Executive AI Quick Start Guides
FROM ZERO TO ONE ON THE AI PLATFORM YOUR ORGANIZATION USES
Most people use AI the way they use Google. They type a question, skim the answer, and close the tab. Then they decide the technology is overhyped. They're right that the answers were underwhelming. They're wrong about why.
The distance between AI as a search box and AI as a capable teammate is mostly not technical. It comes down to a few setup decisions, a few habits, and knowing what the system was built to do. You can close most of that gap in an afternoon if someone shows you where to start. These guides show you where to start.
WHAT THESE ARE
Practical onboarding guides for senior leaders, written by an operator rather than a vendor. Each guide covers one platform and follows the same path.
Part 1: Setup. What to configure in your first sitting: the right plan, memory and context, which model to use when, and how to connect the tools you already work in.
Part 2: Using it well. How to move from asking questions to handing off work, including projects, agents, prompting that gets results, and the mistakes that quietly waste most people's first month.
Checklist and glossary. A day-one to-do list and a plain-English reference for the vocabulary.
THE SHIFT
Where these guides take you
Handing off multi-step work and reviewing what comes back
A system that already knows your role, priorities, and preferences
The right mode for the job, fast for routine work and deeper reasoning for hard problems
Connected to your email, files, and systems
A thought partner and an execution partner
Where most people start
Typing questions into a chat box
Starting from scratch every session
One default setting for everything
Copying and pasting between apps
A faster search engine
A thought partner helps you work through a problem you haven't solved yet. An execution partner finishes the work while you're in a meeting. Most professionals never find either one, because no one told them to look.
PICK YOUR PLATFORM
Your organization has probably made this choice already, through its Microsoft licensing, its Google Workspace contract, or a security review. Start with the platform you have. The habits carry over across all AI systems. Guides reflect each platform as of September 2026 and are updated periodically. Free to download and free to share with your teams.
Guide
Claude and Co-work
Microsoft 365 Copilot
ChatGPT
Google Gemini
Grok and Grok Bot
Best For Teams
Wanting AI working directly across their files, documents, and tools
Using Microsoft 365 that want AI inside Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel
Wanting a broad generalist with a wide library of custom assistants
Using Google Workspace or NotebookLM for briefing from long documents
Needing real-time info and always-on agents that continuously keep working
A NOTE ON GOVERNANCE
Every guide includes a security section and specific guidance for regulated institutions. AI use spreads fast, and the hardest programs to govern are the ones nobody inventoried early. Getting people productive and getting AI use governed should start at the same time.
If you're building an AI governance program alongside adoption, our AI governance white paper is the companion to these guides.