Training · Hero

How to train employees to use AI at work

The useful detailsSettle the tool and the rules first. Then pick two or three real tasks per role, and run a hands-on session where people practise those tasks on safe examples and learn to check the output. Give managers a 30-day plan afterwards. Training that skips the rules leaves people unsure what's allowed. Training that skips the follow-through fades within a month.

Step 1: settle the tool and the rules before anyone is trained

Training people on a tool they aren't allowed to use for real work wastes the session.

  • One approved tool, on business accounts. If you already pay for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, start there. Copilot Chat (signed in with work accounts) and Gemini in Workspace come with many business plans. If you use ChatGPT, use a ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspace, not personal accounts.
  • A one-page rule for information. At minimum, what never goes in and who to ask. A template is here.
  • Everyone can log in. Check this the week before. Losing the first 30 minutes to passwords and licences is the most common way a session goes wrong.

Try it freeWant to see a session first? The free AI Hour is online on the first Friday of every month. Next: Fri, Nov 6, 12 PM ET.

Step 2: find out what people already do

Send a short anonymous survey a week ahead. Anonymity matters: people won't admit to using personal accounts if their name is on the answer.

  1. Which AI tools have you used for work in the last month? (Include free and personal ones.)
  2. What did you use them for?
  3. What did you hesitate to paste in, and why?
  4. When has an AI answer been wrong or unhelpful?
  5. Which part of your week is the most repetitive reading or writing?
  6. How confident are you, 1 to 5?

The answers tell you where to aim. If half the team is already using personal accounts, the security block matters more than prompt tips. If most people answer "never tried it", start slower.

Step 3: pick two or three tasks per role

Good first tasks are frequent, text-heavy, easy to check and low-risk. Examples that work in most offices:

RoleGood first tasksKeep with a person
Admin and operationsMeeting notes into actions; first drafts of procedures; summarizing long email threadsCommitments, dates and anything sent externally
Client serviceReply drafts to common questions from approved wording; rewriting for toneAnything about money, liability or exceptions
FinanceExplaining or writing spreadsheet formulas; month-end checklists; plain-language summaries of reportsEvery number; anything with account details
HR and peopleFirst drafts of job postings and onboarding checklists; interview question banksEvery decision about a person
ManagersStatus updates from bullet points; meeting agendas; planning a difficult conversation (no names)The judgment and the conversation itself

An HR note for Ontario employers: since January 1, 2026, employers with 25 or more employees must say in publicly advertised job postings if AI is used to screen, assess or select applicants. Using AI to help write the posting doesn't trigger this, but screening résumés with it does. Cover this in any HR session.

Step 4: run a session where people practise

A demo shows what's possible. Practice shows what people can actually do. A three-hour session can look like this:

TimeBlockWhat people do
20 minWhat these tools are and aren'tSee a confident wrong answer on purpose, so nobody trusts the tool blindly
20 minThe information ruleSort ten example items into red / yellow / green together
40 minAsking wellRewrite a one-line request using role, task, context and format. Compare the two outputs side by side
15 minBreak
45 minHands-on lab by roleEach person does one task from Step 3 on a fictional example, start to finish
25 minChecking the outputUse the review checklist below on their own result. Ask the tool "What did you assume that I should check?"
15 minWrap-upEach person writes down the one task they'll repeat three times this week

Two exercises that work well:

  • Weak vs strong request. Everyone types "write an email about expense reports" and reads the result. Then they add who it's for, the deadline, the rule for late reports, the length and the tone. The difference teaches more than any slide.
  • Find the error. Hand out an AI-written summary with two planted mistakes, such as a wrong date and a commitment nobody made. Ask people to find them. Most groups miss one, and that's the point.

Use fictional examples that feel like the job. Don't use lightly edited real files.

Step 5: teach checking as a skill

"Review the output" means nothing unless people know what to look for. Give everyone this list:

  • Every fact, figure, date and name matches the source, or it's removed
  • Nothing was added that the source doesn't say (commitments, prices, policies)
  • Quotes and references actually exist and say what's claimed
  • The tone fits the person who will read it
  • No personal or confidential detail slipped in
  • I can explain and stand behind every sentence

If checking takes longer than doing the task the old way, that task isn't a good fit yet.

A next stepRather have someone run it? See the public workshop or private team training, or book a free 30-minute call.

Step 6: give managers 30 days

WeekTeam doesManager does
1Each person uses their chosen task three timesAsks one question in the team meeting: "What worked, what didn't?"
2Start a shared "prompts that work" documentAdds the best two prompts; removes anything with client details
3Try the task on a slightly harder caseSpot-checks two outputs against the checklist
4Each person notes roughly how long the task takes nowDecides: keep, change or stop. Picks the next task

What to measure. Keep it light: how many people use the approved tool for work each week; the time one repeated task takes, measured on a few real examples before and after; and how often outputs need major rework. Don't count attendance as the result.

Different people need different things

  • Sceptics usually come round when they see how to check an answer, not when they hear how powerful the tool is. Let them lead the "find the error" exercise.
  • Power users often have habits nobody else can follow. Ask them to write their best prompts into the shared document in plain steps, and check their information habits. Enthusiasts are often the ones using personal accounts.
  • Managers need to use the tool on their own work before they can coach it. Give them a short session first.

If you bring in a trainer

Ask these questions before you pay:

  1. How will the examples match our work?
  2. What will people practise themselves, and for how long?
  3. What do you teach about information we shouldn't paste in?
  4. Which tool will we train on, and do we need licences in place first?
  5. What does the manager get afterwards?
  6. Are you selling software or other services on the back of this training?

Red flags: guaranteed time savings before anyone has looked at your work. A session that is only "prompt hacks". Pressure to paste real client data into a tool. No answer to "what do we do next Tuesday?"

About funding: government training grants usually have rules about which providers qualify, which training is covered, and approval before the training starts. Check the program's rules before you plan a budget around one. Hero's training isn't set up as grant-eligible training today.

Where Hero fits

Hero runs this kind of training: public workshop seats open to anyone, 1:1 sessions (one trainer, one person) and private team training on your own work, with a live course coming soon. Online anywhere in Canada, or in person in the GTA. Prices are on the pricing page. You can also run everything above yourself. The free guide has starter prompts by role and a 30-day plan you can print.

Sources checked (October 7, 2026): Ontario, Your guide to the ESA: publicly advertised job postings · Microsoft Learn, Copilot Chat privacy and protections · OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Business FAQ.

A CLEAR NEXT STEP STARTS HERE

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