Learn to use AI tools effectively across your work — prompting, workflows, and getting real results fast.
Foundation
Most people use 10% of what AI tools can do. These principles unlock the rest.
Tell the AI who you are, what you're working on, and what format you need. "I'm a product owner at a govt agency. Write a 1-page executive summary of..." works far better than "summarize this."
"Act as a FinOps consultant reviewing this contract." Roles prime the model to use the right vocabulary, tone, and depth. Critical for getting expert-level outputs.
Show the output you want. "Write something like this: [example]." Examples are the fastest way to get formatting, tone, and length exactly right.
"Make it shorter." "More formal." "Add a section on cost." Build on what you get — don't start over. Treat it like a conversation with a smart colleague.
"Give me a bullet list." "Write this as a table." "Keep it under 200 words." "Use headers." Format instructions dramatically improve usability of outputs.
"Think through this step by step before answering." Prompting the model to reason before it responds dramatically improves accuracy on complex questions.
Practical Templates
Copy, paste, and adapt these for real tasks you do regularly.
For leadership one-pagers and briefings.
"I'm a SaaS product owner. Write a 1-page executive summary of [topic] for senior leadership. Use plain language, lead with the business impact, and include 3 key recommendations. No jargon."
For procurement and tool evaluation.
"Compare [Tool A] vs [Tool B] for a government agency. Focus on: pricing model, data privacy, integration with [system], and total cost of ownership. Output as a comparison table."
For stakeholder communication.
"Write a professional email to [audience] about [topic]. Tone: confident but collaborative. Goal: [what you want them to do]. Keep it under 150 words."
For learning new topics fast.
"Explain [topic] to me like I'm an intermediate-level professional in [field]. Cover: what it is, why it matters, the 5 key concepts I need to know, and what I should learn next."
Key AI Tools
The AI landscape for knowledge workers in 2026.
Best for: long documents, nuanced analysis, writing, research, and complex reasoning. Claude Cowork for desktop file tasks. Use Projects for ongoing work context.
Best for: quick answers, data analysis with Code Interpreter, image generation (DALL-E), and broad general tasks. GPT-4o is the current flagship model.
Best for: research with live web search and citations. Great for staying current on FinOps, AI, and SaaS topics — answers come with sources you can verify.
Best for: working inside Microsoft 365 — Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams. Deeply integrated with your existing tools and data. Key for NYS ITS workflows.
Free Resources
⭐ Start Here
One Useful Thing
Ethan Mollick's newsletter and blog — a Wharton professor writing about how professionals actually use AI at work. Practical, no hype, exactly your level. Read this regularly.
oneusefulthing.org →📖 Book
Co-Intelligence
Mollick's book on how to think with AI, not just use it. Covers how AI changes work, creativity, and learning. Fast read, directly relevant to your PO role. Highly recommended.
Find on Amazon →Official Guide
Anthropic Prompting Guide
Claude's own documentation on prompting techniques — roles, examples, chain of thought, and more. The best starting point.
docs.anthropic.com →Free Course
Learn Prompting
Free, comprehensive, community-written prompting guide covering all major techniques from beginner to advanced.
learnprompting.org →YouTube
AI Explained
Clear, practical YouTube channel covering AI tools, prompting techniques, and how to use AI in real work contexts.
YouTube →Newsletter
The Rundown AI
Daily 5-minute newsletter on AI tools and news. Free. Keeps you current without the firehose of tech Twitter.
therundown.ai →Go beyond basic chat. Learn to use Claude as a true thinking partner, workflow engine, and productivity multiplier.
Core Skills
The fundamentals that unlock everything else.
Use Claude Projects to maintain context across sessions. Add instructions, upload reference docs, and Claude stays in character for your use case.
Be specific. Give context. Use examples. Ask Claude to think step by step. These four habits transform output quality.
Upload PDFs, spreadsheets, and documents. Ask Claude to analyze, summarize, extract data, or rewrite. Massive time saver.
Don't accept the first output. Ask to make it shorter, more formal, add a section, change the tone. Build it with Claude like a collaborator.
Claude can search the web for current info. For FinOps research, vendor pricing, and news — always ask Claude to search first.
Assign Claude tasks on your desktop — file organization, report generation, research. Works while you focus elsewhere.
Power Workflows for Your Job
Specific workflows for your SaaS PO role.
Upload a contract PDF + ask Claude to extract key terms: renewal date, auto-renewal clauses, true-up requirements, pricing tiers.
Paste in numbers or a spreadsheet. Ask Claude to write an executive summary that tells the story behind the data.
Describe the situation and goal. Claude drafts the email. You edit. Cuts drafting time by 80%.
Ask Claude to research a topic, find multiple sources, and synthesize into a structured briefing. Replaces hours of manual research.
Share an agenda + background. Claude helps you prepare questions, anticipate objections, and draft talking points.
Describe what you need. Claude builds one-pagers, comparison tables, process docs, and more — ready for SharePoint.
Official Courses
All free. All official. Taught by the people who built Claude. Start with Claude 101, then follow the path below in order.
The 4D framework — Delegation, Description, Discernment, Diligence. Teaches you how to collaborate with AI safely, effectively, and ethically. Perfect after Claude 101.
9-chapter hands-on tutorial — the single highest-impact skill to learn. Covers roles, examples, XML structure, chain-of-thought, and more. Available on Google Sheets — no coding needed.
Built for people in your role — how to roll out Claude across an organization, build team fluency, handle governance, and drive adoption. Highly relevant for your SaaS PO work.
How to build reusable Claude workflows that execute complex multi-step tasks automatically. Great for understanding what Cowork is doing under the hood — and for evaluating AI tools.
The official reference guide for prompting techniques — roles, examples, chain-of-thought, XML tags, and more. Bookmark this. You'll return to it constantly as your skills grow.
Learn how to teach Claude skills to your own team. If you want to be the person who brings AI fluency to your organization — this is your course. Advanced, but worth it.