Build Your First AI Automation

The gap between “I use ChatGPT sometimes” and “this runs every Tuesday without me” is smaller than you think — but it’s a gap with rules. This course walks the whole path on one real automation of your choosing.

Module 1 — Pick a worthy chore

Good first automations share a shape: clear input, clear output, low blast radius. Weekly report drafts, inbox triage summaries, data moved between two systems. We score your candidates and pick one.

Module 2 — Manual, then scripted, then scheduled

You’ll do the job manually with AI assistance once (so you know what good output looks like), then capture it as a repeatable workflow, then schedule it. Three runs, three levels of trust.

Module 3 — Guardrails that make it businesslike

• Review gates: the automation drafts; a human sends.
• Logs: every run leaves a trail you can audit.
• Failure behavior: when it’s unsure, it stops and says so — silence is the enemy.

Module 4 — Maintenance reality

Models update, sites change, formats drift. We set a fifteen-minute monthly check so your automation ages like infrastructure, not like a science-fair project.

An automation you can’t audit is a liability with good marketing. Build the boring parts — that’s the course.