The app is installed. The cursor is blinking. You have no idea what to do first, so you ask it something small, get something small back, and wander off.
Most people judge AI on their first ten answers, and those answers are weak for a boring reason. The AI knows nothing about you. Skip the first hour and you spend months getting the answer it would give anybody.
What you will be able to do
Install the desktop app and sign in with the account you already have.
Write one set of instructions that loads into every new chat before you type.
Connect two apps you use daily, and turn them on inside a chat.
Find the model switcher and change models in the middle of a conversation.
Build one Project that holds your files and your background in one place.
This is day one only. Five things, nothing more. The next ten come later in the course, and there is a one-sitting version too.
The proof behind this
Liz Elliott is not an engineer and never studied computer science. She now runs 33 active social brands on AI automations across several computers. It started with a setup afternoon like this one.
What this lesson is
Lesson 3.1 of the free AI for Entrepreneurs course, in Module 3: Setting It Up.
This lesson covers day one only. Five things, and nothing more. The next ten things are in lesson 3.2. If you want the whole setup in one sitting instead, lesson 3.3 has the fast version and lesson 3.4 has the long one.
Most people judge AI on their first ten answers. Those answers are bad for a boring reason. The AI knows nothing about you. Not your job, not your customers, not the way you like to be talked to. So it gives you the answer it would give anybody. Then people decide the tool is overrated and go back to doing the work by hand.
Think about hiring an assistant. On their first morning you do not just start barking tasks. You show them where things are. You tell them what you do and who you serve. You hand them a few files. You say what drives you crazy. An hour of that and they are useful. Skip it and they are guessing for weeks.
Setup is that hour. It is a one-time cost and it changes every answer that comes after it. The five steps below are the ones that pay off first. One afternoon covers all of them. You do not need to do it perfectly. You just need to stop starting from zero every single time you open a new chat.
One warning before you start. Menu names move. The people building these apps rename buttons and shuffle settings between versions. So look for the word, not the exact path. If a step below says Settings and then Connectors, and your screen says Customize and then Connectors, you are in the right place.
New here? Use the free AI for Entrepreneurs course outline to read this series in the best order.
Behind the paywall
The desktop app, and what it does that the browser tab does not.
Your instructions, written so they load into every new chat before you type.
Two connectors, switched on and tested with a real question.
The model switcher, and how to change models in the middle of a chat.
Your first Project, and what belongs in it.
The six day one mistakes, including the one that makes your instructions useless.
What paid subscribers get overall
The full lesson from the AI for Entrepreneurs course, every step in order.
Every prompt in a copy and paste block, reproduced in full.
The mistakes that cost beginners the most time, each with the fix.
A checklist, so you can prove the thing works before you move on.
The whole course as it goes up, part by part, in reading order.
The full walkthrough is below the paywall.
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