AI Skills Survey Results Revealed

I know I’ve been a little quieter lately (switching to every-other-week episodes while we test new things), but I wanted to get into your ears today because something came up that surprised me — and I think it’ll surprise you, too.

We ran a quick AI skills survey to better understand why people do or don’t jump into AI training. At the time I recorded this episode, 73 people had answered. What I learned made me stop and think: over 54% of respondents said they were total newbies — that they’d never used AI. Now, that answer tells me something important: most people don’t recognize how much AI is already part of their lives, and they don’t see how it can help them intentionally.

So today I’m going to walk through what the survey showed, the main things holding people back, honest examples of how people are using AI, and practical, bite-sized next steps you can take — no tech background required. If you’re worried or skeptical, I get it. But if you want to stay competitive in today’s job market (or make your business easier to run), you want to hear this.

Survey snapshot — the headline numbers

• Respondents: 73 people.
• Experience level: ~54% reported they’ve never used AI; ~28% said they’ve dabbled (have a ChatGPT account or similar); 13% use AI several times a week or daily; 3 people said they use multiple platforms almost daily.
• Confidence to be hired because of AI skills: only 9% rated themselves very confident. Most rated themselves a 1 or 2 — they know they’re not yet competitive.
• Work status: the largest group (~32%) said they are job searching — which makes this skill set especially urgent for many listeners.
• Interest in future cohorts: roughly one third said yes, one third maybe, one third no.
• Top reasons people didn’t join AI Made EZ: cost, personal timing, and “research mode” (still trying to decide if they need AI).

What people said is getting in the way — and what to do about each one

1. Lack of priority / low interest
   Many respondents simply haven’t made AI a part of their daily life — either because they don’t think they need it or it’s not a pressing priority.
   Fix: Start tiny. Treat AI like the internet in the 1990s: you didn’t need to learn everything at once. Pick one small, useful task (summarizing emails, drafting a social caption, or planning a simple itinerary) and ask an AI to help. Ten minutes a day beats zero.
2. Anxiety and intimidation
   People are worried AI will “take their brains” or that it’s too technical. That fear is real and normal.
   Fix: Reframe AI as a thought partner, not a replacement. Open ChatGPT, type: “I’m new — give me a step-by-step list of three things I can use AI for this week.” Try one. See how it helps. Small wins build confidence faster than long study sessions.
3. Limited exposure to free versions
   Lots of people try a free tool once and stop there. They don’t dig deeper to learn how to use it effectively.
   Fix: Use the free versions to experiment — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, etc. Explore one task area and repeat. Upgrade only when a paid tool actually saves you time or money.

How people are using AI (real examples from respondents)

• Creating social media posts and captions quickly.
• Summarizing long documents and emails.
• Speeding up data analysis and building charts.
• Drafting presentations, white papers, and email copy — sometimes in seconds.
• Acting as a personal assistant for routine tasks (scheduling ideas, content outlines).
• In one case, people used AI as a second opinion for health questions — which is controversial, but some found it illuminating. (Important: AI is not a replacement for a licensed medical professional; use it as a prompt for better questions to bring to an expert.)

Quick success story: one student (call her Joan) used what she learned in the very first workshop to talk confidently about AI in a job interview — that confidence helped her stand out and move forward in the hiring process.

Confidence to be hired: the gap is real

Most respondents don’t feel hire able based on their current AI skills. That’s both a reality check and an opportunity. Employers are increasingly valuing candidates who can use AI thoughtfully — even if they aren’t engineers. If you’re job searching, learning practical, work-related AI skills will make you far more attractive.

Pricing & enrollment insights (what the survey told us about buying behavior)

• Price used in beta: $397, with a $100 promo discount ($297). For many people this felt like a fair deal; for others on tight budgets it was still a barrier.
• Implication for future offers: consider tiered pricing, payment plans, or lower-cost entry options (mini-courses, live Q&As, or micro-credentials). Surveying both buyers and non-buyers gave the team valuable signals for how to structure future cohorts.

Practical roadmap: what to do depending on where you are

If you’re brand new (the 54%):

1. Sign up for a free ChatGPT account or another free tool.
2. In a chat window paste: “I’m new to AI — give me three practical tasks I can use AI for this week and a one-sentence prompt for each.”
3. Pick one task and do it. Repeat. Build a habit.

If you’ve dabbled:

1. Move from “occasional use” to “tool in your workflow.” Try using AI for one recurring weekly task (newsletter draft, client outreach, or content idea generation).
2. Learn basic prompt techniques (clear goal + constraints + desired tone).
3. Save and reuse prompts that work.

If you use AI regularly:

1. Start learning about workflows and agents (small automations that handle repeated tasks).
2. Identify one process you do repeatedly and ask: Can AI do 60–80% of this for me? Then build a workflow to automate parts.
3. Consider combining tools (e.g., content generation in one platform + a scheduling tool + an automation).

For business owners & course creators

Surveying people who don’t buy is as valuable as surveying buyers. If cost is a barrier, test different price points and value messaging — you might find a subset for whom lower price + access to expert support matters. If people don’t understand the value, your marketing needs to connect features to real outcomes (e.g., “Get hired faster” or “Cut this task from 6 hours to 1 hour”).

Quick caution on “AI for health” or any high-stakes domain

Some respondents reported useful AI insights about health issues. That can be useful for research, but it’s not a substitute for licensed professionals. Use AI to generate questions for your doctor, not as a final diagnosis.

Closing: Why this matters — and my invitation

I want to leave you with a little tough love and a lot of encouragement. AI is not going away — in many ways it’s the new internet. If you bury your head and let tools shape you unconsciously, you’ll miss the chance to shape how they help you. But if you step in — even a little — you’ll get control, not the other way around.

If you’re over 50, lean into what you already bring: experience, empathy, communication. Pair that with simple AI skills and you become an incredibly competitive candidate or a more efficient business owner. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s okay — start with one tiny use case. That’s how confidence grows.

Takeaways 

1. You’re probably already using AI in small ways — the next step is to use it intentionally.
2. Three main barriers are lack of priority, intimidation, and limited exploration of free tools — each has an actionable fix.
3. Start tiny: choose one recurring task and use a free AI tool to do it faster this week.
4. If you’re job searching, AI skills are urgent — even basic, practical skills make you far more hire able.
5. Business owners: survey buyers and non-buyers; consider tiered pricing and easier entry points.
6. Level up with a plan: New → Weekly habit → Workflow/agents → Automation. Each step is practical and doable.

 That's all for today. Now, if you are interested in joining a future AI Made Easy cohort, then you can go ahead and click the link below to join our wait list, and when we release it again or a different version, you'll get notified. Thanks so much for listening. See you next time

Join the AI Made EZ waitlist

Thanks for joining me today. If you're thinking about getting back into the workforce, changing jobs, working remotely, or tackling technology, don't wait. Stay ahead of the trends. Grab my free remote work training now. Click the link in the show notes or visit www. camilleattel.com and hit the free training button. I'll see you in the next episode.

Host Camille Attell is a remote work strategist, career coach, and the host of The Remote Work Retirement Show. After leaving a 20-year corporate career, she transitioned to a flexible, location-independent lifestyle and has since helped thousands of professionals do the same. Through her Remote Work School program, Camille empowers mid-career professionals and retirees to find meaningful remote work opportunities, build financial security, and design a work-life on their own terms.

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