AI at Work · A Beginner’s Guide

From Prompting
to Agents

No experience needed. We’ll go from “typing a question” to AI that does whole tasks for you — one easy step at a time.

Power Systems ~12 minutes 🔒 Work data → Microsoft Copilot only Use ← → or click to move
🤖
image · s01-introRobot assistant waving hello
You’ve already started

You already know how to use AI

Ever typed a question into a chat box and read the answer? That’s it — you’ve used AI.

💬It’s like texting a super-fast helper who has read almost everything. You ask — it replies in seconds.
✎

Good for writing

Emails, summaries, “explain this to me”.

↻

But you do every step

You ask, copy the answer, then do the next thing — by hand, each time.

🔒 At work, only put company or client info into Microsoft Copilot — never anywhere else.
💬
image · s02-chatEngineer typing a question
The big picture

AI grew up in 4 easy steps

🗣️
Ask clearly

Prompting

Say exactly what you want.

2022–24
📎
Show it stuff

Context

Give it the real files, not just words.

2025
🧑‍💼
Let it do the job

Agents

Give a goal; it does the steps.

2025–26
NOW
🤖
Set it & watch

Loops

It keeps working on its own; you supervise.

2026

Each step builds on the last. You keep the easy parts — and hand off the boring, repetitive ones.

Step 1 of 4 · Prompting

Ask clearly

The clearer you ask, the better the answer you get.

🍕Like ordering food. “Give me food” gets you anything. “A medium cheese pizza, no onions, ready in 20 minutes” gets you exactly what you want.
🍕
image · scene-orderGiving a precise order at a counter
Too vague
“Write an email about the testing schedule.”
Nice and clear
“Be my assistant. We agreed today to finish by August. Write a short, friendly email to the team listing the 3 things we agreed and who does each.”
Step 2 of 4 · Context

Show it — don’t just tell it

Give it the real thing to look at — not a description from memory.

🚲Like asking a friend to fix your bike. Saying “it’s broken” isn’t much help. Handing them the actual bike is.
📄 Give it the actual document
✅ Show one example of what you want
🚫 Tell it the rules — what not to do
🚲
image · scene-showHanding over the real drawing and files

Step 1 asks “what do I say?” · Step 2 asks “what can it see?”

Step 3 of 4 · Agents

Let it do the whole job

Goal Plan Do Check repeat until done

Instead of doing each step yourself, you give it a goal — and it does the steps.

🧳Like a helpful assistant. Say “plan my trip to Dallas next Tuesday,” and it checks flights, compares them, and brings back a plan. You just say yes.

A chat gives you an answer. An agent gets the job done — then you check it.

Step 4 of 4 · Loops · the newest one (2026)

Set it up to keep going

Set up a routine once — and it runs again and again on its own. You just supervise.

🤖Like a robot vacuum. Set it once. It cleans, goes back over messy spots, returns to charge, and does it again tomorrow. You don’t push it — you just check the bin.
Find the work→ Do it→ Check→ Fix↺ repeat
🤖🧹
image · scene-vacuumRobot vacuum runs on its own; you supervise

This is the brand-new one everyone’s talking about (2026). At work you’ll meet it through Copilot’s agent mode — always with a person watching.

See the difference

Same job — slow way vs smart way

The job “From these 15 relay test reports, pull the measured trip time out of each, flag any that miss the setting, and email the team a summary.”

😮‍💨 By hand (just chatting)

  1. Open report 1, find the trip time, type it into a sheet.
  2. Compare it to the setting by eye.
  3. Do that 14 more times.
  4. Spot the ones that miss yourself.
  5. Write the email yourself.
about 30–40 minutes · easy to miss one
vs

🚀 With an agent

  1. Point it at the folder and say the goal.
  2. It reads all 15 reports.
  3. It builds the table and flags the ones that miss the setting.
  4. It drafts the team email for you.
  5. You check and send.
a few minutes · you check, not retype

Same AI underneath. The difference is how much it’s allowed to do for you — and you always check before it goes out.

Names you’ll hear

The famous AI tools, in one line

ToolMade byKnown for
Microsoft Copilotour tool at workMicrosoftBuilt into Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams — works on your own files.
ChatGPTOpenAIThe famous all-rounder for everyday questions and writing.
ClaudeAnthropicGreat with long documents and careful, detailed answers.
GeminiGoogleTied into Google’s apps and search.
✅

The easy rule for us

At our firm we use Microsoft Copilot. It’s the only one cleared for company and client information. The others are just good to know by name.

The good news

Ours is already in your apps

Nothing to install. Copilot is already built into the apps you use every day:

Word

Write, shorten, or summarise a document.

Excel

Make sense of a table and draw a quick chart.

Outlook

Summarise long email chains; draft replies.

Teams

Catch up on a meeting and list the to-dos.

PowerPoint

Turn a document into a first set of slides.

VS Code

For coders: write and explain code.

What you see depends on your licence — if you don’t see Copilot in an app, ask IT.

Try it today · 1 · Warm-up

Copilot in Excel

1

Make your panel schedule a table

Insert ▸ Table so it can read the columns.

2

Open Copilot

Click the Copilot button (if it’s switched on for you).

3

Ask in plain words

“Total the connected load per panel and chart the 10 biggest.”

4

Check it, then add it

Look at what it made — then put it in the sheet.

Tip: name the columns and what you want. Clear question, clear answer.

Copilot — Excel
Total the connected load per panel and chart the 10 biggest.
Done — here’s the total per panel and a chart of the 10 biggest. Want a grand total too?
Yes, and flag anything over 80% of its breaker.
Ask Copilot… ↵
Try it today · 2 · Step it up

Copilot in Outlook & Word

1

Open the 30-reply test-schedule chain

The kind you’d rather not re-read line by line.

2

Open Copilot

Look for Summary by Copilot (if it’s on for you).

3

Pull out the facts

“List every commitment, who owns it, and its due date.”

4

Ask for two drafts

“Draft a status email — and a short note on what’s slipping.”

5

Read it, then send

You own the words. Always read before you send.

Copilot — Outlook
List every commitment, owner, and due date from this chain.
7 found — 2 are past due: the relay settings and the sign-off. Want a status email plus a slip note?
Yes — both, please.
Ask Copilot… ↵
Try it today · 3 · Go big — the closest to “it does the job”

Copilot agent mode

Instead of one answer, you give it a goal that touches several files — and it works through the steps, checking its own numbers as it goes.

1

Turn on agent mode

Where it’s offered (depends on your licence).

2

Give a goal, not one instruction

“From these 3 study reports and the load list, build a one-page summary, cross-check the key numbers, and flag anything that doesn’t match.”

3

Watch it work

It reads each file, drafts, cross-checks, and tidies up — step by step.

4

You’re the checker

Confirm the flagged mismatches and the facts before you use it.

This is new and changing fast — check what’s switched on for you before you rely on it.

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image · slide13-agentAssistant cross-checking several files
A few simple rules

Stay safe, stay in charge

🔍

Always check it

It can sound sure and still be wrong. Check the numbers and names yourself.

👷

You’re still the boss

It’s your judgment and your name on the work — not the AI’s.

🔒

Keep secrets in Copilot only

Never paste company or client info into any other AI tool.

📝

It’s a draft, not the finished job

A fast first draft. You finish it.

🛡️
image · s08-policyEngineer in control, safety guardrails
Steal these on Monday

Handy things to say

Sum this up and list what’s still not decided.
Rewrite this for a client — friendly, 150 words.
Turn these notes into a to-do list with names.
Explain this simply, then give the detailed version.
Check this and tell me what you’d double-check.
Give me 3 options, with good and bad points.
📋
image · s14-cheatsheetAssistant holding a ready-to-use checklist

Remember the recipe for a good ask: who · what’s going on · do this · like this · not that.

Your turn

One tiny thing to try this week

Try this in Outlook
Sum up a long email chain→ Ask “what’s not decided?”→ Ask for a reply→ Read it→ Send

Start simple. Ask clearly, show it the real stuff, and let it do more of the boring work — while you stay in charge.

Questions?

👍
image · s16-yourturnConfident engineer, thumbs up
← → / Space · click sides · F = fullscreen