How generative AI works: Essentials for every employee

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 7 details that are specific to your organisation.

See the live deck See the full outline

Try the course Preview the survey

Length: 30 min
Lessons: 6 lessons
Frequency: At AI tool roll-out, at onboarding
Last reviewed: 21 Oct 2026

Tokens, context windows and temperature in practice

What would you do?

A colleague pastes a 40-page report and asks for "the key risks"

Try it: this is one of 20 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

6 lessons, about 30 minutes
Flashcards, tabs, sorting activity, scenario and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

10 slides
Poll, quiz, word cloud, scale slides
A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
30-day check-in
Anonymous by default
Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

ID	Objective	Source	Where it's covered
TO 101.0	Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment	-	Whole course
SO 101.1	Explain in plain words what AI, machine learning, generative AI and an LLM are and how they differ	ISO/IEC 22989:2022 terminology (see verification list)	Whole course
SO 101.2	Describe how an LLM produces text (tokens, next-word prediction, context window) and why that causes limits	NIST AI 600-1 GenAI Profile; best practice	Whole course
SO 101.3	Recognise everyday and workplace examples of AI and what each is good and bad at	Best practice	Whole course
SO 101.4	Separate common AI myths from reality (memory, understanding, numbers, internet access)	NIST AI 600-1 GenAI Profile	Whole course
SO 101.5	Identify where to go next in the organisation's AI policy and training path + your info	Organisation's AI policy; EU AI Act Art. 4 (as amended) where it applies	Whole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

Your workplace details: fill in the 7 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 30 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise

Why two colleagues get opposite AI results

3 pages

6 min

Before you beginNoteList

Two colleagues, one toolTextImage

What would you say?ChecklistKey factQuiz

AI, machine learning and generative AI explained

3 pages

5 min

The family treeTabs

Spot the typeSorting activity

CheckFlashcardsMatching quiz

How an LLM turns a prompt into text

3 pages

5 min

One word at a timeTimeline

Finish the sentenceFlashcardsText

CheckQuizMulti-select quiz

Tokens, context windows and temperature in practice

3 pages

5 min

Tokens and the context windowAccordion

Same prompt, different answersTabsNote

Try itScenarioQuiz

Memory, numbers and outdated facts: myths versus reality

3 pages

5 min

Myth or realitySorting activity

Check the numbersScenarioQuiz

Sounds right, is wrongFlashcardsMulti-select quiz

Using approved AI tools and knowing who to ask

2 pages

4 min

Your next stepsProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoNote

PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "no technical background needed

Word cloudFinish the sentence: The mat sat on the…" then "Why did most of us write the same word?

PollHow often do you use an AI assistant for work?

ContentAI, machine learning, generative AI and LLM as four nested circles; tokens and the context window in two lines

QuizWhich one is generative AI? A fixed approval workflow · A spam filter that learns from reports · A tool that drafts a reply ✔ · A payroll calculator

QuizAn AI summary says sales rose 14%, the spreadsheet says 11%. You… (Trust the spreadsheet and check the summary ✔)

PollMyth or reality: AI remembers our last chat

ScaleHow confident are you explaining generative AI to a colleague?

Open-ended / Q&AOne thing you want to ask about AI

Content · customiseClosing {{AI_HELP_CONTACT}}, {{AI_POLICY_LINK}}, {{SURVEY_1_URL}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}

Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min

Overall rating 5 stars
Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
What was most useful? multi-select
Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
Which concept is still unclear? multiple choice
How confident are you explaining generative AI to a colleague? 1-5 scale
Which course should come next? ranking
I feel safe asking a question about AI that sounds basic. 1-5 scale
One thing we should change or add open text
Would you recommend this course? NPS

30-day check-in

Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
Do you know where to find the AI policy and the approved tools list? yes / no / not sure
A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

7 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

AI policy link{{AI_POLICY_LINK}}
Approved AI tools{{APPROVED_AI_TOOLS}}
AI help contact{{AI_HELP_CONTACT}}
Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}

Show all 7 fields

Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run how generative AI works: Essentials for every employee training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

At AI tool roll-out, at onboarding, and as the first step of an AI learning path.

Who needs this training?

All staff with little or no AI background, including non-technical and frontline roles; run by L&D with IT, HR or compliance.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

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Last reviewed: 21 October 2026Templates are a starting point, not legal advice.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.

See the live deck