Most people use AI the way they use a new microwave: one button, a vague sense of unease, and a lot of untouched settings. The difference between a beige answer and a brilliant one is nearly always the prompt.
The AI Prompting Masterclass is a free series of thirteen guides from The Oxford AI School covering ChatGPT prompts, work prompts, GPT and Claude prompts, Microsoft Copilot prompts for Excel, Outlook and Teams, Claude Skills, photo and image prompting, prompt generators, frameworks and a four-week beginner plan. Start with the beginner guide, then pick the tool you use most.
The AI Prompting Masterclass is thirteen plain-English guides on exactly that, written by me, Harry Lang, from teaching AI to teams across the UK. Each one is a standalone page you can read in ten minutes, and each is full of prompts you can copy.
The thirteen guides
Best ChatGPT prompts
Twenty copy-and-paste prompts, with the reason each one works.ChatGPT prompts for work
Eighteen prompts for sales, finance, HR, marketing, operations and support.Best GPT prompts
Custom GPT instructions, six copy-and-paste builders, and what GPT actually means.Best Claude prompts
Ten prompts that play to Claude's strengths: structure, long documents, honest uncertainty.Best Claude Skills
What Skills are, how they differ from prompts, a template, and eight to build first.Best AI photo prompts
A six-part formula, a lens and light cheat sheet, and ten photo prompts to start from.AI image prompting
Illustrations, social images and editing: the loop, the tools and the legal traps.Prompting AI: how to start
A four-week plan, five first prompts, and the beginner mistakes to skip.Best AI prompt generators
Three types of generator compared, a free method that beats most apps, and a prompt to copy.AI prompt frameworks
Our Five-Part Brief, compared with RTF, CO-STAR and RISEN, with a worked example.Best Copilot prompts
Twelve Microsoft Copilot prompts for catch-ups, summaries and first drafts, plus the four-part formula.Copilot prompts for Excel
Fourteen Copilot prompts for Excel, from cleaning data to charts, with a way to check each answer.Copilot prompts for Outlook and Teams
Fourteen prompts for email, meetings and chat, plus a week-long plan for using them.Where should you start?
| If you are... | Start with | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Brand new to AI | Prompting AI: how to get started | Best ChatGPT prompts |
| Using ChatGPT at work | ChatGPT prompts for work | Best GPT prompts |
| A Claude user | Best Claude prompts | Best Claude Skills |
| A Microsoft 365 user | Best Copilot prompts | Copilot prompts for Excel, or Outlook and Teams |
| Making pictures | Best AI photo prompts | AI image prompting |
| Tired of writing prompts | Best AI prompt generators | AI prompt frameworks |
What will you learn in the AI Prompting Masterclass?
- How to brief an AI the way you would brief a good colleague.
- Which prompts to copy for writing, thinking, learning and work admin, in ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft Copilot.
- How to turn your best prompt into a reusable GPT, Claude Project or Skill.
- How to describe photographs and illustrations so image tools get them right.
- When frameworks help and when to ignore them.
All thirteen guides are free. For a hands-on version with your own documents, see our Basic AI Training or take the free two minute AI skills assessment.
Already comfortable with the basics? Our seven-part How To Prompt AI series goes deeper on specific tools, starting with the Five Rivets method and finishing with how to prompt an AI agent. If your team runs on Microsoft 365, our Microsoft Copilot Deep Dive module turns the three Copilot guides into hands-on practice.
AI Prompting Masterclass: frequently asked questions
What is the AI Prompting Masterclass?
It is a free series of thirteen plain-English guides from The Oxford AI School on writing better prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, GPTs and AI image tools, with copy-and-paste examples.
Who is it for?
Anyone who uses or wants to use AI at work or at home, from complete beginners to people who want to build reusable assistants. No technical background is needed.
Is the AI Prompting Masterclass free?
Yes. The guides are free to read. Our Basic AI Training and team workshops are paid, hands-on programmes.
Which guide should I read first?
If you are new, read Prompting AI: how to get started. If you already use ChatGPT or Claude, go straight to the best prompts guide for your tool.
Do the prompts work in any AI tool?
Most do. The principles carry across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. Where a tip is specific to one tool, the guide says so.
Can you train my team on this?
Yes. See Basic AI Training or send an enquiry.
Harry Lang runs The Oxford AI School in Witney, Oxfordshire. A former CMO, he now teaches teams and individuals across the UK to use AI in plain English, on their own real work. Email Learn@TheOxfordAISchool.com.