Right. Let us get your account set up.
First: create your account using your professional email address, not a personal one. This associates your AI use with your business identity and makes it easier to manage if you ever bring a team member onto the same platform.
Once you are in, before you do anything else, go to your privacy and data settings.
Most of the major platforms have a section that covers how your conversation data is handled and whether it is used to train future models. Find it, read it, and make the choice that is right for your practice.
Next, find the custom instructions or personalisation settings. In ChatGPT this is under Settings and then Personalisation. In Claude this is in your Profile settings and within Projects. The specific location differs but every major platform has a version of this. We are going to use this in Module 3 to set up your personal context document, so I just want you to find it now and know where it is.
Then: download the mobile app.
Whichever platform you have chosen, it has a mobile app that is genuinely functional, not a stripped-down version of the desktop experience. For advisors who spend time away from their desk, on site visits, at trade events, travelling with clients, the mobile app extends the usefulness of the tool significantly. Get it on your phone now, while you are thinking about it.
Finally, and this sounds small but it is not: bookmark the platform and add it to your browser toolbar. Tools you have to search for are tools you do not use consistently. Remove the friction between you and the tool and you will use it more. Remove the friction and you will build the habit faster.
