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Module 02 — Practical AI for everyday work

What AI is actually good at in a small business

You'll leave knowing which jobs to hand to an AI assistant, which ones to keep, and with a one-page facts sheet that makes its answers yours.

  • 4 min read + 15 min exercise
  • Lesson 1 of 3
  • Free · No sign-up

The problem

Most people either don't trust AI at all, or trust it with things it can't know. Both cost you: the first wastes hours you could get back, the second puts made-up prices and promises in front of customers.

Why it matters

AI can give you back hours every week — drafting, rewriting, summarizing — but only if you can trust what it writes. The facts sheet is what makes that trust reasonable, and every AI lesson after this one uses it.

1 Five jobs AI does well

DraftingFirst versions of replies, follow-ups, posts and proposals.
RewritingShorter, clearer, warmer, more formal — same content.
SummarizingLong threads, call notes and documents into a few lines.
SortingTagging messages by topic, urgency or intent.
Answering from your factsAccurate replies — as long as you give it the facts.

2 Three jobs to keep away from it

Facts it doesn't havePrices, availability, policies. Missing facts get invented, confidently.
Judgment with consequencesRefunds, exceptions, anything legal, medical or financial.
Promises for youDates, discounts and guarantees are yours to make.

3 The rule that keeps it honest

AI writes from facts you give it. A person checks before it reaches a customer.

In practice that means one document: a facts sheet with everything a good new employee would need to answer customers — and a prompt that tells the assistant to use only those facts and to flag anything missing instead of guessing.

4 Step by step: your first facts sheet

  1. Write what a new employee needs on day one

    What you sell, for whom, where, when, and how people book or pay. If a new hire would have to ask you, it goes on the sheet.

  2. Copy prices exactly as you quote them

    Ranges are fine if that's what you really say — “$140–$180 depending on size.” Invented precision is worse than an honest range.

  3. Write the “never say” list

    Discounts you don't give, dates you can't promise, guarantees you don't offer. AI is most dangerous when it's trying to be helpful.

  4. Test it on real questions

    Paste the sheet and the prompt below into any AI assistant — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot — and ask your three most common customer questions.

  5. Fix the sheet, not the answer

    If an answer is wrong or says [CHECK], the sheet is missing something. Add it there, and every future answer improves.

Example · illustrative

"Do you clean on Saturdays, and how much for a 2-bedroom?"

Without a facts sheet, an assistant happily writes "Yes! A 2-bedroom starts at $120" — a price and a day nobody decided.

With a facts sheet that says "Mon–Fri only; 2-bed standard clean $140", the same assistant writes: "We clean Monday to Friday. A standard clean for a 2-bedroom is $140 — would a weekday work for you?"

Your exercise · about 15 minutes

Write your facts sheet, version 1

Template · Facts sheet
BUSINESS: [name] — [what you do, for whom, where]
SERVICES AND PRICES:
- [service]: [price or range] — [what's included]
HOURS AND AVAILABILITY: [days, times, lead time]
AREA SERVED: [places]
HOW TO BOOK OR BUY: [link / steps]
POLICIES: [changes, cancellations, payment, guarantees you actually offer]
TONE: [e.g. warm, direct, no jargon]
NEVER SAY: [things that must not be promised]
Prompt · Answer from my facts
You answer customer questions for a small business.
Use ONLY the facts sheet below. If something isn't in it, write [CHECK: ...] instead of guessing.
Reply in at most 3 short sentences, in the tone described, and end with one clear next step.

FACTS SHEET:
[paste your facts sheet]

CUSTOMER MESSAGE:
[paste the message]

Give AI your facts, not your trust.

Your next action

Paste your facts sheet and the prompt into your AI tool today, and ask it your three most common customer questions.