The AI Money Skills Playbook

Google's former CEO said the people who get rich off AI are the ones who learn these skills. Here is the exact free list: 28 resources sorted into 5 buckets in the order you should actually learn them, with the verified Claude/Anthropic version of every resource side by side with the OpenAI one. 100% free.

What You'll Learn

• 28 free resources, sorted in the order you should actually learn them
• The verified Claude/Anthropic version of every tool, side by side
• The path from beginner to building real software and agents
• The 5-week step-by-step plan to run it

How To Use This

Most people bookmark a list like this and never open it again. Do not be most people. Pick ONE bucket, start at the top link, and spend an hour. The buckets are in the order you should learn them. Each resource lists the OpenAI version and the Claude version, so you can pick your lane.

The goal: By the end of bucket 4 you can build working software just by talking to it. That is the skill that actually makes money in the AI era. Everything before it is the on-ramp.

Bucket 1: The Fundamentals

Start here. Learn to actually prompt and get what you want out of AI. The highest-leverage skill before anything technical.

OpenAI lane:

• ChatGPT basics (intro to using ChatGPT): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9260256-chatgpt-capabilities-overview
• OpenAI Academy (free official courses): https://academy.openai.com/
• Prompt engineering (write prompts that work): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/prompt-engineering
• GPT-5.5 prompting guide (tips for the newest model): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/prompt-guidance

Claude lane:

• Get started with Claude (intro to using Claude): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8114491-get-started-with-claude
• Anthropic Academy (free official courses): https://www.anthropic.com/learn/build-with-claude
• Claude prompt engineering (prompts that work): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/overview
• Prompting best practices (tips + interactive tutorial): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/claude-4-best-practices

Bucket 2: Memory, Projects + Tasks

Everything you can build with zero code: getting AI to remember you and work on your projects.

OpenAI lane:

• ChatGPT memory (AI remembers your context): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8590148-memory-faq
• Projects (saved workspaces + files): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt
• Custom GPTs (build a custom assistant): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8554407-gpts-in-chatgpt
• Tasks (schedule recurring jobs): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10291617-scheduled-tasks-in-chatgpt

Claude lane:

• Claude memory (AI remembers your context): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11817273
• Claude Projects (saved workspaces + files): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9519177
• Agent Skills (package a reusable skill): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/agent-skills
• Cowork tasks (schedule recurring jobs): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13854387

Bucket 3: API + Tool Calls

The developer layer, for building real products people pay for. You do not need to be an engineer.

OpenAI lane:

• API docs (connect AI to your apps): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs
• Responses API (the main API endpoint): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/migrate-to-responses
• Tools + function calling (let AI call your tools): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/tools
• Structured outputs (force clean JSON output): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/structured-outputs
• Conversation state (track multi-turn context): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/conversation-state
• OpenAI Cookbook (copy-paste code recipes): https://github.com/openai/openai-cookbook

Claude lane:

• Claude API (connect AI to your apps): https://docs.claude.com/en/api
• Messages API (the main API endpoint): https://docs.claude.com/en/api/messages
• Tool use (let AI call your tools): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/tool-use
• Structured outputs (force clean JSON output): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/structured-outputs
• Context windows (manage the context limit): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/context-windows
• Claude Cookbooks (copy-paste code recipes): https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-cookbook

Bucket 4: Code With AI

The one that changes your income: building real software just by describing it. The biggest bucket for a reason.

OpenAI lane:

• Codex overview (code by chatting): https://developers.openai.com/codex
• Quickstart (set it up fast): https://developers.openai.com/codex/quickstart
• CLI (the terminal tool): https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli
• GitHub repo (open-source code): https://github.com/openai/codex
• Best practices (how pros use it): https://developers.openai.com/codex/learn/best-practices
• AGENTS.md (give it project context): https://developers.openai.com/codex/guides/agents-md
• Skills (reusable abilities): https://developers.openai.com/codex/skills
• MCP (plug in external tools): https://developers.openai.com/codex/mcp
• Subagents (parallel AI workers): https://developers.openai.com/codex/subagents

Claude lane:

• Claude Code (code by chatting): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview
• Quickstart (set it up fast): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/quickstart
• CLI reference (the terminal tool): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/cli-reference
• GitHub repo (open-source code): https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code
• Best practices (how pros use it): https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/claude-code-best-practices
• CLAUDE.md (give it project context): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/memory
• Skills (reusable abilities): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills
• MCP (plug in external tools): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/mcp
• Subagents (parallel AI workers): https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/sub-agents

Bucket 5: Agents, Apps + MCP

Where AI stops answering questions and starts doing the work: using your other apps and acting on your behalf.

OpenAI lane:

• Agents SDK (build autonomous agents): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/agents
• Agents quickstart (first agent fast): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/agents/quickstart
• Apps SDK (apps inside ChatGPT): https://developers.openai.com/apps-sdk
• Apps SDK quickstart (build your first app): https://developers.openai.com/apps-sdk/quickstart
• Developer mode + MCP (connect external tools): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/developer-mode

Claude lane:

• Claude Agent SDK (build autonomous agents): https://docs.claude.com/en/api/agent-sdk
• Agent SDK quickstart (first agent fast): https://docs.claude.com/en/api/agent-sdk/quickstart
• Custom MCP connectors (apps for Claude): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11503834
• Connectors quickstart (build your first connector): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166
• MCP, the open tool standard (Anthropic invented it): https://modelcontextprotocol.io/

Your Step-By-Step Plan To Master AI

The list is useless without a plan. Here is the exact order to run it if you were starting today. One bucket at a time, and do not move on until you can actually use the last one.

1. Week 1, Fundamentals: Spend a week only on bucket 1. Learn to prompt properly. This makes every other step 10x easier.
2. Week 2, No-code muscle: Set up memory and projects, and build one custom assistant for something you do every week.
3. Week 3, Touch the API: Do one cookbook recipe end to end. You do not need to be an engineer, just see how the pieces connect.
4. Week 4, Build real software: Install Codex or Claude Code and build one small working tool by talking to it. This is the money skill.
5. Week 5, Make it act: Connect one agent or MCP tool so your AI does a real task for you. Now you have a digital employee.

The only rule: Do not collect tabs. Pick one bucket, finish it, then move on. Most people lose because they bookmark everything and start nothing. You only need to be one bucket ahead of where you are now.

Go Deeper

Printable PDF version of this guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qIdtsg9zMojozfPk3mlNC1ZkUDlYgFGn/view?usp=drivesdk

Want the whole system installed live, with Cooper on the call? Build Your Own AI, the two week sprint runs the first two weeks of August.

Or get a new working tool every Monday inside The AI Operator community on Whop.