Welcome Back.
Week 2 starts today. You've already built a solid foundation — now we start applying AI to specific, high-value workplace tasks that will make a visible difference to your performance and reputation at work.
Today's topic is one that every professional deals with daily:
Research.
Finding information, verifying facts, staying updated on your industry, preparing for important decisions, understanding something new quickly. Research is something you do constantly — but most professionals do it the slow, old-fashioned way.
Today that changes. By the end of this lesson you'll be able to find, filter, and synthesise information faster than you ever thought possible.
Fifteen minutes. Let's go.
The Old Way vs The AI Way
Here's what research used to look like:
- Open Google
- Type a question
- Get 10 links
- Click the first one
- Read through the whole article looking for the relevant part
- Go back
- Click the second link
- Repeat until you find what you need
- Spend 45 minutes to find 3 useful facts
Sound familiar?
Here's what research looks like with AI:
- Open Perplexity or ChatGPT
- Ask your question clearly
- Get a direct, organised, cited answer in 30 seconds
- Ask follow-up questions to go deeper
- Done in 5 minutes
Same result. A fraction of the time. This is not an exaggeration — this is what professionals who use AI experience every single day.
The Best AI Tools for Research
Different research tasks suit different tools. Here's your quick guide:
Perplexity AI (perplexity.ai) Best for: Current information, news, industry updates, fact-checking Why: It searches the web in real time and gives you a direct answer with sources you can verify
ChatGPT (chat.openai.com) Best for: Deep explanations, concept understanding, historical information, comparing options Why: Excellent at synthesising complex information into clear, readable explanations
Claude (claude.ai) Best for: Analysing long documents, research reports, contracts, academic papers Why: Handles very long texts exceptionally well and gives nuanced, balanced analysis
Google Gemini (gemini.google.com) Best for: Current events, recent data, anything requiring up-to-date information Why: Connected to Google Search in real time
6 Research Tasks AI Does Brilliantly
Task 1: Understanding Something New Quickly
You encounter a term, concept, or topic you're not familiar with. Instead of reading three articles and still feeling confused, ask AI to explain it at exactly the right level for you.
"Explain [concept] to me as if I'm an experienced [your profession] with no technical background. Use a real-world analogy I would relate to. Keep it under 200 words."
This is one of the most powerful research uses of AI. Your experience helps you ask the right questions — AI gives you the answers in language you actually understand.
Task 2: Industry Research and Trend Analysis
Staying current in your field is increasingly difficult with information overload. AI cuts through the noise.
"What are the 5 most important trends affecting [your industry] right now? For each trend, explain what it means practically for someone working in this field and what they should do about it."
Use Perplexity for this task to ensure you get current, up-to-date information with sources.
Task 3: Competitive Research
Whether you're researching a competitor, a potential partner, or a new supplier, AI dramatically speeds up the process.
"Give me a professional overview of [company name]. Include: what they do, their main products or services, their market position, any recent news, and key strengths and weaknesses. Sources please."
What used to take an hour of clicking through websites now takes 2 minutes.
Task 4: Research for Presentations and Proposals
When you need facts, statistics, and evidence to support a proposal or presentation, AI becomes your research assistant.
"I'm preparing a proposal about [topic] for [audience]. What are the most compelling statistics, facts, and evidence I should include to make a strong case? Please include sources."
Always verify important statistics independently before using them in formal documents — AI can occasionally make errors with specific numbers. Use Perplexity for this as it provides verifiable sources.
Task 5: Summarising Long Research Documents
You've been sent a 40-page industry report. You need the key insights but don't have time to read the whole thing.
Paste the document into Claude and ask:
"Summarise this document in one page. Include: the main argument, 5 key findings, and 3 most important recommendations. Professional language, clear structure."
Forty pages becomes one page in under a minute. This alone is worth the entire 28-day course for many professionals.
Task 6: Comparing Options
Making decisions often requires researching and comparing multiple options — software, suppliers, strategies, approaches. AI structures this beautifully.
"Compare these 3 options for [decision]: [Option A], [Option B], [Option C]. Create a comparison table covering: cost, ease of use, main benefits, main drawbacks, and best suited for. Recommend the best option for a [your type of organisation]."
Decision-making research that would take half a day now takes 5 minutes.
Real Research Scenarios By Industry
School administrators:
"Research the latest approaches to improving student engagement in secondary schools. Summarise the top 5 evidence-based strategies with practical examples of how each has been implemented successfully."
Business owners:
"I'm considering expanding my business into [new area]. Research the market opportunity, main competitors, startup costs, and key risks. Give me a structured summary to help me decide whether to proceed."
HR professionals:
"Research current best practices for employee retention in [your industry]. What are the top reasons employees leave, and what do leading companies do differently to keep their best people?"
Logistics and operations managers:
"Research the impact of AI and automation on the logistics industry in Southeast Asia. What are the key changes happening, which companies are leading, and what should traditional logistics operators do to stay competitive?"
Healthcare professionals:
"Summarise the latest clinical guidelines for managing [condition] in adult patients. What has changed in the last 2 years and what are the key practical implications for frontline healthcare workers?"
One Important Warning
AI is a powerful research tool — but it is not perfect. Here are three rules to always follow:
Rule 1: Verify important facts For critical decisions, presentations to senior leadership, or formal documents, always verify key statistics and facts from the original source. AI can occasionally be wrong about specific numbers or dates.
Rule 2: Use Perplexity for current events ChatGPT and Claude have knowledge cutoff dates — they don't know what happened last week. For current news and recent data always use Perplexity or Google Gemini which search the web in real time.
Rule 3: Think critically AI gives you a starting point, not a final answer. Apply your professional experience and judgment to everything AI tells you. Your expertise is what separates useful research from dangerous assumptions.
Today's Key Takeaways
- AI transforms research from a 45-minute process into a 5-minute one
- Different tools suit different research tasks — Perplexity for current info, Claude for long documents, ChatGPT for deep explanations
- AI can understand new concepts, track industry trends, research competitors, summarise long reports, and compare options
- Always verify important facts from original sources before using them formally
- Your professional judgment applied to AI research is what makes the output truly valuable
Your 15-Minute Action For Today
Pick one research task from your real work this week. Something you've been meaning to look into but haven't had time for. Open Perplexity or ChatGPT and research it properly right now using the prompts from today's lesson.
Notice how much faster you get to useful information.
That time saving — multiplied across every research task you do this week, this month, this year — is one of the most significant productivity gains AI will give you.
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