Module 2: Platform AI — AWS Built-In Features
Duration: 60 minutes Day: Day 1, Session 2
What This Module Is About
Before building custom agents, understand what the platform already gives you for free. AWS has embedded AI features across its console — some are genuinely useful, some are overhyped, and understanding the distinction saves you from solving problems that are already solved.
This module explores AWS platform AI features hands-on and helps you map where they fall short — which is precisely where custom agents (Modules 7-13) add value.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Explore CloudWatch anomaly detection and metric insights — identify what's free tier vs. paid
- Navigate Cost Explorer and use its AI-assisted cost analysis features without incurring API charges
- Evaluate AWS Q Developer on a real DevOps task using the free Builder ID tier (no AWS account required)
- Identify the capability ceiling of platform AI — where built-in features stop and custom agents begin
- Assess platform AI for your own environment using a structured capabilities matrix
Prerequisites
- Module 1 complete
- AWS account with free tier (OR use the provided mock data — all core exercises have offline fallbacks)
- AWS Builder ID (free — no AWS account required) for the Q Developer exercise
Module Contents
| Section | Content | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Lab | AWS Platform AI on Free Tier | 40 min |
| Reading | AWS AI Services — Capabilities and Gaps | 15 min |
| Quiz | Module 2 Assessment | 5 min |
| Exploratory | Stretch Projects | Optional |
Key Insight: Platform AI Has a Ceiling
AWS platform AI features are optimized for their own service data. CloudWatch Anomaly Detection is excellent at spotting unusual metrics — but it can't cross-reference a CPU spike with a recent deployment, check your runbook, or wake your on-call rotation with a structured diagnosis. It fires an alarm. What happens next is still manual.
That gap is where you build.