We’re talking about AI. Who’s teaching people to use it?

By Thrive · 13 October 2026

We keep talking about what AI can do. How much are we doing to teach people how to use it?

A 2025 study led by the University of Melbourne in collaboration with KPMG surveyed 48,340 people across 47 countries. The researchers collected responses between November 2024 and January 2025.

Two findings stood out to me:

• 47% of employees said they had received AI training.
• 46% of respondents overall were willing to trust AI systems.

You can explore the university’s study and methodology or read its summary of these findings.

For me, those figures make a strong case for more practical AI education. We can’t simply hand people access to AI and assume they’ll know what to do with it.

Give people something useful to work on

“Try using AI” is a very broad instruction when you’re already busy running a business, managing work or trying to get through your to-do list.

I’d start with a task someone actually needs help with: drafting a customer reply, turning a page of notes into a clear plan, or organising the information for a project they’ve been putting off.

Take a customer reply. You could show someone how to explain what the customer needs, add the relevant service details and ask for the tone they want. Then read the result together. Did it use the right price? Has it promised something the business doesn’t offer? What would make it sound more like them?

That gives people a chance to practise the whole process: explain, try, check and improve.

Make checking part of learning

I want people to feel comfortable asking questions about the answer they receive. Where did that figure come from? Is that information up to date? Does this actually fit what I asked?

A useful learning session should leave room for those questions, for mistakes and for another attempt. People need opportunities to understand the tools, try them on tasks that matter to them, and learn how to check the results.

That’s the approach I’m building Thrive around: clear explanations, practical examples and space to work on something that matters to you.

We spend plenty of time talking about AI’s possibilities. Let’s give people the support to explore them.