Google AI Essentials
Learn practical AI skills to boost productivity at work. Understand how to use AI tools including Gemini for real business tasks.
Exam Details
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Step-by-Step RoadmapEstimated total: 1 to 2 weeks
Introduction to AI and Generative AI
Understand what AI is, how generative AI works, and how it differs from traditional software.
What to Learn
- What is artificial intelligence?
- Generative AI vs traditional programming
- Large language models (LLMs)
- How AI is used at work today
- AI capabilities and limitations
Resources
- Google AI Essentials course on Coursera (Week 1)
- Google's 'Introduction to Generative AI' (free on Google Cloud Skills Boost)
This course is very accessible, no maths or coding required. Focus on understanding what problems AI solves and what it cannot do reliably. Google tests these boundaries carefully.
Maximise Productivity with AI Tools
Learn how to use AI tools to speed up real work tasks like writing, summarising, and research.
What to Learn
- AI-powered writing assistants
- Summarisation and research tools
- AI for data analysis
- Image and content generation
- AI in Google Workspace (Gemini)
Resources
- Google AI Essentials course on Coursera (Week 2)
- Google Workspace Labs (try Gemini in Docs and Gmail)
Try the tools in Google Docs and Gmail. Hands-on experience makes the quiz questions much easier, you will recognise real scenarios instead of guessing.
Prompt Engineering
Learn how to write clear, effective prompts to get better results from AI tools.
What to Learn
- What makes a good prompt?
- Zero-shot, one-shot, and few-shot prompting
- Iterative prompting (refine your request)
- Role-based prompting
- Prompt chaining for complex tasks
Resources
- Google AI Essentials course on Coursera (Week 3)
- Google's Prompting Essentials guide (free)
The three prompt components to memorise: persona (act as...), task (write/summarise/analyse...), and context (background information). Good prompts use all three. Practise with Gemini or ChatGPT as you study.
Use AI Responsibly
Understand AI hallucinations, bias, privacy, and the ethical principles for responsible AI use.
What to Learn
- AI hallucinations (confident wrong answers)
- Bias in AI systems
- Privacy and data security
- Responsible AI principles (Google's framework)
- Human oversight of AI decisions
Resources
- Google AI Essentials course on Coursera (Week 4)
- Google's Responsible AI practices documentation
Google's responsible AI framework: be socially beneficial, avoid unfair bias, be built and tested for safety, be accountable to people, incorporate privacy design, uphold scientific excellence, and be made available for uses that accord with these principles. You do not need to memorise this verbatim but knowing the themes helps.
Complete the Course and Earn the Certificate
Finish all modules, pass all quizzes, and download your Google certificate.
What to Learn
- Week 5: Stay ahead of the AI curve
- Complete all graded assignments
- Download certificate from Coursera
- Share on LinkedIn
Resources
- Google AI Essentials on Coursera
- LinkedIn: Add certification to profile
Each quiz can be retaken. If you fail a quiz, read the explanation for each wrong answer before retrying. The certificate is recognised by employers globally and takes only 5 hours total to complete.