AI Foundations for the Workplace

For any employee starting to use AI at work: get useful results while protecting data, checking facts and staying accountable.

For: All employees who are starting to use AI tools at work, in any industry, including office, care, retail, public-sector and field roles

  • 2 contact hours
  • 8 modules
  • 9 interactives
  • 4 job aids
  • Updated October 7, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain what common workplace AI tool types (chat assistants, copilots, transcription tools, image tools and agents) do, and identify their main limits.
  • Write clear prompts that state the task, context, audience, format and constraints, and refine a draft with specific follow-up instructions.
  • Verify AI output by identifying likely errors (invented, misused, outdated, miscalculated or missing content) and checking them against original or primary sources.
  • Determine whether information may be entered into an AI tool, based on tool approval and data type, and protect personal, health and confidential data.
  • Identify legal and ethical risks in AI-assisted work, including bias, intellectual property, deceptive claims and weak human oversight, and choose the appropriate response.
  • Apply a repeatable workflow (plan, prompt, refine, check, own, record and report) to routine tasks and simple automations.

Learn what workplace AI tools actually do, how to give them clear instructions, and how to check what they produce before you rely on it. You will practice writing prompts, sorting tasks by risk, finding errors in AI-generated documents and deciding what information may go into a tool, using realistic situations from U.S. workplaces.

This course is for employees in any role who are new to AI assistants, copilots, meeting-notes tools, image tools or AI agents, or whose employer has just approved them. No technical background is needed. Managers will find it useful as a shared baseline for their teams.

AI tools can draft, summarize and organize quickly, and they can also invent facts, repeat bias and expose confidential data. This course is built on the U.S. Department of Labor's 2026 AI Literacy Framework and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and it gives you a repeatable six-step workflow plus four job aids you can keep at your desk.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Confirm which AI tools your employer has approved and which data types each one is cleared for.
  2. Rewrite a vague prompt into a clear one that states task, context, audience, format and constraints.
  3. Check an AI summary against the original document and correct every wrong date, amount or requirement.
  4. Replace real customer, patient or employee details with placeholders before asking an AI tool for help.
  5. Spot age- or gender-coded words, invented claims or fake testimonials in an AI draft and fix them.
  6. Report a data slip or a harmful AI output through the right channel the same day.

Curriculum

8 modules · 32 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01What can AI tools at work actually do, and what can't they?Free preview14 min
  1. What does AI literacy mean for your job?
  2. How does a generative AI tool produce an answer?
  3. Which kinds of AI tools will you meet at work?
  4. Who is responsible for what the tool produces?
  • Matching activity: Which tool type fits the task?
  • Self-assessment: My AI habits at work

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02How do you write instructions an AI tool can follow?14 min
  1. Why do vague prompts get vague (or invented) answers?
  2. What goes into a clear prompt?
  3. How do you improve a draft instead of starting over?
  4. How do you save prompts that work?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the problems in this draft prompt

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03Which everyday tasks are a good fit for AI, and which are not?14 min
  1. How do you decide whether a task suits AI?
  2. What do the common use cases look like in practice?
  3. What about automation and AI agents?
  4. How do you use AI for research and data without being misled?
  • Sort activity: Is this task a good fit for AI?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04How do you check AI output before you use it?15 min
  1. What is a hallucination, and why does it happen?
  2. Why do careful people still miss AI errors?
  3. What is a practical way to verify?
  4. What should you document, and when should you disclose AI use?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the errors in an AI meeting summary

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

05What legal and ethical risks come with AI output?15 min
  1. Where does bias show up in everyday AI output?
  2. Who owns AI-generated content, and can you use it?
  3. How do you keep AI-assisted work honest?
  4. How do you spot an ethical problem early?
  • Ethics dilemma: The empty review page

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06What information must you keep out of AI tools?15 min
  1. What happens to what you type into an AI tool?
  2. Which data needs the most protection?
  3. How can you still get help without exposing data?
  4. What other data leaks should you watch for?
  • Decision tree: Can this information go into an AI tool?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

07How do policy, oversight and a repeatable workflow fit together?15 min
  1. What does a workplace AI policy usually cover?
  2. How does the NIST AI Risk Management Framework apply to you?
  3. What does real human oversight look like?
  4. What is a workflow you can repeat for every task?
  • Branching scenario: A busy Saturday on the support desk
  • Self-assessment: My AI habits at work

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

08What does safe, useful AI use look like in different jobs?14 min
  1. Case 1: Can a care aide use AI to translate care instructions?
  2. Case 2: Can AI build a staff schedule?
  3. Case 3: What if the urgent request sounds like your boss?
  4. Case 4: Is an AI image safe to use on a safety poster?
  • Self-assessment: My AI habits at work

In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 70% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

A busy Saturday on the support desk

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

A busy Saturday on the support desk

Gideon Park leads a six-person customer support team for an outdoor-gear retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company approved an AI assistant for drafting replies; its policy bans customer payment data in any AI tool and requires a person to review every reply before it is sent. A product recall notice went out this morning, and 300 emails are waiting.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Matching activity1
  • Self-assessment1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Sort activity1
  • Ethics dilemma1
  • Decision tree1
  • Branching scenario1

Job aids you keep

  • Workplace AI Prompt SheetPocket card
  • AI-Use Checklist (before, during and after)Checklist
  • AI Output Verification ChecklistChecklist
  • Workplace AI Use Policy StarterPolicy starter

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by IACET, any licensing board, professional association or state agency, and completing it does not certify you in any AI tool or framework. It is general workplace AI literacy training; it does not replace your employer's AI policy or tool-specific training. Check with your employer, board or professional body whether this course can count toward your training or continuing education requirements.

A pathway we are pursuing is IACET accreditation of our course development process. No approval exists today; we will show any approval on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

Questions about this course

Does this course count for continuing education?

It earns a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not approved or accredited by IACET, any licensing board or professional association today. Some employers and boards accept general training toward their requirements, so check with yours before you enroll. We will show any approval on this page only after it is granted.

Who should take this course?

Any employee who is starting to use AI tools at work, or whose employer has just approved them. It suits office, care, retail, public-sector and field roles, and needs no technical background. Managers often use it as a shared baseline for a team before rolling out a tool or an AI policy.

Does it teach a specific AI product?

No. Tools and features change every few months, so the course teaches skills that work across tool types: chat assistants, copilots, transcription tools, image tools and agents. Tool descriptions reflect common workplace tools as of October 2026. Your employer's approved tools and its own training cover product-specific steps.

Does this course cover my state's AI laws?

It covers federal frameworks and practice that apply everywhere, including the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, the Department of Labor's AI Literacy Framework, FTC consumer-protection principles and HIPAA basics. State AI laws are changing quickly and are covered in our AI Risk, Governance and Compliance course. Ask your employer which state rules apply to your job.

How long does it take, and what is the assessment?

Plan on about 2 hours, including eight short modules, interactive exercises and the final assessment. The assessment draws 23 questions from a larger bank, most based on workplace scenarios, and the pass mark is 70%. You can retake it and will see different questions.

Will I get something I can use after the course?

Yes. You can download a prompt sheet with reusable templates, an AI-use checklist, an output verification checklist and an AI use policy starter for small organizations to review with HR and counsel. You also get three short recall questions by email over the following month.

This course is general education and training awareness on workplace AI use from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, technical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's AI policies, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.