This course is the interactive companion to the CARSI AI reference resources. It introduces cleaning and restoration business operators to AI language tools — specifically ChatGPT and Claude — and guides them through using these tools for the specific documentation, marketing, compliance, and communication tasks that consume time in a restoration or cleaning business.
The course is structured around doing, not reading — participants work with AI tools in real time to produce outputs relevant to their own business. No prior technology experience is required.
WHAT THIS COURSE COVERS
AI language tools — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — are accessible, free-to-use technology that can produce professional written outputs in seconds when given a specific, contextual instruction. The challenge is not accessing the technology — it is knowing how to instruct it effectively and how to apply it to the right tasks.
This course builds practical AI competency across the tasks most relevant to restoration and cleaning operators: drafting water damage inspection reports and scope of works documents, producing JSEA and SWMS first drafts, creating SOP documentation, writing client communication letters and emails, generating social media and marketing content, and producing staff training materials.
HOW PROMPTS WORK — THE CORE SKILL
The quality of what an AI tool produces is determined by the quality of the instruction you give it. A vague instruction produces a generic output. A specific, contextual instruction produces a useful, tailored output that saves significant time.
The elements of an effective prompt: the role or document type you need, the specific details of the job or situation, the format you want the output in, the tone and audience for the output, and any constraints on length or content. Including all five elements in a prompt for a restoration-specific task typically produces a first draft that requires only minor editing.
REAL TASKS, REAL OUTPUTS
The practical component of this course involves producing actual outputs for actual business use. Participants are guided through prompts for: a water damage scope of works, a mould remediation JSEA, an end-of-job client letter, an SOP for a specific cleaning task, a Google Business Profile description, and a social media post for a recent job.
Each prompt is written, the output is reviewed, and the editing process is practised — developing the habit of treating AI output as a reviewed first draft rather than a finished product.
LIMITATIONS — WHAT AI CANNOT DO
AI tools produce confident-sounding content that may be factually incorrect. All AI-generated documents carrying professional, legal, or compliance significance must be reviewed by a competent human before use.
This review step is non-negotiable. Specific limitations for restoration businesses: AI cannot replace site assessment, AI may cite outdated regulations, and AI does not know your specific business details unless you provide them in every session.
INTRODUCING AI TOOLS TO YOUR BUSINESS
A structured four-stage implementation: personal use only for the first month (building competency), workflow integration for the second month (embedding AI in specific recurring tasks), team introduction in the third month (sharing tools and prompt templates with admin and senior staff), and ongoing optimisation from month four onward. The businesses that succeed with AI adoption introduce it gradually and deliberately, not all at once.
