AI courses for beginners

Seven courses in the order a beginner should take them: how AI works, how to prompt it, and how to use it for everyday work. All included with Pro. The guides are free.

Not ready to buy? Read a free guide, or try Part 1 of How AI Actually Works free.

The courses

Every course below is included with Pro.

  1. Understand how AI works

    1. Understand tokens, context windows, agents, retrieval, and evaluation through interactive lessons.

      Interactive courseBeginner1h 6m

    2. Build core AI literacy, write more useful prompts, and turn everyday tasks into repeatable workflows.

      Beginner2h 52m Nate Grahek

  2. Prompt with confidence

    1. Learn practical prompting techniques for clearer, more useful AI responses.

      Beginner1h 11m Dr. Alvaro Cintas

    2. Organize instructions, examples, and source material so AI can work with the right context.

      Intermediate1h 4m Nate Grahek

  3. Put AI to work

    1. Learn key ChatGPT features and apply them to common work and productivity tasks.

      Beginner1h 4m Nate Grahek

    2. Reassess how you use AI, remove friction, and leave with a clearer day-to-day approach.

      Workshop1h 15m Nate Grahek

    3. Build a practical operating system for using AI across your work.

      WorkshopBeginner1h 3m Nate Grahek

All 7 courses above, plus the full library, for $29 a month.

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Free guides

Short, practical reads you can finish today. Pick a tool, get better answers, and see what the popular assistants can do.

Common questions

Where should a complete beginner start?

Start with AI Foundations. It is a beginner course that covers how AI works, how to prompt it, and how to turn everyday tasks into repeatable workflows. If you want a free taste first, Part 1 of How AI Actually Works is free.

What is free, and what does Pro add?

Every guide on this page is free to read, and weekly live sessions are free for everyone with an account. Pro adds every on-demand course, including all of the courses in this path, plus certifications when you finish a course, member resources, and perk drops. Some downloadable resources in guides require Pro or an active trial. Pro is billed monthly and you can cancel anytime.

Do I need a technical background?

No. None of these courses require coding. They start with plain-English explanations, and the guides walk through everyday tools step by step.

Which AI tools do I need, and are they included?

The courses and guides use widely available assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Their free versions are enough to get started, though some features covered in the guides need a paid plan from that tool's maker. Those subscriptions are separate and are not part of Rundown University Pro.

Do I have to take the courses in order?

No. The order is a suggestion for people starting from zero. If you already use AI, jump to the course that matches what you want to do next. Context Engineering is an intermediate course, so it is easier after the prompting course that comes before it.