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Greetings from above,
Why did the AI prompt walk into a bar? Because nobody told it where to stop. (That's what happens without proper frameworks.)
ALEX'S STORY: I remember when I first started using ChatGPT back in 2022. I'd type something like "write me an email" and wonder why the output sounded like a robot having a stroke.
I was doing what 98% of people still do: treating AI like a magic vending machine instead of a precision instrument.
Then I learned two simple frameworks. Suddenly my prompts went from garbage to gold. My clients thought I'd hired a team. I hadn't. I just learned how to speak AI.
The gap between people who understand AI and those who don't is becoming a canyon. And in 2026, that canyon will swallow businesses whole.
Today's newsletter will show you:
The 7 essential AI skills ranked from beginner to advanced
Two prompting frameworks that make you better than 98% of users
The open-source revolution from China that's changing everything
Let's build your competitive advantage!
I'm moderating a panel on "What's Dead and What's Next in AI for 2026" at the AI Skills'2026 Virtual Conference on January 22nd.
4+ hours of panels with 3,000+ attendees
Topics: AI agents, MCP, automations, what VCs are actually funding
How one guy got 16M LinkedIn views with AI
It's free. It's on Zoom. Register here or hit the button below.
🎯 THE 2026 AI SKILL STACK
Most people treat AI skills like a buffet. A little prompting here. A tool demo there. No system. No progression.
That's why they plateau. They never move from tourist to native.
This skill stack creates:
A clear progression from beginner to advanced
Compounding advantages (each skill amplifies the next)
Real competitive moats that can't be copied overnight
📚 SKILL #1: PROMPTING (Foundation Level)
Prompting is to AI what steering is to driving. Without it, you're just a passenger.
Two frameworks will make you better than 98% of users:
Framework 1: TCREI (Tiny Crabs Write Enormous Iguanas)
T - Task: What specific action do you want?
C - Context: Background information the AI needs
R - References: Examples of what good output looks like
E - Evaluate: How will you judge the output?
I - Iterate: Refine based on results
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Framework 2: RASTI (Ramen Saves Tragic Idiots)
R - Role: Who should the AI be?
A - Audience: Who is this for?
S - Steps: Break down the process
T - Tone: How should it sound?
I - Intent: What's the underlying goal?
Why it matters: Prompting is the foundation that unlocks every other skill. Skip this, and nothing else works.
📚 SKILL #2: ESSENTIAL TOOL MASTERY
Good news: You don't need 50 AI tools. You need 4 capabilities:
General AI Chatbot: Answer questions, rewrite content, analyze data (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
Research Tool: News feeds, deep research reports, citation tracking (Perplexity, Gemini Deep Research)
Learning Accelerator: Turn complex topics into digestible knowledge (NotebookLM, custom GPTs)
Builder Tool: Create slides, dashboards, simple apps (Claude Artifacts, Canvas, Cursor)
Most modern chatbots now handle all four. Pick one. Master it. Stop tool-hopping.
📚 SKILL #3: BUILDING CUSTOM AI AGENTS (Intermediate)
AI agents are software systems that pursue goals on your behalf. They don't just answer. They act.
Why this matters for businesses:
Independent AI products are everywhere. But companies can't just swap out their entire workflow for a new tool.
The real money is in building custom AI solutions that integrate into existing systems.
Real examples:
Retention Agent: When customers try to unsubscribe, crafts personalized emails addressing their specific reason. Not a generic "10% off" but targeted responses based on their complaint.
Reporting Agent: Automatically generates investor reports by pulling from multiple databases. Cuts reporting time from days to hours.
Tools to learn: n8n, Make, Langchain, CrewAI, AutoGen, Flowise
Here's the trend nobody's talking about: China is winning the open-source AI race.
DeepSeek changed everything. An open-source model performing as well as closed-source giants like GPT-4.
Why open-source matters:
Cost: Dramatically cheaper at scale
Control: Run it anywhere. On-premise, edge, private cloud. No API dependency.
Customization: Fine-tune, modify architecture, add your own guardrails
No vendor lock-in: Switch providers without rebuilding everything
Auditable: Required for regulated industries (finance, healthcare) where transparency matters
The shift: A16Z reports 80% of AI startups pitching them are now built on Chinese open-source models like DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen.
Models to explore: DeepSeek, Qwen, LLaMA, Mistral, Phi
📚 SKILL #5: VIBE CODING (Advanced)
Vibe coding = AI-assisted product building. You describe what you want. The AI builds it.
A year ago, building a web app required months of coding. Now you can build functional products in hours with zero coding experience.
The spectrum of tools:
No-code (Beginners): Lovable, Bolt, v0
Low-code (Some experience): Replit Agent, Windsurf
Pro-code (Developers): Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline
Why it matters: Product building is no longer gated by technical skills. The ability to rapidly prototype gives you speed advantages competitors can't match.
📚 SKILLS #6-7: EMERGING TRENDS TO WATCH
Multimodality (Images, Video, Audio)
AI-generated audio is already indistinguishable from human voices. Images and video are catching up fast.
Google's Nano Banana model solved the character consistency problem. Same character across multiple frames. This was impossible 6 months ago.
AI Safety
Not sexy. Not trendy. But critical.
As these tools become more powerful, understanding their risks becomes essential. Especially if you're building products or advising businesses.
⚙️ IMPLEMENTATION PROMPT: THE SKILL AUDITOR
💡 Use this prompt to assess your current AI skill level and create a personalized 90-day learning plan.
You are an AI Skills Assessment Specialist who helps professionals identify gaps in their AI capabilities and create actionable learning roadmaps.
Your task is to:
1. Assess my current AI skill level across 7 domains:
- Prompting fundamentals
- AI tool proficiency
- Custom agent building
- Open-source AI knowledge
- Vibe coding / AI-assisted development
- Multimodality applications
- AI safety understanding
2. Ask me diagnostic questions (max 3 per domain) to gauge my practical experience, not just theoretical knowledge.
3. Rate each skill 1-5:
1 = No experience
2 = Aware but not practiced
3 = Can do basic tasks
4 = Confident and productive
5 = Can teach others
4. Create a 90-day learning plan prioritizing:
- Skills with highest ROI for my role
- Skills that compound (build on each other)
- Quick wins to build momentum
Start by asking about my current role and what I primarily use AI for today.Input needed:
Your current role/business
What you currently use AI for
Where you feel most stuck
Output you'll get: A personalized skill assessment with a 90-day roadmap showing exactly what to learn and in what order.
🔑 Prompting 101 🔑
Check out a new article I wrote on X, sharing tips on prompting 3 major AI tools I use:
Claude, Gemini, and NotebookLM.
Check it out by clicking below:
📋 SUMMARY 📋
Foundation: Master prompting with TCREI and RASTI frameworks
Tools: Pick one general chatbot. Master four capabilities.
Agents: Learn to build custom AI solutions that integrate into existing workflows
Open-source: The China-led revolution is making AI cheaper, more controllable, and more transparent
Vibe coding: Product building is no longer gated by technical skills
Emerging: Watch multimodality (it's almost there) and AI safety (it's becoming critical)
📚 FREE RESOURCES 📚
📦 WRAP UP 📦
What you learned today:
1. The 7-Skill Stack - A progression from prompting basics to emerging AI capabilities that compound on each other.
2. Two Prompting Frameworks - TCREI and RASTI give you structure that 98% of users lack.
3. The Open-Source Shift - China's open-source models are changing the economics of AI. This affects your costs, control, and competitive position.
This skill stack transforms you from AI tourist to AI native.
No more random tool-hopping.
You now have a clear progression path.
What did you think about today's edition?
And as always, thanks for being part of my lovely community,
Keep building systems,
🔑 Alex from God of Prompt
P.S. Which skill from this stack do you want me to deep-dive on next? Custom agents? Vibe coding? Open-source models? Hit reply and let me know!
