--- title: "AI Fundamentals for Marketers & Creators — free course" description: "How generative AI works, what it can and cannot do, and hands-on workflows for research, briefs, content, SEO, social, ads and reporting" url: https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers updated: 2026-10-05 --- AI · Beginner · 367 minutes · free · updated Sep 2026 # AI Fundamentals for Marketers & Creators How generative AI works, what it can and cannot do, and hands-on workflows for research, briefs, content, SEO, social, ads and reporting - **Lessons:** 16 in 5 modules - **Video lectures:** 16 lectures, 132 minutes - **Updated:** Sep 2026 ## Tools you'll use - ChatGPT - Claude - Gemini - Microsoft 365 Copilot - Notion AI - Perplexity - Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) - Zapier [Start the course](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/what-generative-ai-is) ## About this course Generative AI is now part of everyday marketing, but most people still use it by trial and error. This beginner course gives creators, marketers and small-business owners a clear, current foundation, then puts it to work. You'll learn how large language models behave (tokens, context, training, hallucinations), where AI helps and where it fails, and how to use today's assistant features in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Notion AI and Perplexity: projects, memory, deep research, file analysis, voice, connectors and agents. You'll protect client and customer data, handle disclosure and AI labels honestly, and then work through hands-on workflows for market research, creative briefs, repurposing and SEO drafts, social and ad copy, and analysis and reporting, finishing with a documented workflow and simple no-code automation. Every lesson has copy-paste prompts with before-and-after results and a detailed video lecture. ## What you will learn - Explain how large language models generate text and why they hallucinate, and verify claims with a five-step routine - Decide which marketing tasks suit AI and build a lean, vendor-neutral toolkit - Use projects, memory, deep research, file analysis, voice, connectors and agents for marketing work - Protect client and customer data and apply advertising disclosure, AI labels and consent rules - Research markets and customers, write creative briefs, and repurpose content into SEO drafts and social posts - Create testable social and ad copy and turn campaign data into one-page reports that drive decisions - Document a repeatable AI workflow with human checkpoints and automate its low-risk steps ## Course content ### How generative AI actually works A plain-language model of what large language models are, how they produce text, what has changed in 2026, and why they sometimes get things confidently wrong. - [What generative AI is (and is not)](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/what-generative-ai-is): 11 min - [Tokens, context windows, training and inference](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/tokens-context-and-training): 12 min - [Hallucinations: why AI gets things confidently wrong](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/why-ai-hallucinates): 11 min ### Capabilities, limits and choosing tools Where AI genuinely saves marketers time, where it fails, how to choose a lean toolkit, and how to use today's assistant features: projects, memory, deep research, files, voice, connectors and agents. - [What AI does well and where it falls short](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/what-ai-does-well): 11 min - [Choosing your AI toolkit without the hype](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/choosing-your-ai-toolkit): 12 min - [Today's assistant features for marketers: projects, memory, deep research, files, voice and agents](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/assistant-features-for-marketers): 14 min ### Privacy, confidentiality and disclosure What never to paste into an AI tool, safe routines for client and customer work, and how to handle advertising disclosure, AI labels and consent. - [What never to paste into an AI tool](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/what-not-to-paste): 11 min - [Safe AI workflows for client and customer work](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/safe-workflows-client-work): 12 min - [Disclosure, AI labels and consent: marketing with AI honestly](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/disclosure-and-ai-labeling): 13 min ### Hands-on marketing workflows Research markets and customers, write creative briefs, repurpose content and draft SEO pages, create social and ad copy, and analyze results, with prompts, checklists and human checkpoints. - [Market and audience research with AI](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/market-and-audience-research): 13 min - [Creative briefs with AI: from messy notes to a one-page brief](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/creative-briefs-with-ai): 12 min - [Content repurposing and SEO drafts](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/content-repurposing-and-seo-drafts): 13 min - [Social posts, hooks and ad copy that you can test](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/social-and-ad-copy): 12 min - [Marketing analysis and one-page reports](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/marketing-analysis-and-reporting): 13 min ### AI across the funnel and your first workflow Map AI to awareness, consideration, conversion and retention, then document a repeatable workflow with human checkpoints and automate its low-risk steps. - [Mapping AI to awareness, consideration, conversion and retention](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/ai-across-the-funnel): 12 min - [Building your first repeatable AI workflow](https://optimizeall.com/learn/ai-fundamentals-for-marketers/your-first-ai-workflow): 13 min ## Certificate: Certified AI-Ready Marketer The holder understands how generative AI works and where it fails, verifies AI output, uses current assistant features such as projects, deep research, file analysis and agents, protects client and customer data, applies disclosure and AI-labeling rules, and runs documented AI workflows for research, briefs, content, social, ads and reporting with human review. - **Final assessment:** 25 questions, 40 minutes - **Passing score:** 80%