Senior leaders and L&D
Frame your AI strategy in language your staff and trustees can act on - not just hype.
Free PDF guide
The Higher Education Use Case Guide: from chatbot prompts toautomated AI workflows.
One familiar task, traced up the AI Use Hierarchy: from ad hoc prompts to repeatable workflows your teams can follow, without drowning in hype or one-off prompts.
- Free 10-page PDF
- 5-min read
- Built for higher education
- Mapped to the AI Use Hierarchy
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Inside the guide
The five-level AI Use Hierarchy
Five levels, from first use to institutional capability. The guide shows real, tangible examples of how one task changes as staff move up, and the estimated time saved.
- 01
Level 1 -Conversational AI
Open an AI assistant, paste, prompt, refine.
Where most staff start, and where most AI training stops.
- 02
Level 2 -Structured Prompting
Reusable prompts, templates and instructions.
Same task every week? Stop typing it from scratch.
- 03
Level 3 -Custom Configuration
Custom GPTs and Copilot agents tuned to your role.
Your guidelines, tone of voice and source files, on tap.
- 04
Level 4 -Agents and Workflows
Workflows that run with minimal manual effort.
Triggered by a meeting, an inbox, a calendar, not by you.
- 05
Level 5 -Integration and Orchestration
AI connected into team and institutional systems.
Several tools coordinated, with governance in place.
10-page PDF
What's inside
Build an AI progression your staff can actually follow
A task-every-term approach: turning meeting notes into a clean action summary. You'll see how that task evolves from a basic chatbot prompt to an automated workflow, using tools many institutions already have.
- The five-level AI Use Hierarchy every HE team should know.
- One familiar task, traced from chatbot prompt to automated workflow.
- Where Copilot, Teams and Power Automate fit in the progression.
- How to move staff from ad hoc prompts to repeatable systems.
- Estimated time saved at each level of the hierarchy.
Who it's for
Written for everyone making AI work in HE
Whether you're shaping policy or saving time on your inbox, the same five-level hierarchy applies.
Academic teams
Move from one-off prompts to repeatable AI for teaching prep, feedback and research admin.
Professional services
See where the real time savings live in admissions, comms, finance, HR and student support.
2-3 hours
estimated saving per staff member, per week
Moving from Level 1 to Level 2 alone could save an estimated 2 to 3 hours per staff member per week across common tasks. This is our estimate from the worked examples in the guide, not a measured result. Try your own figures in the AI Savings Calculator.
Quick answers
Before you download
How long is the guide?
10 pages, designed to read in around five minutes. One worked example, traced up the AI Use Hierarchy, with the estimated time saved at each level.
Do I need any special tools to use it?
No. The guide uses tools many UK universities already have, including Microsoft Copilot, Teams and Power Automate. The principles work with any modern AI assistant.
Will I get spammed?
No. You download the guide right away; we only send a small number of relevant follow-ups. You can unsubscribe in one click at any time.
Can I share it with my team?
Yes - please do. The guide is written to be circulated. If you'd like a session walking your team through it, just reply to the email.
Ready to take your team beyond the guide?
WorkSmart-AI delivers structured AI training built specifically for higher education - from foundational literacy to agentic workflows.