Upskilling Yourself for AI in 2026 for the Non-AI Inclined

When I sat down around this time last year to contemplate my 2025 new year resolutions, becoming an AI advocate and gaining deep knowledge of AI tools would not have made the top three. Like Gareth Bale's infamous "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" comment, mine were "Earn a crust. Be a good dad. Learn Something," highlighting the priority (or lack thereof) AI had in my own personal plans.

Fast forward twelve months and here I am, writing about AI with the zealotry of a recent convert, which should tell you something about either AI's transformative power or my susceptibility to shiny new things. Probably both. It just happened, the way most lifestyle changes happen: gradually, then suddenly, then you're that bloke explaining workflow automation to your mate's bored partner at a barbecue.

Which is a roundabout way to say if "figuring out AI" is on your list for 2026 but not a priority, I get it. There could be a myriad of reasons: life, family, career, the nagging suspicion that learning new software is simply penance for past sins, or the perfectly reasonable belief that you've already learned enough bloody software in your lifetime, thank you very much. But I guarantee you, picking up just one AI tool will get you hooked onto the possibilities and help you rethink your way of doing things.

So if you're returning to the office early next year and the holiday hangover is raging, take a look at these three initiatives that will have you hopping about and motivated in no time:

1. Prompt Better

This is not drilled in enough into new users of GPT, Co-Pilot, Gemini, Claude, Grok and the such: these LLMs do exponentially better with context. They can't help you much if you're not clear about what you need, like asking a sommelier to recommend wine while refusing to mention whether you're pairing it with fish or fighting with your in-laws.

Find a model that lets you create specific projects so you can outline expectations and rules. Think of your LLM as an extremely gifted teenager: towering IQ, encyclopedic knowledge of meme culture, but utterly clueless about socially acceptable life habits. You need to provide it with the context so it can extract the best out of itself for you.

2. Create a Workflow Automation

Most likely, there's one part of your job that's monotonous, time-consuming and just headache-inducing, and whatever the task is, it recurs with the reliability of a bad sitcom rerun. Whether it's collating information for a monthly report or putting together a spreadsheet to summarise other spreadsheets (the corporate equivalent of Russian nesting dolls), we all have them.

Fortunately, there are workflow automation tools you can try: OpenAI's AgentKit or n8n, to name a few. The trick is to start very, very small. Start by asking your LLM: "Give me a step-by-step guide on how to automate _____ using AgentKit or n8n." Then watch as it either solves your problem brilliantly or suggests something so wildly overcomplicated you'll wonder if it's having you on.

3. Vibe-Code a Web App

Not because you need to, but vibe-coding a web app or website is probably one of the most effective displays of AI's power and prowess to the uninitiated. The technological equivalent of pulling a rabbit from a hat, except the rabbit can also do your taxes. Try something like Make, Lovable or Replit and watch as a simple command such as "Make me a calendar app so we can meal-plan as a family, taking into account each member's availabilities" conjures something that actually works. It won't take long for you to start conjuring up other practical examples that can be used in the workplace, or at minimum, impressing colleagues who still think Excel macros are wizardry.

That's it. You have your blueprint.

The thing is, nobody's keeping score. You won't lose your job if you don't become an AI expert by February, and the world will continue spinning if you decide these tools aren't for you. But if you're going to dip your toe in, might as well do it properly. Pick one of these three. Give it a proper go, not the half-hearted "I'll look at it when I have time" promise that joins the gym membership and language learning app in the graveyard of good intentions.

Welcome 2026 in by becoming an AI guru. Professor. Connoisseur. Or just someone who's figured out how to make their job slightly less annoying. In that order.