5 ways I use AI to streamline my life
I’m a professional writer and content designer. Here’s how I use AI.
I’ve been using AI for the better part of this year on an almost daily basis. After I decided to try it out, I took AI courses, listened to AI podcasts, I messed around with Chat GPT and Gemini and Copilot, and I did an AI deep dive in the form of this newsletter.
What I learned was that AI can’t write for me, at least not yet. But I find it useful, and if you’re not using it, I think you’re missing out. Here are some examples of how I use AI for my workflows, for helping to write and edit content, and to help me be productive in daily life.
UX writing and content design
I’m a content lead at a bank and I oversee a team of content designers. My days are jam packed with meetings, edits, and sometimes I work on projects myself (but not as much as I used to). AI is about to give me edits, but I have to write good prompts.
For instance: Acting as a UX writer with over 20 years’ experience, please rewrite this CTA for a [type] website. Please provide 10 options.
Then, it gives me 10 options and I can edit those. Or ask for further iterations.
I also find it useful when I’m stumped on how to make writing more plain. Plain language is tough for people who aren’t content professionals and sometimes I’m asked to take a document that’s at a grade 15 level and get it down to a grade 7 level. Asking Chat GPT to help me simplify a sentence always helps me make a start. Here’s a prompt for that:
Acting as a UX writer with over 10 years’ experience, please rewrite this sentence in plain language. Please write at a grade 7 level.
When I’m writing a piece, I’ll often put it into Chat GPT and prompt:
Acting as an editor at [publication] for over 20 years, please give me blunt and honest feedback on this piece of writing [paste piece].
This prompt can be super helpful in pointing out issues with a piece of writing I’m working on.
Writing this newsletter
I’m not going to lie. I thought writing this newsletter would be a breeze. I’d type a prompt in (write a newsletter about AI), it’d spit out a newsletter, and I’d be done for the day. Turns out, that’s not where AI is yet. You still need to research, write, and edit your own stuff if you want it to be any good. But it does help with certain things: first drafts, edits (if you write the prompts properly), and helping with tone. I enter parts of the piece rather than a huge block of text if I’m looking for edits or rewording. (I’ve learned that it’s not as helpful to ask it for a first draft as that approach doesn’t allow me to explore the way I want to structure a piece.)
Admin is AI’s superpower
Admin
This is AI’s superpower: acting as an assistant. It can spit out reports, outlines, and documents that would have taken hours for me to write on my own. This has really changed my life. Tasks like starting admin documents are a huge blocker for me and AI helps me get over the hump. Use aiforwork.co for great prompts that help you complete admin tasks in record time.
Job applications
I’m not on the hunt for a job right now, but I’ve helped people accelerate their careers for the past few years. Many of the people I’ve helped are immigrants who aren’t used to applying to jobs in Canada. AI is great for this! If you’re in a new country, prompt the AI to rewrite your resume for that country.
I recently helped my husband score a job with AI’s help. How? I entered the job description and his resume into Chat GPT, got AI to suggest edits to his resume to tailor it to the job, then got Chat GPT to write a cover letter. This shaved hours off the application process and enabled him to focus on editing rather than writing from scratch. If you do this, please edit. Chat GPT will make up fake experience on your resume.
Personal stuff
I’m hosting a lunch for some family members this weekend. Hey Chat GPT! Here’s how many people are coming, and here’s what I’m thinking of serving. Please give me recipes and provide a shopping list.
I need to write an email to a company asking for a refund. Instead of thinking of what to write, it’s done!
Write an email to [recipient name] about [subject], including details like [details]. Write [formally/informally] and make the message clear for a [relationship].
I need to create a workback schedule for a home reno. Please give me a realistic estimate of how long the work should take.
Tasks like this are boring and using AI to help is a game changer.
HUGE DISCLAIMER: It goes without saying that you shouldn’t expect AI to do all the work for you. AI produces first drafts - you need to edit. AI hallucinates, which means it makes things up when it can’t find information. Though it’s tempting to see AI as an unfeeling all-knowing machine, It’s incredibly biased, since it gets all its information from humans, who are notoriously biased. According to Sitecore, “Gartner estimates that 85% of AI projects provide false results due to bias built into the data or the algorithms, or that exist in the professionals managing those deployments.”
If you think that AI can just create your work for you while you sip margaritas, you’re probably going to get burned.
Now go forth and experiment with AI!
Weekly disruptions
The world’s largest music company is helping musicians make their own AI voice clones (Rolling Stone) Universal Music Group is partnering with AI startup SoundLabs to give its artists access to AI voice cloning technology called MicDrop later this summer. This new feature allows artists to create and control AI versions of their own voices while maintaining ownership and privacy.
The billion-dollar price tag of building AI (Time) Developing the next generation of AI systems is becoming increasingly expensive, with Anthropic's CEO predicting costs of $1 billion this year and $10 billion for future systems. A recent study highlights that both computational power and employee compensation are major cost drivers, suggesting that only well-funded companies like Google, Microsoft, and their affiliates will be able to compete in the rapidly advancing AI landscape.
TikTok ads may soon contain AI-generated avatars of your favourite creators (The Verge) TikTok is launching new generative AI tools to help brands and creators expand their global reach using customizable digital avatars and language dubbing features. The Symphony Digital Avatars, available as stock or custom avatars, will allow content to be dubbed into multiple languages.