AI Guides: Practical Workflows, Prompts, and Worked Examples

Choose a practical AI workflow below. Each guide explains what to provide, what to ask for, and what to check before using the result. Start with a small, non-sensitive example and keep the original source available.

Use the tool comparisons to choose an assistant for your role. Use the practical workflows to prepare inputs and check results. Related guides link to each other so you can move from choosing a tool to doing the task.

From PDF Tables to a Checked Report

Follow these four stages to prepare data and explain it clearly. The guides use small worked examples, and the report continues the chart example. Start at the stage that matches your source.

  1. Extract a PDF table into Excel
    Preserve codes and source values, then check credit signs, rows, and totals.
  2. Combine reviewed Excel files
    Track each source row and resolve overlaps before using the combined total.
  3. Create a chart and check its story
    Verify the data range, scale, period coverage, and written interpretation.
  4. Write a one-page report
    Trace the key figures, preserve limits, and separate findings from proposed next steps.

Already have one checked table? Start with step 3. Already have reviewed results? Start with step 4. Keep unresolved source values visible before moving on.

Start with the basics

Office, business, and coding

Writing, design, video, and audio

Study, research, and teaching

Write, translate, and communicate

Work with documents and visual content

Analyze data and make plans

Understand people and prepare for work

A useful order for a real task

For a report, clean the spreadsheet first, check the formulas and percentage changes, and then turn the verified findings into a presentation outline. For a product update, compare the source documents before drafting release notes or customer messages. For job preparation, tailor the resume before practicing interview answers.

How to read our examples

Worked examples are labeled when they use fictional data or illustrative responses. They show a method; they are not evidence that every AI tool will produce the same answer. Screenshots and recorded checks, where provided, show the specific output being discussed. Always verify important facts and keep private information out of practice prompts.