Microsoft Brasil announces the course FluêncIA for Small and Medium Businesses, a series of educational videos produced by company experts, offering practical and accessible tips to optimize the day-to-day operations of businesses. The course was designed to help small entrepreneurs understand and apply artificial intelligence in their businesses. Divided into ten episodes, the content ranges from basic AI concepts to creating effective prompts to achieve results with generative AI tools.
The content is permanently available on the official channel “Microsoft AI Skills” on YouTube, where the company provides AI tips for beginners and professionals at various levels worldwide. Through the channel, Microsoft offers tutorials, expert insights, and accessible tips to help diverse audiences gain confidence and achieve results using artificial intelligence.
In the course FluêncIA for Small and Medium Businesses, Rande Rodrigues, Technical Specialist, and Liliane Lima, Channel Manager at Microsoft Brasil, demonstrate examples of how generative AI can be useful for SMBs, such as automating repetitive tasks, improving internal processes, and creating a data analysis foundation to guide decision-making.
One of the techniques explored in the course is OCFE – an acronym for “Objective,” “Context,” “Source,” and “Expectations.” The technique is essential for creating effective prompts when interacting with artificial intelligence:
- Objective refers to what the user wants to obtain as a response from the AI.
- Context can be described as the reason why the information is needed and its importance to the business, as well as who else may benefit from it, such as customers or partners.
- Source indicates where the AI should look for the necessary information.
- Expectations should describe how the user expects the AI to respond to meet their needs.
Check out three examples of practical tips offered in the course FluencIA for small and medium businesses:
1. Automating repetitive tasks
Imagine you’re an entrepreneur who spends a lot of time managing emails, scheduling meetings, and organizing information. These repetitive tasks can be automated using AI, freeing up your time for more strategic activities. In the FluencIA course, you learn how to use Microsoft Copilot to automate these tasks. For example, you can ask the tool to create an action table from your emails from the previous week. An effective prompt for this action would be: “Based on last week’s emails, create an action table, including the action owner, the person who assigned it, and the deadline. I need this to have a good structure to organize my day. Be concise.” This type of prompt helps you better organize your time and prioritize important tasks.
Lesson 2 – Learn to write good prompts (source: Microsoft AI Skills)
2. Data analysis for decision-making
For many SMBs, analyzing large volumes of data can be a challenge, but it’s essential for making informed decisions. In the course, you learn how to use AI to analyze financial data, predict consumption trends, and optimize production processes. For example, if you need to add columns about gross profit and net profit to a sales spreadsheet, you can describe the context to Copilot within Excel and ask it to generate comparative charts and describe the observed trends. A detailed prompt for this case would be: “Add a column for gross profit and another for net profit in my sales spreadsheet. Generate comparative charts and describe the observed trends.” This allows you to better visualize the data and make more accurate decisions.
Lesson 7 – How to create and manage your cash flow (source: Microsoft AI Skills)
3. Creating marketing campaigns
Developing effective marketing campaigns is crucial for the growth of SMBs. AI can assist in content creation, target audience segmentation, and campaign performance analysis. In the FluencIA course, you learn how to use Microsoft Copilot for these tasks. For example, when planning a campaign to launch a new product, you can ask Copilot to create a detailed activity schedule and suggest social media content. A good prompt to achieve this goal is: “Create a detailed activity schedule for the new product launch campaign (describe the product and target audience), including social media content suggestions and success indicators.” This helps structure the campaign better and reach the target audience more effectively.
Lesson 8 – How to generate a social media marketing campaign (source: Microsoft AI Skills)
