Start from zero.
Six steps. No experience needed. Check each one off as you go — this page remembers your progress on this device.
Get online
You need a phone or a computer, and internet. A phone is totally fine. Free Wi‑Fi is easier to find than you think:
📚 Public library
Free Wi‑Fi and free computers. You can usually get a library card with no fee. Staff will help you log on.
🏠 Shelters & centers
Many shelters, job centers and community centers have Wi‑Fi or a computer room. Just ask the front desk.
☕ Coffee & fast food
Most have free Wi‑Fi. Look for a network with the store's name.
📱 Cheap phone plans
In the US, the Lifeline program can give you a phone plan for little or nothing if you get benefits. Search “Lifeline phone” or ask a caseworker.
Make a free email
An email address is your key to almost everything online — jobs, benefits, AI apps. We'll use Gmail. It's free.
- Go to accounts.google.com/signup. On a phone, you can also open the Gmail app and tap Create account.
- Type your first and last name. Then your birthday.
- Pick your email address. Google will suggest some, or make your own. Need ideas? Use the tool below.
- Make a password. Long is better than weird. (Ideas below.)
- Google might ask for a phone number to send you a code. Type yours and enter the code it texts you.
- Skip anything that says “optional.” Agree to the terms. You're in.
Screens change sometimes, so yours may look a little different. That's normal — just keep going.
Pick an address that looks professional
Employers will see it. Your name works best.
Tap one to copy it. Nothing you type here is saved or sent.
Three random words + a number
Easy for you to remember, hard for anyone to guess. Use these as inspiration and change them up.
…
Never use the same password everywhere. Never tell anyone your password — not even staff.
Write your new email address on paper and keep it in your wallet. Keep your password somewhere safe and separate. Our email cheat sheet has a box for this.
Open an AI app
Pick one. They're all free to start and they all work about the same. Tap “Continue with Google” and use the email you just made — no new password needed.
Download the app from the App Store or Play Store. Search the name. Make sure it's from the real company (OpenAI, Anthropic or Google). The free version is all you need.
Send your first message
This is where it all starts. Talk to it like you'd text a smart friend. No special words needed. Pick any prompt below, tap copy, paste it in the message box, hit send.
On a phone: press and hold in the message box → tap Paste. On a computer: Ctrl + V (or ⌘ + V on a Mac).
Save the good stuff
Phones get lost. Chats get buried. Here's the simplest trick: email it to yourself. Your email lives online, so you can open it from any library computer, any phone, any time.
- When the AI writes something good (a resume, a letter), ask: “Write this in a code block for me.”
- Tap the copy button on the box.
- Open your email → Compose → put your own address in “To” → paste → send.
- Give it a clear subject like
RESUME - Oct 2026so you can search for it later.
Stay safe
AI is a tool, not a person. It's really helpful — and sometimes it's wrong.
- Double-check anything about law, health, money or deadlines with a real person.
- Call before you go — addresses and hours can be out of date.
- Ask “Are you sure? What might be wrong?”
- Log out when you use a shared computer.
- Type your Social Security number, bank or card numbers, or passwords.
- Pay anyone who says they'll “unlock” AI for you. The free version is enough.
- Trust links or phone numbers without checking them.
- Let it speak for you without reading it first.
You did it.
You have an email, an AI app, and you know how to use it safely. That's more than most people. Next up: