A useful AI setup.
One step at a time.

NEVER USED AI? YOU CAN START HERE.

You know your shop.
Learn the assistant one step at a time.

You do not need a technical background. An AI assistant is a conversation window: you type what you need, send it, read the response, and ask a follow-up. A “prompt” is simply the question or instructions you give it. Start with a practice task you can check yourself.

1. Choose one assistant

   Our starting recommendation is ChatGPT Business. Claude Team is another good starting choice, especially if your team already uses Claude. You do not need both. These are our recommendations from shop trials, not a promise that either assistant always gets things right.

   Open the current plan page and review the required seats and total cost before buying: ChatGPT Business or Claude Team & Enterprise. Claude Team currently requires at least two members, and the account creator needs a business email address. If you are a one-person shop, ask us for help choosing.

2. Create a workspace owned by the shop

   The owner or designated manager should create the business workspace, name it for the shop, review billing, and invite employees under their own logins. A workspace is the shop’s area inside the assistant. Use the shop workspace for shop work, rather than an employee’s personal account.

   Follow the provider’s instructions: OpenAI’s workspace and member guide or Anthropic’s Team setup guide. Keep personal conversations separate; you do not need to merge them into the business to get started.

3. Check the settings before adding shop documents

   Confirm the shop workspace is selected. Review who can join, who manages billing, what employees may share, and which apps are allowed to connect. Start with only the apps your shop needs. Business protections still involve provider processing and storage.

   Read the provider’s current guidance: OpenAI’s business security guidance, ChatGPT Business sharing and privacy settings, or Claude Team management. For this first exercise, use the fictional notes below. No customer files are needed.

4. Try one small, harmless task

   Open a new conversation in the shop workspace. Copy the practice question below into the message box, then select Send. You can type normally; spelling and perfect wording are not required.

   COPY THIS PRACTICE QUESTION

   I am trying AI for the first time. Turn these fictional notes into a three-item checklist: the vehicle arrives Monday; parts arrive Tuesday; the owner reviews the repair plan Wednesday. Keep the days exactly as written. Do not add facts or repair advice.

   Copy practice question

   Then type: “Make that shorter and easier for my team to read.” This is a follow-up. You can ask for a change without starting over.

5. Check the answer yourself

   Did it keep Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday attached to the right tasks? Did it invent anything? Ask it to correct a mistake and check again. A confident answer still needs review. For real repairs, check the original sources and the exact vehicle requirements before acting.

   This exercise teaches the conversation. It does not prove an assistant can make repair decisions or that Collision CoPilot is connected yet.

6. Now add Collision CoPilot

   Once you can send a question and check the answer, choose your CoPilot shop subscription. Your AI provider plan and CoPilot plan are separate. Each CoPilot user needs a named seat, and each person picks one AI assistant.

   Then follow the matching guide to connect the tools, add your shop instructions, choose the recommended model, and run the CoPilot connection check: Continue with ChatGPT or continue with Claude. Make sure the conversation shows CoPilot was used before relying on its research.

Provider setup guidance checked October 9, 2026. Claude Team seat minimum and Gemini account limits rechecked October 11, 2026. Names, features, seat requirements, and settings can change; use the linked official guides for your account.