Using AI is as simple as visiting a website and typing. This module gets you set up on a free account and comfortable with the handful of controls every assistant shares.
The most important habit you’ll build here is the back-and-forth conversation — because that is where AI’s real power lives.
What you will be able to do
- Create a free account on a major AI assistant.
- Navigate the chat interface: conversations, history, and settings.
- Hold a back-and-forth conversation using follow-up messages.
- Use core features like uploading a file and starting fresh chats.
- Adopt simple daily habits that make AI part of your workflow.
3.1 Getting Set Up
The path is nearly identical across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude:
- Go to the tool’s website (chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com, or claude.ai).
- Click Sign up and register with your email or a Google/Microsoft account.
- Verify your email if prompted — the free tier is enough to start.
- You’ll see a simple chat box. That box is the whole interface: type a message, press Enter, read the reply.
Do This Now
Before continuing, create one free account. We suggest ChatGPT for your first experience because its interface is the most widely documented. You can always add others later.
3.2 Understanding the Interface
Every major assistant shares the same elements — learn these once and you can use any of them:
- The message box: where you type your prompt. Press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for a new line).
- The conversation: your messages and the AI’s replies, stacked like a text thread. The AI remembers everything earlier in the same conversation.
- Chat history: a list of past conversations you can reopen and rename (e.g., “123 Oak St listing”).
- New chat button: starts fresh with no memory of the last topic.
- Attach / upload: add a file, photo, or document for the AI to read.
3.3 How to Talk to AI
The key mindset shift: treat the AI like a sharp, eager new assistant who is brilliant but has no idea about your specific situation until you tell them. You don’t need special commands — you need clear conversation.
You rarely get the perfect answer on the first try, and that’s fine. You refine through follow-ups: “Make it shorter.” “Add a line about the backyard.” “Now write a version for Instagram.” The AI keeps the context of your earlier messages, so each follow-up builds on the last.
3.4 Building the Habit
- Keep a tab open so your assistant is one click away.
- Start with one daily task — say, replying to new-lead emails — and do it with AI every day for a week.
- Save your best prompts in a notes file (Module 9 turns these into reusable templates).
- Bring real work — practice on the actual listing or email in front of you, not fake tasks.
✎ Practice Exercise — Your First Real Conversation
Goal: Feel the back-and-forth that makes AI powerful — the single most important habit.
- Open your browser and go to chatgpt.com (or the assistant you chose in Module 2). Log in.
- Click the message box at the bottom of the screen.
- Type this exactly and press Enter: You are my real estate marketing assistant. Help me write a friendly email introducing myself to a new buyer lead named Jordan who inquired about condos downtown.
- Wait a few seconds and read the email it writes.
- Now type a follow-up and press Enter: Make it shorter. Notice it shortens the SAME email — you did not have to start over.
- Type the next follow-up and press Enter: Add a question that invites a reply.
- Type one more and press Enter: Now give me a casual text-message version too.
- Look back at the whole conversation. Notice how each message built on the last without you re-explaining anything. That carry-over is the core skill of working with AI.
Done when: You have sent one prompt and three follow-ups in the same chat and watched it build on itself.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Interface | The screen and controls you use to interact with a tool. |
| Conversation / thread | A single ongoing chat where the AI remembers earlier messages. |
| Context window | How much of the current conversation the AI can ‘remember’ at once. |
| Regenerate | Asking the AI to try the response again. |
| Upload / attach | Adding a file or image for the AI to read. |
| Free tier | The no-cost version of an AI tool, sufficient for learning the basics. |
Module 3 Summary
Getting started takes minutes: sign up, find the message box, and start typing. Every assistant shares the same simple elements. Talk to AI like a clear conversation with a brilliant new assistant, refine through follow-ups, and build the habit by bringing real daily work to the tool.
Module 3 — Getting Started: Accessing & Interacting with AI
10-question test · 80% required to pass · unlimited retakes.