2 years ago, I was scared of AI.

Now I use Claude almost every day in my finance job.

I’m not a tech person. When AI first showed up at work, it felt confusing and overwhelming. And hearing “AI will replace jobs” didn’t help. So I stayed away.

But about 10 months ago, I challenged myself:
👉 What if I just try to learn it?

Not just asking ChatGPT simple questions, but digging deeper and seeing how AI tools can help me save time and do my job better.

At first, there was a lot of trial and error. Some prompts didn’t work. Some outputs didn’t make sense. But slowly, things started to click. Here’s what I’ve learned:

1️⃣ Make the AI prompts as specific as you can.
Being specific minimizes bandwidth and optimizes output.

2️⃣ Think outside the box. Be open to try.
I’ve used it to write, research, extract, analyze, automate, etc.

3️⃣ Understand limitations through testing.
Identify areas of limitation where you need to use judgment.

To me, AI feels a lot like computers decades ago.

Yes, it eliminated jobs. But it also created new ones. And the people who learned how to use computers had the biggest advantage.

AI is the same. Keep an open mind. Try new things. Learn a little every day. Make AI work for you, not against you.

I look forward to continuous learning this year. Curious — how are you using AI in finance today?