Start Here: The Absolute-Beginner's Path to Using AI
Ahoy — I'm Pip, your lighthouse keeper. For years my job was simple: keep the fog off the water so ships could find their way in. This little course does the same thing for AI. No fog, no buzzwords, no pretending you already know things you don't.
This is the very first port of call. If you've never typed a word into an AI tool — or you tried once, felt lost, and closed the tab — you are exactly who I built this for. We start from "where do I even click," and by the end you'll have used AI on a real task from your own business.
Seven short lessons. Each one teaches one real thing, gives you a plain example, and ends with a tiny step you can do today. No homework that piles up — just one small, useful win at a time.
Take it slow, try the steps as you go, and you'll come out the other side able to use AI with confidence. Let's cast off. 🔦
- What This Is, and How to Take the First Step Free previewAI is just a helper you talk to in plain words. Here is what it is, what to ignore, and the one small thing to do before the next lesson.
- Your First Conversation (Asking for What You Want) Free previewA good request has three simple parts. Learn the pattern, see a real before-and-after, and send your first real prompt today.
- Checking the Work (So AI Never Embarrasses You) Free previewAI can sound certain while being wrong. Learn the one habit — verify before you rely — and exactly which answers to double-check.
- Everyday Business Wins (Your Shortlist of Easy Tasks) Free previewThe specific, low-risk tasks AI is great at right now — with ready-to-steal prompts you can use on your business this afternoon.
- Staying Safe and Private (The Short List of Don'ts) Free previewA handful of simple, common-sense rules about what to keep out of AI — so you get all the upside without the worry.
- Building the Habit (Making AI Part of Your Week) Free previewA tool you forget is worthless. Here's the tiny, no-willpower routine that turns AI from a novelty into a real time-saver you actually use.
- Where This Leads (From Beginner to AI That Works for You) Free previewA look back at all you've learned, the next steps on the path, and how a typed-by-hand habit becomes AI that knows your business and works around the clock.
What you get
- 📚7 plain-English lessons, taught by Pip — no jargon, no prior tech knowledge needed.
- ✅A quick quiz after every lesson, so what you learn actually sticks — and your progress saves as you go.
- 🎓A verifiable Portmint Certificate when you finish — reviewed by a real person, and worth listing on your résumé and LinkedIn.
- ♾️Lifetime access, yours for good — learn at your own pace, revisit anytime.
- 🐙Ask Pip anything as you learn — he's right here on the page.
- 💚Free for Portmint employees — just sign in with your Portmint account.
Start free — unlock the rest when you're ready
The first 7 lessons are a free preview. Then $0 unlocks all 7 lessons plus the certificate — yours for good, no subscription.
Start the free preview →🎓 Capstone — build it, share it, get certified
Finished the lessons? Prove it. Build one real task from your week that you did with AI — paste the task, your prompt, the result, and one sentence on the time it saved you that uses what you learned here, then share it publicly and thank Portmint for the education, and email it to capstone@portmint.net. A real person on the Portmint team reviews every submission — pass, and you earn a verifiable Portmint Certificate worth listing on your résumé and LinkedIn. (Optional, but it's how a course becomes something real.)
Submit my capstone →