ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers
Review

A foundational course teaching developers how to effectively use LLMs through the OpenAI API

Easy
  • Last updated 26/06/2025
by DeepLearning.AI

What you'll learn ? Overview

What happens when OpenAI teams up with DeepLearning.AI to teach developers prompt engineering? This course is the result.

“ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers” is a free 1.5-hour crash course taught by Isa Fulford (OpenAI) and Andrew Ng (yes, that Andrew Ng, co-founder of Coursera and Stanford professor). It’s designed for developers who want to get better at using large language models through the OpenAI API.

What makes it stand out is the source. You’re learning directly from the team behind ChatGPT. The course starts by introducing two key principles of prompt writing: be clear and specific, and give the model room to reason. From there, you move through hands-on examples like summarizing text, inferring sentiment, translating tone, and expanding content. It wraps up with a simple chatbot project that ties everything together.

Each lesson is paired with Jupyter notebooks that you run yourself, so you’re writing code from the start. You also get access to a temporary OpenAI API key, which makes it easy to test prompts without using your own account credits.

It’s short, practical, and focused. But there’s one catch: the course assumes basic Python knowledge. If you’ve never written a function before, it won’t hold your hand. If you have some coding background, you’ll feel right at home.

Since its launch in April 2023, the course has drawn over half a million learners. That number speaks for itself. For developers who want a fast, well-explained introduction to prompt engineering, this one still holds up.

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Is this course for you?

👉

Prior experience needed

Beginner (No Prior Experience Needed)

👉

Learning style

Self-Paced (Work On Your Own Schedule)

👉

Goal

Learn A New Skill

Best suited for:

Software developers new to LLMs, data scientists exploring NLP applications, product managers understanding AI capabilities, technical professionals adding AI skills, Python programmers seeking practical LLM experience

Instructor

DeepLearning.AI

Leading AI Education Platform Legitimacy Score: 10/10
DeepLearning.AI is a prominent AI education platform founded by Andrew Ng, offering a wide range of courses and specializations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. The organization aims to democratize AI education, making it accessible to learners worldwide through partnerships with platforms like Coursera. DeepLearning.AI's curriculum is designed to equip students with practical skills and theoretical knowledge, bridging the gap between academia and industry.
Since its inception, DeepLearning.AI has established itself as a cornerstone in AI education. The platform has developed numerous courses and specializations, including the popular Deep Learning Specialization and AI for Everyone. It has collaborated with tech giants like IBM and Amazon Web Services to create industry-relevant content. DeepLearning.AI has also launched initiatives like AI Fund to support AI startups and The Batch, a weekly AI newsletter reaching hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
  • Developed the widely acclaimed Deep Learning Specialization, which has enrolled millions of students worldwide
  • Launched AI for Everyone, a course designed to introduce AI concepts to non-technical audiences
  • Created the Machine Learning Specialization in partnership with Stanford Online
  • Established collaborations with major tech companies for specialized AI courses
  • Introduced the AI Fund, a $175 million initiative to support AI startups
  • Regular presence at major AI conferences and events worldwide
  • Hosted AI Transformation Playbook workshop series
  • Organized the Global AI Talent Workshop
  • Participated in the World Economic Forum discussions on AI
  • Conducted numerous webinars and online events on AI topics
  • DeepLearning.AI cultivates a robust digital footprint across various platforms. The organization frequently shares AI insights, course updates, and industry trends on social media. Their YouTube channel features course previews, AI discussions, and interviews with industry experts. The Batch, their weekly newsletter, disseminates cutting-edge AI developments to a vast audience.

    Course Details

    • ⏱ Duration1
    • 📶 DifficultyEasy
    • ⌛ Access Lifetime
    • ⏰ Time investmentLight (1–5 Hours/Week)

    🧠 Prerequisites

    Basic Python programming knowledge (ability to write functions, understand variables)


    💻 Requirements

    Computer with internet access, modern web browser


    💸 Hidden Costs

    None. DeepLearning.AI provides free OpenAI API credits for course exercises


    🙋‍♂️ Support Options

    Community forums only, no direct instructor support

    Course content

    • Introduction: Course overview and understanding how LLMs work
    • Guidelines for Prompting: Two key principles - clarity/specificity and giving models time to think
    • Iterative Prompt Development: Systematic approach to refining prompts through testing
    • Summarizing: Condensing user reviews, articles, and documents with controlled output length
    • Inferring: Extracting sentiment, topics, and named entities from text
    • Transforming: Translation, tone adjustment, format conversion, grammar correction
    • Expanding: Automated email writing, content generation with temperature control
    • Building a Custom Chatbot: Creating conversational agents with context management
    • Conclusion: Best practices summary and next steps for continued learning

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    Feedbacks

    Overall sentiment

    After analyzing hundreds of reviews across Reddit, YouTube, and course forums, we found remarkably consistent positive feedback. Learners particularly value getting instruction directly from OpenAI staff, though some experienced developers find it too elementary.

    Praised points

    • Industry Authority: Learning from Andrew Ng and OpenAI staff provides unmatched credibility
    • Hands-On Learning: Jupyter notebook integration allows immediate experimentation with real API calls
    • Zero Cost Access: High-quality AI education from leading experts without any financial barrier

    Criticisms

    • Brevity Issues: 1.5 hours feels insufficient for comprehensive prompt engineering coverage
    • Python Requirement: Non-programmers can't fully participate in the practical exercises
    • Surface-Level Content: Advanced practitioners won't find new techniques or deeper insights

    Testimonials

    "The content is very useful, not just for developers" - Community User

    "It's great to finally have an authoritative resource on how to use ChatGPT effectively" - ClassCentral Reviewer

    "Highly suggest it" - OpenAI Forum User

    "You can spend a lot of time to get a feel for the ChatGPT API" - YouTube Reviewer

    "The course is easy to recommend" - ClassCentral Review

    Social insights

    Reddit discussions in r/OpenAI and r/learnmachinelearning consistently recommend this as a first step into LLM development. YouTube comments reveal many developers successfully implemented the techniques in production. The most common sentiment? "Perfect starting point, but you'll need more."

    Video review

    Marketing Analysis

    Claim Verification

    The course claims to teach "how to use LLMs to quickly build new and powerful applications." Our testing confirms it delivers foundational skills for basic LLM applications. "Powerful" is relative, you'll build functional tools, not production-grade systems.

    Price History

    Free since launch in April 2023. The "limited time" messaging continues, suggesting it's a permanent lead generation strategy.

    Upsell Practices

    No upsells within the course itself. DeepLearning.AI does promote their paid offerings on the platform, but there's no pressure during learning.

    Student Success

    Multiple verified cases of developers implementing course techniques in real projects. Reddit user "BuildingWithAI" reported using the summarization module for their startup's customer feedback system.

    Platform & Delivery

    Learning Platform

    DeepLearning.AI's custom platform integrates video lessons with interactive Jupyter notebooks seamlessly. No installation required, everything runs in-browser.

    Content Accessibility

    Videos stream online only. Notebooks can be downloaded for local use. No offline video access confirmed.

    Mobile Compatibility

    Videos play on mobile devices, but Jupyter notebooks require desktop for optimal experience. We tested on iPhone and Android, coding exercises were frustrating on small screens.

    Technical Requirements

    Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge browser. Stable internet connection (minimum 5 Mbps for smooth video streaming).

    Red flags check

    😬

    Complaints

    We found virtually no complaints specific to this course. The few grievances relate to DeepLearning.AI's platform for other paid courses (customer service issues, access problems), not this free offering.

    😬

    Refund policy issues

    Not applicable (course is free)

    😬

    Marketing practices

    Refreshingly transparent. The course promises a 1.5-hour introduction to prompt engineering basics, and that's exactly what it delivers. No inflated claims about becoming an AI expert overnight.

    😬

    Community feedback

    After reviewing discussions across multiple platforms, we found no reports of hidden fees, upsells during the course, or misleading content. The "limited time free" messaging has been consistent since launch.

    Is this course legit?

    Value For Money

    As a free course from industry leaders, the value proposition is unbeatable. You're getting $500+ worth of training at zero cost.

    Conclusion

    After thorough analysis, we can confidently say ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers is absolutely legitimate and worth your time. Here's why.
    First, the credentials are impeccable. You're learning from Isa Fulford of OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) and Andrew Ng (arguably the most respected name in AI education). This isn't some random YouTuber's take on prompt engineering, it's instruction from the source.
    The course delivers exactly what it promises: a practical introduction to working with LLMs via API. In 1.5 hours, you'll understand core prompting principles and apply them through hands-on exercises. We tested every module, and the progression from basic prompts to building a chatbot feels natural and achievable.
    Yes, it's brief. Yes, it's basic. But that's by design. This course targets developers who need to quickly understand LLM capabilities without wading through 20 hours of theory. For a free offering, the production quality and content depth exceed expectations.
    The 500,000+ enrollments speak to its value. We found consistent positive feedback across platforms, with the main criticism being its introductory scope (hardly a flaw for a beginner course).
    Our recommendation? If you're a developer curious about LLMs, block out 3 hours this weekend and complete it. You'll walk away with immediately applicable skills and a solid foundation for deeper exploration. At zero cost and minimal time investment, it's one of the best risk-reward propositions in online AI education.

    FAQs about this course

    Yes, DeepLearning.AI provides a certificate of completion that you can add to your LinkedIn profile or resume.

    You'll need basic Python knowledge, specifically the ability to write simple functions and understand variables. The course uses Python throughout all exercises, so non-programmers will struggle with the hands-on portions.

    The video content runs 1.5 hours, but we recommend budgeting 3-4 hours total to work through all Jupyter notebook exercises and experiment with the examples.

    No, DeepLearning.AI provides free API credits within their learning environment. You won't need your own OpenAI account or credit card for the course exercises.

    The course is free during the DeepLearning.AI beta period, which has been ongoing since April 2023. While marketed as 'limited time,' it's remained free for over 18 months.

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    ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers Review
    $ 0
    Total score: 8,8/10 ⭐
    • Duration1
    • DifficultyEasy
    • Release Date01/2023
    • Format Self-Paced
    • AccessLifetime
    • Time InvestmentLight (1–5 Hours/Week)
    • Payment Options One-Time
    • LanguageEnglish
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    ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers Review