Free AI foundations · Lesson 11 of 12
Decide whether AI actually helps
Compare quality, effort and cost using observed results.
Understand
Choose a small trial and define success before running it. Useful criteria include factual accuracy, completeness, time to review, privacy compliance and whether the result is usable. Measure the whole process, not just how quickly text appears. A fast draft that needs extensive correction may be worse than the manual method.
For a business estimate, separate expected benefits from observed results. Record tool costs, setup effort, review time and ongoing maintenance. If a cost is unknown, mark it unknown rather than zero. Do not infer revenue from a demo, site visit or enthusiastic comment. A real sale, its fees and the cost of delivery are separate evidence.
Consider alternatives: a reusable checklist or a simple form may solve the problem more reliably than an agent. Start with a reversible pilot, compare representative cases and look at failures as well as successes. An AI strategy is a sequence of justified choices about tasks, people, risks and resources, not a promise to automate everything. Set a review date and retire tools that do not help.
Try it in your life or work
Personal practice
Time one small planning task manually, then optionally try the personal demo. Include checking and editing time. Compare usefulness as well as minutes. If you do not run the experiment, label the numbers estimates.
Business practice
Create a five-case trial plan with success criteria and a cost column. Using the fictional numbers above, calculate time saved for five repetitions after setup. Explain why the trial does not establish customer revenue.
Keep: A trial scorecard: quality, manual time, AI-plus-review time, setup cost, unknowns and decision.
Use fictional or non-sensitive information. Written practice does not require an AI account. The live demos are optional; other tools have their own terms and costs.
Show the answer and explanation
Negative 20 minutes: setup has not been recovered.. Five times four is 20; subtracting 40 minutes of setup gives minus 20.
This is a self-check, not a scored certification. Answers and exercise notes are not submitted to AstraCruz.