This article explains what AI Practice is, how to use it to turn what you watch into what you do, and how Learning Managers can turn it on for their organization.
AI Practice is an AI-powered coaching chat available on select Video Lesson pages. After watching a lesson, you can have a short, guided conversation that helps you connect the expert's idea to your own role and situation, and leave with a concrete next step.
What is AI Practice?
Unlike a general AI chatbot, AI Practice is grounded in the specific lesson you just watched. It draws only on that lesson's content and the expert's framework, so the conversation stays relevant and on-topic rather than wandering into generic advice.
How do I start an AI Practice session?
- Watch a Video Lesson. AI Practice is available on individual video lessons that include a Practice prompt. It isn't available on Courses or Expert Classes yet.
- Look for the Chat with AI Practice button on the right side of the lesson page, just above the Learner Guide.
- Click it to open the AI Practice panel next to the video. It opens with a practice question tied to the lesson.
- Type your response in the text box and press Enter or click Send.
- Keep the conversation going. The coach will ask follow-up questions to help you get specific about how you'll apply the idea.
Don't see the Chat with AI Practice button? AI Practice isn't turned on for every organization yet, and it only appears on lessons with a practice prompt. If you think your organization should have access, check with your Learning Manager.
What happens during a session?
AI Practice acts like a real-time coach focused on the lesson you just watched. Depending on the conversation, it may:
- Ask reflective questions to help you connect the idea to your specific role or situation
- Invite you to rehearse a real conversation or scenario before you have it for real, like giving feedback or navigating a conflict
- Help you land on one clear, concrete thing you'll do differently, and when
Responses are kept short and conversational on purpose, so it feels like a dialogue rather than a lecture. AI Practice stays focused on the lesson's topic. It's not designed to answer general questions, offer medical, legal or HR/compliance advice, or replace a real coach or manager for serious personal or workplace issues. If a conversation goes off-topic, the AI will gently bring it back to the lesson.
Tips to get more out of AI Practice
- Ask for the hard part. When you rehearse a conversation, ask AI Practice to play the other person and push back, not the easy version. For example: "Role play this as if they disagree with me and get defensive." That's where you learn the most.
- Focus on the situation, not the person. You don't need names or personal details to get great coaching. Instead of "I'm meeting with Jane Smith tomorrow about her low rating and corrective action," try "I'm preparing for a performance conversation with a team member and want to practice giving clear, constructive feedback."
Which lessons should I try first?
Pick a lesson that connects to something real you have coming up, like a meeting, a presentation or a tough conversation. AI Practice opens with its own question, or you can start with one of these prompts:
| Lesson | Try asking AI Practice... |
|---|---|
| Stabilize Your Schedule with Time Blocking Cal Newport | "Help me plan out my week with time blocking." |
| 4 Ways to Establish Your Credibility Carla Harris | "I'd like to role play an upcoming meeting where I want to build my credibility." |
| Say It with Confidence Jefferson Fisher | "How does Jefferson's advice apply to sharing my ideas with my leaders?" |
| Build Leaders Through Delegation Atul Gawande | "How can I help my team take on more ownership?" |
| Finish Stronger Liz Wiseman | "Help me plan a project so I finish strong." |
Is my conversation saved or private?
Your AI Practice conversations are never shared with your employer or organization admins. They don't see your individual responses. At most, they see aggregated insights that can't identify you.
The Big Think+ team may review conversation content, including yours, as part of how we monitor and improve AI Practice over time, the same way we'd look at how any feature is being used to make it better. This doesn't change the privacy from your own organization described above, and your conversations are not used to train any external AI model.
Each session starts fresh. Closing the panel or returning to the lesson begins a brand-new conversation rather than picking up where you left off. If you'd like to keep a copy, use the Copy this chat to your clipboard link at the bottom of the panel before you close it.
How is AI Practice different from the Learner Guide?
Every video lesson also has a Learner Guide with "Before you watch" and "After you watch" prompts you can answer in writing, privately, at your own pace (and download as a PDF). AI Practice uses the same practice prompt as its starting point, but turns it into a live, back-and-forth conversation instead of a written reflection.
- Use the Learner Guide when you want to jot down your own thinking, on your own time.
- Use AI Practice when you want to talk it through, get follow-up questions, or rehearse a scenario in writing.
I'm a Learning Manager. Why would I turn on AI Practice?
- It closes the gap between watching and doing. Learners leave a lesson with a specific next step for their own situation, not just a good idea.
- Safe rehearsal. Managers can practice a hard conversation, like feedback or conflict, before they have it for real.
- Coaching at scale. Every learner gets a coach-style conversation tied to expert content, without scheduling a session.
- Private by design. Learners can be candid because their individual conversations are never shared with their organization.
How do I get AI Practice turned on for my organization?
AI Practice is enabled for each organization by the Big Think+ team. To turn it on, or to check whether it's already on, contact your Big Think+ Customer Success Manager. Once it's enabled, the Chat with AI Practice button appears automatically on eligible lessons. Learners don't need to set anything up.
If AI Practice is on for your organization but a learner doesn't see the button on a lesson with a practice prompt, let your Customer Success Manager know so we can check that learner's account settings.
How is my data handled?
Your use of Big Think+, including AI Practice, is covered by the Big Think+ Privacy Policy. The section above, Is my conversation saved or private?, explains how AI Practice conversations specifically are handled.
Changes to how AI Practice handles data
We list changes to how AI Practice handles data here, with the date of each change, so you can share one stable link with your security and privacy teams.
- August 2026: We began saving the full text of each AI Practice conversation (your messages and the AI's replies), along with the lesson it took place on, so the Big Think+ team can understand how the feature is used and improve it. These records are not shared with your organization.
Good to know
- You may occasionally see a message that AI Practice is temporarily unavailable. If that happens, try again in a few minutes.
- AI content may be inaccurate. Use your own judgment, and the lesson itself, as your guide.
- It's currently available on individual Video Lessons only, not on Courses or Expert Classes.
- Availability depends on your organization's settings, so not every learner will see it yet.