Can I Learn AI for Free? Your No-Nonsense Guide to Getting Started

It's Thursday evening, and I'm scrolling through LinkedIn whilst the kids are having their bath. Another post pops up about "essential AI skills for business owners" with a link to a £2,000 course promising to turn you into an "AI expert" in just six weeks.

I can't help but laugh. Not because learning AI isn't important - it absolutely is - but because the course sellers are making it sound like you need a computer science degree to use ChatGPT effectively.

Here's the truth: you don't need to become a technical expert to harness AI in your business. You just need to understand enough to spot opportunities and avoid the pitfalls.

Let me share what I've learned after 18 months of trial, error, and occasionally spectacular failures.

Absolutely. In fact, some of the best AI education costs nothing more than your time.

The irony is that the most powerful learning tool is AI itself. I've learned more about what AI can do by actually using ChatGPT, Claude, and other tools than I ever did from watching tutorials about them.

But here's what nobody tells you: free doesn't always mean easy to navigate. There's a lot of content out there, and much of it is either too basic ("what is AI?") or too advanced (deep dives into machine learning algorithms that you'll never need).

The trick is finding resources that focus on practical application rather than theoretical understanding.

Hands down, ChatGPT. Not because it's the most powerful (though it's pretty impressive), but because it's the most forgiving.

When I first started, I'd type in terrible prompts and get mediocre results, then spend hours wondering if I was "doing it wrong." The beauty of ChatGPT is that it's conversational - you can literally ask it to improve its own response or explain why something didn't work.

My first breakthrough came when I stopped trying to craft the "perfect" prompt and just started talking to it like I would a knowledgeable colleague. "Help me write a product description for this item, but make it sound more exciting than my usual boring descriptions."

That simple, human approach worked better than any of the "prompt engineering" guides I'd been reading.

This was my biggest fear when I started. I'm not a tech person - I can barely manage our website without calling our developer for help.

But here's what I discovered: you don't need technical experience to use AI effectively. You need business experience.

The hardest part isn't learning how to use the tools - it's knowing which problems to solve and how to evaluate whether the AI's output is actually useful.

My retail background is infinitely more valuable than coding skills when it comes to using AI for our business. I know what good customer service looks like, what compelling product descriptions need to include, and how to spot trends in our sales data.

AI provides the capability; your business experience provides the judgment.

The technical side? Potentially. The practical side? Not at all.

Think of it like learning to drive. You don't need to understand how an internal combustion engine works to get from A to B safely. You just need to know how to operate the controls and follow the rules of the road.

Same with AI. You don't need to understand neural networks or machine learning algorithms. You need to understand:

That's not computer science - that's just good business sense.

Yes, Google offers several free AI courses, and they're actually quite good. Their "AI for Everyone" course is particularly useful because it focuses on practical applications rather than getting lost in technical details.

But here's my honest take: I started three different online courses and never finished any of them. Not because they were bad, but because I was more motivated to solve real problems in my business than to work through theoretical exercises.

The courses are worth browsing to get familiar with concepts, but don't feel like you need to complete them before you start experimenting.

The best "course" is the one you'll actually complete. And in my experience, that's often the informal course of solving real problems in your own business.

If you prefer structured learning, here's what I'd recommend:

But honestly? Start with YouTube videos about the specific AI tool you want to use, then jump straight into trying it yourself.

Yes, Microsoft Learn has several free AI courses. Their "AI Business School" is particularly relevant for business owners because it focuses on real-world case studies rather than technical implementation.

What I like about Microsoft's approach is they show you what other businesses have achieved with AI, which helps you spot opportunities in your own operation.

This is exactly what I did, and I'd argue it's the most effective approach for business owners.

Here's my self-taught curriculum:

The key is to stay focused on practical outcomes rather than theoretical understanding.

This is where the learning really accelerates. Instead of treating AI as a separate skill to master, weave it into tasks you're already doing.

My daily AI habits:

Each interaction teaches you something new about what AI can and can't do.

Google's AI is baked into tools you're probably already using. Google Docs has writing suggestions, Google Ads has smart bidding, and Google Analytics has AI-powered insights.

Start there before trying to learn new platforms. You're already familiar with these tools, so adding AI features feels less overwhelming.

Absolutely. Most business applications of AI require zero coding.

I've never written a line of code, but I use AI to:

All through user-friendly interfaces that feel more like sophisticated apps than programming tools.

The best way is to use it for real tasks, not practice exercises.

My progression:

Each week built on the last, and I was solving real problems while learning.

Here's what I wish someone had told me when I started: AI isn't going to revolutionize your business overnight, but it will steadily make your daily operations smoother.

The learning curve isn't about mastering complex technology - it's about developing good judgment about when and how to use these tools effectively.

Don't get caught up in becoming an "AI expert." Focus on becoming someone who uses AI intelligently to solve real business problems.

That's a much more valuable (and achievable) goal.

What's stopping you from experimenting with AI in your business? Hit reply and tell me - I've probably faced the same hesitation and can share what I learned.

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