AI can feel a bit intimidating at first—I get it. Not too long ago, I was using ChatGPT in the most basic way possible: typing in simple questions to see what came back. Fast-forward a few months and now I’m building AI agents and training specialised GPTs. And if I can do it, so can you.

This is not a guide for developers. This is just my personal story about how I’ve gradually built AI into my personal and professional life—and how anyone, especially marketers and business leaders, can do the same.

Step 1: Starting With ChatGPT As My Search Engine

The first shift for me was using ChatGPT instead of Google for certain types of searches. I found that for complex, nuanced questions—where Google might give me 15 tabs to click through—ChatGPT could summarise, explain, and contextualise in one go.

BUT: at first, my prompts were basic, so I often had to do several rounds of follow-up questions to refine the answer. It was useful, but a bit clunky.

Step 2: Learning How to Write Better Prompts

Next, I realised that the quality of your prompt massively impacts the quality of the response. I experimented and landed on a simple formula:

✅ Clear goal (what do I want from this?)
✅ Desired format (bullet points? summary? comparison?)
✅ Warnings on what NOT to include (don’t give me generic advice!)
✅ Context (who is this for? what industry?)
✅ Step-by-step instructions if it’s a process or framework

Once I started prompting this way, the answers became way more precise—though writing long prompts took a bit of time.

Step 3: Learning to Build Custom GPTs

I decided to take things further and signed up for a 6-week Generative AI course. The lightbulb moment was learning how to build custom GPTs with embedded instructions.

Now, instead of writing detailed prompts every time, I can create a “trained” GPT that knows exactly what tone, style, depth, and perspective I want. I’ve built more than 50 custom GPTs—covering marketing strategy, brand tone of voice, SEO, content writing, AI trends, and more.

It’s like having my own mini team of AI specialists.

Step 4: Moving Into AI Agents

Now I’m getting into AI Agents using tools like MindStudio.io. These are:

🤖 More autonomous—they can run multi-step tasks
🔄 Able to interact with tools & environments
🛠️ Designed for complex processes (not just text generation)

Agents feel like the next evolution. Instead of “asking” AI for an answer, you’re giving it an objective and watching it figure out the steps.

Step 5: The Big Takeaway—It’s Easier Than You Think

If you’d told me a year ago I’d be building AI agents, I’d have laughed. But here’s what I’ve learned:

🚀 You don’t need to be technical to adopt AI.
🚀 Start small: use it for better search or writing first.
🚀 Learn how to prompt—it’s a game changer.
🚀 Custom GPTs save huge amounts of time.
🚀 Agents are where this is heading—get curious!

AI Adoption for Non-Technical Professionals

AI is evolving so fast. The beauty is that you don’t have to be a developer to use it meaningfully:

Marketers can build AI-driven workflows
Consultants can create client-specific GPTs
Founders can prototype ideas
Anyone can automate research, writing, analysis

And the better you get at identifying what outcome you want, the more powerful AI becomes in your workflow.

What I Wish I Knew Starting Out

Looking back, these are the things I would tell anyone starting their AI journey:

👉 Prompting is a skill—practice it!
👉 Custom GPTs are low-code and very achievable
👉 Courses and communities help massively
👉 AI Agents will soon be commonplace
👉 It’s OK to be a beginner—you’ll learn fast

Final Thoughts: AI Mastery is Within Reach

My AI journey is still evolving. I still learn something new every week. But the point is: you don’t need to be an expert or have a technical background to start. You just need to get curious and take one step at a time.

Today, my personal and professional life is AI-augmented in ways I couldn’t have imagined a year ago. And I’m seeing firsthand how quickly others can adopt this too.

So—what about you?

How are you integrating AI into your personal and professional work?
What’s your next step?
👉 Let’s chat—I’d love to hear about it!

Citations:

【1】IBM: "Global AI Adoption Index 2024"

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