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Artificial intelligence is advancing so quickly that it can be hard to keep up. Luckily, there are tons of great resources online that can help you get familiar with and actually understand AI. Even better, we've gathered all of the best ones here.
Whether you're a professional looking to up your game, a student hoping to prepare for a career in AI, or simply a curious layperson, there's something here to help you understand the rapidly evolving technology that's shaping our world.
Best of all, all of the courses below are either totally free or accessible with a free trial membership.
IBM’s Intro to AI series is an excellent primer on AI in a general sense. It goes over everything from deep learning and neural networks to AI ethics, computer vision, and natural language processing—providing a better rounded look at artificial intelligence than some of the other courses on this list. As such, it’s a good course to take if you’re looking to learn generally about AI, rather than ways to apply and use it.
Over seven interactive lessons (all of which only take a few minutes to complete), this course from Brilliant breaks down the fundamentals of large language models (LLMs) and how they work. Don't worry if you don't have a computer science education, either. This course is so approachable that even if you barely use technology, you can grasp the core concepts and walk away with a working knowledge of generative AI.
Another excellent course for beginners is Google’s Introduction to Generative AI. Featuring one 22-minute video and roughly half an hour of reading, it’s a bit longer and more in-depth than Brilliant’s bite-size lessons, but it's still very approachable. Bonus: If you pass the quiz at the end, you earn a completion badge that you can show off, too.
If you’re after a more in-depth and comprehensive dive into AI, Google’s AI Essentials might be for you. Rather than focusing exclusively on one aspect of AI, the course goes over the fundamentals of machine learning more broadly, breaks down what AI is (and isn’t) capable of, and explains how you can use it in your personal and professional life. You need to commit more time to this one, though: The course material takes just under 10 hours to complete.
If you already have a decent grasp on how generative AI works and are more interested in learning how to use it more effectively, IBM’s seven-hour course on prompt engineering is a great place to start. The curriculum quickly recaps the basics and then gets straight into the nitty-gritty details of how to get AI to generate exactly what you want. You'll learn all about tools and techniques that professional prompt engineers use to get better results.
This course from Microsoft not only offers a great mix of introductory knowledge about AI and how it works, but it also has some useful ideas about practical applications in a workplace setting. It primarily focuses on how to use Microsoft’s Copilot AI, but many of the techniques, tips, and tricks in the course are broad enough that you can apply them anywhere, with whatever AI tool you prefer.
If you already have a decent grasp of how AI works and want to learn how to leverage it in your professional life, Microsoft’s LinkedIn Learning course on AI and productivity is fantastic. The first few lessons teach you about AI-assisted productivity hacks and prompt engineering, while the latter parts of the class focus on how to use generative AI to make things like PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets.
If you need to beef up your understanding of neural networks, we highly recommend this 15-lesson course from Brilliant. It starts off with an explanation of the core concepts behind neural networks but quickly goes beyond the basics and introduces you to more advanced topics like sigmoid neurons and XOR gates—all while remaining highly approachable. Again, no computer science degree required; Brilliant’s lessons are designed so that anybody can dive in and understand the course material immediately.
If you want to get straight to tinkering with AI, this course is a must. As the name suggests, the class gives you the tools and skills you need to not only understand chatbots but also start creating your own—all without any coding or programming knowledge. As with many of the other courses on this list, you can earn a certificate if you complete all the lessons and pass the exam at the end.
About Our Experts
My specialties are longform/serial storytelling and gonzo journalism. I have a habit of recklessly offering myself up as a test dummy if I smell even the slightest hint of a good first-person narrative. That’s how I ended up with RFID chips in my hands (more on that later). When it comes to tech, I’m definitely a jack of all trades and a master of none. I’ve got a strong working knowledge of everything from semiconductors to Section 230, and I’ve reviewed just about every kind of tech product you can imagine—but I am by no means an expert on most topics. That being said, I'll happily talk your ear off about additive manufacturing, grid-scale energy storage, and rear suspension systems for mountain bikes.
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I’ve been writing about consumer technology and video games for over a decade at a variety of publications, including Destructoid, GamesRadar+, Lifewire, PCGamesN, Trusted Reviews, and What Hi-Fi?, among many others. At PCMag, I review AI and productivity software—everything from chatbots to to-do list apps. In my free time, I’m likely cooking something, playing a game, or tinkering with my computer.
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