What AI can — and can’t — do
Before you use any AI tool at work, you need to know what it’s good at, where it goes wrong, and when to trust it. This module gives you that judgement.
Your goals
- Explain, in plain English, what a generative AI tool really is.
- Name three tasks AI does well at work — and two it does badly.
- Decide when you can trust an AI answer and when you must check it.
What AI actually is
A generative AI tool — like ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini — is a very advanced word-prediction engine. It has read a huge amount of text and answers by predicting, word by word, what most likely comes next.
The key idea
AI predicts what sounds right. It doesn’t know what’s true and isn’t searching verified facts. It can be confident and wrong at once — a hallucination.
When an AI tool answers, what is it really doing?
What it’s great at — and bad at
✅ Great at
- Drafting emails and posts
- Summarising long text
- Rewording and changing tone
- Brainstorming and first drafts
- Explaining things simply
⚠️ Bad at
- Exact facts and figures
- Recent or live events
- Precise maths
- Anything you’re accountable for
- Confidential data
Use AI to shape the words, never as your source of truth.
Which is riskiest to hand to AI without checking?
When to trust it, when to check
The “put my name on it?” test
Before you send anything AI helped with, ask: would I be happy to put my name on this and be responsible for it? If it has a fact, figure, name or rule you haven’t verified — check first.
Always verify: facts, stats, legal/financial details, names, anything time-sensitive. Usually safe: tone, structure, wording, first drafts.
Priya’s client email
Priya works in an estate agency. She asks AI to draft a warm email to a buyer and to include the current stamp-duty rate for a £450,000 home.
What should they do? Think, then reveal.
Reveal the answer
Use the draft — check the number.
The wording is perfect AI work. But the stamp-duty figure is a live, legal, financial fact — she must confirm it from GOV.UK/HMRC before it reaches a client. Draft with AI; verify the fact herself.
End-of-module quiz
3 questions. You need 2 to pass. Retake as often as you like.
Question 1
Why can AI sound confident but be wrong?
Question 2
Which is safest to use AI for with light checking?
Question 3
The quickest test before sending AI-assisted work?
Remember this
- AI predicts words, it doesn’t know facts — it can be confidently wrong.
- Great at wording, weak at facts — shape with it, don’t source truth from it.
- Use the “put my name on it?” test before anything goes out.
Finish all 8 modules and pass each quiz to earn your AI Skills for Work certificate of completion — shareable on your CV and LinkedIn. CPD accreditation is being arranged.