Learning Path · Beginner
AI Beginner Roadmap
Zero to genuinely capable. The path I'd give my smart non-technical friend who wants to actually use AI well.
Outcome
You understand how LLMs work, you have favorite tools, you've built one small AI project, and you can hold your own in a conversation about AI.
Key takeaways
- 1Comfortable installing apps and signing up for accounts
- 2Willingness to write prompts that are longer than 'hey, do X'
- 3Curiosity to try the same task in 2–3 different tools
Recommended tools
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Perplexity
- NotebookLM
The roadmap
- 01
1. Mental model
Week 1Build a real understanding of what AI is and isn't. No magic, no doomerism — just the actual mechanics.
- What is an LLM?article
- Prompt Engineering Basicsarticle
- Watch any introductory talk by Andrej Karpathy on YouTubevideo
- 02
2. Daily-driver tools
Week 2Spend two weeks using AI for everything. Find which tools you actually like.
- 03
3. Prompting that actually works
Week 3Move from 'asking questions' to 'designing prompts.' Reuse, save, share.
- 04
4. Build your first thing
Week 4Pick one of these workflows and replicate it end-to-end with off-the-shelf tools.
- 05
5. Pick a direction
Week 5–6Now you know what you like. Branch into the path that fits you — coding, automation, content, or agents.
Frequently asked questions
Related on AIKnowHub
Comparison
Best Free AI Tools
The AI tools that are genuinely useful at $0 — no trial, no credit card, no rage-quit moments.
Concept
Prompt Engineering Basics
The actual techniques that move the needle — role priming, structured output, few-shot examples, and why specificity always wins.
Concept
What is an LLM?
Large Language Models, explained from first principles — what they are, how they predict tokens, and where the magic and limits come from.
Workflow
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A tool that takes a resume and a job description, scores the match, and rewrites the resume tailored to the role.
Tool Guide
ChatGPT Guide
The most popular general-purpose AI chatbot. Strong all-rounder with a huge ecosystem of plugins, custom GPTs, and integrations.
Tool Guide
Claude Code Guide
The definitive guide to Anthropic's terminal-native AI coding agent — install, configure, MCP, hooks, skills, sub-agents, plan mode, cost, security, limitations.