Prepare
Before you begin
Use an account and browser approved for your workplace. The safest first exercise uses material you could comfortably share in public.
Do not paste confidential, personal or sensitive information unless your organisation has explicitly approved the service for it.
You remain responsible for decisions, claims and work produced with AI assistance.
Check facts, quotations, calculations, references and anything that could affect another person.
Start well
A useful first prompt
Good prompting is less about secret formulas and more about making the task understandable. Give the assistant enough context to help.
After the first answer, continue the conversation: ask for clarification, challenge an assumption, request a different format, or provide an example of what “good” looks like.
Three environments
Get started in each service
Begin in the web version. Interfaces change frequently, so button names may differ slightly; the basic working pattern remains the same.
Start a broad, flexible conversation
A strong general starting point for drafting, explaining, analysing files, searching and developing work over several turns.
Create an account — step by step
- Open chatgpt.com and choose Log in or sign up.
- Choose Google, Apple or enter an email address. A personal email is simplest unless your organisation provides an approved account.
- If you used email, open the verification message and confirm the address.
- Complete any name, age or terms prompts. Stop if your organisation’s policy does not allow a personal account for work data.
Try the service
- Select New chat, then paste the example prompt above or describe a real, non-sensitive task.
- Read the answer critically. Ask: “What assumptions did you make?” and request one revision.
- If upload is available, add a safe document and say exactly what to extract, compare or improve.
Compare free and paid
Explore multimodal work and Google connections
Especially useful when your work already involves Google services, web material, images or other media.
Create an account — step by step
- Open gemini.google.com and select Sign in.
- Choose an existing eligible Google account, or select Create account and choose personal or work use.
- Enter your name, date of birth and a new Gmail address—or use an existing email—then create a strong password.
- Confirm the phone or email checks Google requests. Work or school accounts may require administrator activation.
Try the service
- Enter the same first prompt, then ask Gemini to turn its answer into a checklist for a workplace situation.
- Use Add files when available to try a safe image or document.
- Compare the response with ChatGPT: notice structure, tone, useful detail and unsupported claims.
Compare free and paid
Develop careful, sustained work
Often effective for close reading, thoughtful revision, long-form reasoning and coding tasks that benefit from a steady working context.
Create an account — step by step
- Open claude.ai and select Google, Apple or email.
- If you choose email, enter the address and select Continue with email.
- Open the sign-in link or code Anthropic sends to your inbox.
- Confirm the requested profile and terms. Use only safe material until your organisation has approved the account and service.
Try the service
- Start a new conversation with the same first prompt. Ask Claude to identify uncertainties before drafting.
- Paste a short, safe piece of writing and ask for feedback against two criteria you define.
- Request a revised version and a short explanation of the most important changes.
Compare free and paid
Practical workshop
Try one task three ways
Work individually or in pairs. Use the same safe task and source material so that differences between services become visible.
Shape the task
Give context and a requested format. Use two follow-up turns to improve the result.
Change the medium
Add a safe file or image, or ask for a visual way to organise the same content.
Interrogate quality
Ask for uncertainties, critique against criteria, and a carefully justified revision.
Reflect
Compare what you notice
There is rarely one universal “best” assistant. The better question is which service fits the task, risk and working context.
| Look for | Questions to discuss |
|---|---|
| Usefulness | Which response moved the task forward most effectively? |
| Control | Where was it easiest to steer, correct or specify the output? |
| Evidence | Which claims would need checking, and how would you check them? |
| Fit | What workplace task could this support—and what should remain human-led? |