The growing presence of AI has begun to reshape how we work.

In a 2026 Gallup poll, 47% of respondents across multiple industries said their company has integrated artificial intelligence technology or tools to improve their business practices, up 6 points from the previous quarter. In addition:

  • 15% of U.S. employees use AI daily in their role
  • 30% use it a few times a week or more
  • 52% use it a few times a year or more

Have your skills caught up? Every professional should know eight basics of using artificial intelligence, including AI literacy, prompt writing, evaluating AI output, data privacy and security, ethical AI use, workflow automation, AI tool proficiency, and adaptability and continuous learning. Learn more about each skill below.

1. AI Literacy

AI literacy is the ability to use AI tools effectively, evaluate the accuracy of their outputs, protect personal information, communicate responsibly, and understand the ethical implications of AI in everyday life and work.

Digital Promise, a global nonprofit that aims to improve educational opportunities for all learners, highlights six AI literacy practices everyone should be familiar with:

  • Algorithmic thinking, abstraction, and decomposition: Knowing how to break down tasks and use AI tools to help solve them
  • Data analysis and inference: Recognizing where AI gets its information and how data quality affects results
  • Data privacy and security: Understanding how personal information is collected, stored, and used by AI systems
  • Digital communication and expression: Creating, sharing, and evaluating AI-generated content appropriately and ethically
  • Ethics and impact: Recognizing that AI can reflect human biases and considering its effects on people and society
  • Information and mis/disinformation: Verifying information and identifying inaccurate, misleading, or AI-generated content

Don’t worry if some of these terms are unfamiliar right now. As you improve your overall AI skills, these terms and ideas will become part of your lexicon (more on this in section 8).

2. Prompt Writing

Prompt writing (sometimes known as prompt engineering) is the process of writing specific and detailed instructions for AI software. The better you are at crafting your prompts, the better the output will be.

Consider these three prompt writing strategies, provided by MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies:

  1. Provide context.
  2. Be specific.
  3. Build on the conversation.

For example:

Initial prompt: Explain cybersecurity.

1. Provide context. Explain cybersecurity to a new employee who just started working in health care.

2. Be specific. Explain cybersecurity to a new employee who just started working as an office manager at a health care company. Keep the explanation under 300 words, use plain language, define any technical terms, and include five best practices for protecting sensitive patient information.

3. Build on the conversation. That's helpful. Now rewrite it as a one-page employee handout with headings and bullet points. Add a short quiz with five questions to help new employees check their understanding.

Start with context, add specificity, then continue refining the conversation until the output matches your needs.

3. Evaluating AI Output

AI can be wrong. AI hallucinations are plausible but incorrect or biased answers that AI occasionally produces. IBM offers a few examples:

  • Hiring software that discriminates based on gender
  • Health care AI that is less accurate for some populations than others
  • Police AI that sends more law enforcement resources to certain communities because of biased historical data

Don’t take AI’s word for it. Fact-check and watch for biased or outdated information.

4. Data Privacy and Security

Protect your personal information when using AI just as you would in other digital realms. Additional best practices include:

  • Knowing your employer’s AI usage policy and sticking with approved AI tools at work
  • Reviewing the terms of service to see how your information is used and stored
  • Protecting your AI account with a strong password and multifactor authentication
  • Heeding privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property requirements

5. Ethical AI Use

UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) adopted the first global standard on AI ethics in 2021. At its core, the guidance emphasizes that:

  • Ethical use of AI includes respect for human rights and dignity.
  • Defining principles include transparency, fairness, and environmental sustainability.
  • Human oversight of AI must guide its ethical framework.

What does that look like in practice?

  • Don’t take credit for AI-generated work (it is unethical and can often backfire). Be transparent about using it for brainstorming, outlining, and in final copy.
  • Consider copyright implications when writing your prompts. Don’t feed someone else’s intellectual property into an AI prompt and present it as your own.
  • Humans should always retain responsibility for final decisions.

6. Workflow Automation

One of AI’s greatest time-savers is identifying repetitive tasks it can handle, which can free you up for other pursuits. For example, use it to:

  • Summarize class or meeting notes
  • Generate study guides
  • Format documents according to a style guide
  • Organize feedback around common topics
  • Draft routine emails
  • Organize data
  • Help with scheduling

While AI can handle repetitive tasks, it's still up to you to review its work and make the final decisions.

7. AI Tool Proficiency

You may not even realize the sheer breadth of AI tools available today. Yes, you can use AI as an advanced search engine. There are also specific tools to help you:

  • Improve grammar and rewrite text
  • Create illustrations and graphics
  • Write computer code
  • Create marketing materials
  • Improve personal productivity

Learn how to choose the right AI tool for the job at hand.

8. Adaptability and Continuous Learning

AI changes and evolves every day. We recommend developing a mindset of ongoing learning. To that end:

  • Learn AI basics in a class. Free and low-cost video classes are abundant and address these eight points in detail. Do a simple Google search to find one — just make sure to read the reviews/check the reputation of the provider.
  • Follow AI news and training resources. These include The Rundown AI, Microsoft’s AI learning hub, and Google’s AI training center.

Remember: AI skills are only part of the equation. Employers also value transferable strengths such as communication, adaptability, and problem-solving, which remain important as technology advances.

Get Where You Want to Be With Purdue Global

Proficiency with AI is a skill that evolves with your career. If a college degree could also help you reach your career goals, consider Purdue Global.

We offer more than 175 online programs, including associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and certificates. We understand the demands of real life, and everything is designed for working adults who are returning to school. Request more information today.

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