer, a wine label, a rash, a road sign abroad. It's one of those first tries that makes people grin. On the phone app, tap the little camera or image icon, add your photo, and ask away.

Notice these aren't clever "AI" tasks — they're ordinary life. That's the point. It earns its keep on the small, everyday stuff.

What about your personal information?

Sensible question, and the honest answer is: for everyday use, it's fine — with a couple of things to know.

Your chats aren't posted anywhere public; they go to the company privately, the same as anything you type into an online account. The main thing to be aware of is that, by default, some providers may use your conversations to help train future models. If you'd rather they didn't:

  • Look in Settings → Data controls (or "Privacy") and turn off the option along the lines of "use my chats to improve / train the model." It's usually a single switch.

Beyond that, just apply common sense: don't paste in passwords, full card or bank details, or other people's private information. A good rule of thumb — if you'd be uncomfortable with it sitting in a company's system, don't type it in. For the vast majority of everyday questions, none of this is a worry.

Two quick tips that make it click

  1. Be specific. "Write something about dogs" gets you a shrug. "Write a friendly 100-word Facebook post advertising my dog-walking service in Teddington" gets you something you can actually use.
  2. It's a conversation, not a slot machine. If the first answer isn't quite right, just say so — "shorter", "less formal", "you missed the bit about…". It'll adjust. That back-and-forth is where the magic is.

(One honest caveat: now and then these tools state something wrong with total confidence. Knowing when to trust it — and when to double-check — deserves its own post, so that's Layer 2, coming next.)

That's Layer 1

Give it half an hour and a few real questions and you'll understand more about AI than a dozen articles could teach you — because you'll have felt what it can and can't do. Start small, stay curious, and let it earn its place in your week. Next layer, we'll go further.

I'm Simon — I run Simon Studios, an AI-first development studio in Teddington. I help small businesses and individuals work out where AI genuinely helps (and where it doesn't), then build it — no jargon, no hype. If you've had a play and thought "this could actually do something useful for my business", that's exactly the conversation I love to have. Book a free intro call at cal.com/simonstudios/free-intro-call and we'll work out whether there's something real here for you.