Three AI skills worth learning first
If you are new to skills, start with these three.
Each one changes what your AI does on the first try, and each takes a few minutes to set up. Then there is a bonus: the skill that teaches your AI to make more skills.
First, what is a skill?
A skill is a set of instructions your AI picks up when a job calls for it.
| Skill | What it gives your AI | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend Design | A designer’s eye for websites and presentations | Claude (paid plans), Claude Code |
| Watch | The ability to see a video, not only read its transcript | Claude Code, Codex |
| Deep Research | Many sources read for you, one report you can check | Built into Claude and ChatGPT |
| Skill Creator | A way to turn your own process into a skill | Claude (paid plans), Claude Code |
You don't have to remember it or paste it in. You ask for the work, and it brings the know-how.
Under the hood it is a folder with a SKILL.md file: a name, a one-line description of when to use it, and the steps. The skills breakdown covers the format in depth.
Frontend Design
A design brain for your AI: it makes the choices a designer would before it writes a single line of code.
# In the Claude app: it is one of Anthropic’s skills on paid plans.
# Ask for a website, a landing page, or a presentation.
# In Claude Code, one-time install:
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-code
/plugin install frontend-design@claude-code-pluginsWebsites and presentations that don’t look like every other AI page.
TryBe specific: “a landing page for a small-batch coffee roaster” gets you much further than “a landing page.”
github.comOpenAsk an assistant for a website without it and you get the page everyone gets: “Welcome to Our Platform,” three identical cards, a purple gradient. With it, the same request comes back with a point of view.
It works for presentations too. Ask for a presentation as one web page and you get something you can scroll, share, and present from a browser; a website is the best presentation you can give shows how.
Watch
Watch lets your AI look at a video frame by frame, alongside what is said, instead of only reading the transcript.
# In Claude Code
/plugin marketplace add bradautomates/claude-video
/plugin install watch@claude-video
# then pick /watch:watch, or just ask:
Use watch on [youtube link].
What's the hook in the first 5 seconds?Your AI stops reading about the video and starts seeing it: the hook, the pacing, and the B-roll nobody talks over.
TryIt watches one video at a time. For B-roll, ask it to go through the folder clip by clip, then tag and sort each one.
github.comOpenReading only hears the words. Watching sees everything: the text on screen before anyone speaks, four cuts in the first three seconds, the moment the pacing slows for the explanation and speeds up for the payoff. It is open source (MIT) with about 19,000 stars on GitHub.
It runs where your AI can use your computer: Claude Code (including the Code tab in the desktop app) and OpenAI’s Codex. It doesn’t run in a regular chat window. It also needs Python, FFmpeg, and yt-dlp, plus Deno for YouTube links; ask your AI to install them for you.
Deep Research
Your AI reads the web for you, compares what it finds, and hands back a report with its sources.
It is built into Claude and ChatGPT, with nothing to install. Use it before you spend money or time:
Several readers at once, one cited report back.
TrySay who it is for and what you will do with the answer, ask for sources, then click a few of them yourself.
claude.comOpenChoose it from the tools before you ask; it works for a few minutes, then returns a report.
TryAsk once and get a report you can check, instead of twenty tabs you never finish.
chatgpt.comOpenIn Claude, turn on Research before you send your question; Claude searches, reads, and comes back with a cited report. In ChatGPT, choose Deep research from the tools, then ask. It can take a few minutes, so let it work.
Bonus: Skill Creator
The hidden gem: it turns the way you like things done into a skill your AI uses every time.
You: Use the skill creator to make a skill for my Instagram captions.
AI: What should every caption get right?
You: Short and personal. Add context the video doesn't show. No hype.
AI: When should it run?
You: Any time I ask for a caption.
caption-voice/SKILL.md ✓ tested on three sample posts, savedAn interview that becomes a skill: your rules, your voice, your process.
TryEvery time you explain the same thing twice, there is a skill waiting to be written. Start with that one.
github.comOpenYou don’t write the skill yourself. It interviews you, writes the SKILL.md, tests it on a few examples, and saves it.
Pick one. Use it this week.
Don’t install all four tonight. Pick the one closest to the work in front of you and use it on something real this week.
| If you… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Build sites, pages, or pitch decks | Frontend Design |
| Make or study video | Watch |
| Are about to spend money or time on a decision | Deep Research |
| Keep explaining the same thing to your AI | Skill Creator |
Choose one of the four, use it on a real task today, and save what it made. If it saved you time, keep it. If you found yourself correcting it the same way twice, that correction is your first custom skill.
Resources
Every link this breakdown leans on, in one place.