3 easy ways you can start using AI right now to make yourself more productive at work, according to an AI consultant

• A study found that over half of the participants using AI for work saw a 30% productivity increase.
• People are still hesitant to use large language models like ChatGPT to their advantage.

Six months ago, I wrote about how ChatGPT saved me eight hours a week as a marketer. Now I work as a generative AI consultant and trainer and use AI tools to save closer to 25 to 30 hours of work a week.

A recent study by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Grammarly found that more than half of people using AI at work said they were 31% more productive.

ChatGPT is my primary generative-AI tool, but many people ask me how to get started with generative AI without diving headfirst into daunting large language models like ChatGPT.

If you're hesitant about embracing generative AI, many apps and tools you already use have AI functions you can familiarize yourself with quickly. Here are three beginner-friendly ways to integrate AI into tools you already use.

GrammarlyGo

GrammarlyGo is my most-used non-ChatGPT generative-AI tool.

A weakness of ChatGPT is its grasp of grammar and syntax. Specific prompt instructions can circumvent some of these errors, but most AI-generated text requires editing.

With GrammarlyGo, you can add any human or AI-generated text into a document and ask it to improve, shorten, lengthen, or change the tone. The tool can also write for you from scratch.

The plug-in appears as an icon at the bottom of your computer screen. The pop-up window has the options ready, so you don't have to worry about writing prompts.

GrammarlyGo generative AI is the most reliable for editing copy with my intended formality and tone, which is critical for my work as a marketer.

The free version allows 100 monthly prompts for text generation, basic writing suggestions, and tone detection. For $12 a month, users get 1,000 prompts and full-sentence rewrites, vocabulary ideas, and tone suggestions.

The only drawback is the shortened text often leaves out critical information, so I always reread the shorter text. I also run any GrammarlyGo-generated text through editing with the main Grammarly plug-in or website, as it's still a better writer than GrammarlyGo.

I get easily overwhelmed by my inbox. The GrammarlyGo plug-in can also comb through my emails and give me suggested responses that are a lot more robust than other email apps I've used.

Slack

DailyBot and Felix are two good AI apps available in Slack's app directory that can make your work life much easier.

DailyBot

DailyBot is a secure AI and ChatGPT-powered assistant for remote teams. It has pre-created workflows that can run daily stand-ups and huddles, motivate your team, and facilitate watercooler conversations in Slack.

Slack recently added a ChatGPT integration into the app, so your company can ask questions directly in one-on-one chats with DailyBot, and it provides answers from ChatGPT.

I've used it to help summarize long messages from coworkers, draft replies to messages, and even provide me a template for a termination email. It's an accessible way of using ChatGPT in a familiar environment. You can even connect DailyBot apps like Jira, Trello, and Zapier to sync answers between tools.

Below is an example of a command I sent DailyBot to draft a feedback email for a fictional interior-design project.

It generated a clear, tone-appropriate email, but it needed a line giving clear and actionable advice to the designer, so I refined my instructions. It's successfully able to integrate feedback and revise.

Felix

Felix is an AI assistant that helps solve miscommunication by correcting spelling and grammar errors and adjusting message tone. This can be especially useful for non-English speakers.

Once you've installed the app, you can tag Felix in any channel to add the app to that channel. Use the /felix-help command to set your tone, modify your options, and give Felix additional custom instructions.

Felix's default tones make you sound more grateful, friendly, cheerful, helpful, direct, or confident. You can ask it to correct grammar and spelling and choose whether you want to preview its updated message.

I use the preview function to ensure that nothing gets lost in the AI's interpretation of my message.

Press the "all done" button once you've customized the options to your liking. If you need to change tones for a particular message, you can use the /felix-help command again and adjust.

To send a message using Felix, just use the /felix command and type your message.

When you press return, Felix will rewrite the message according to your instructions, and if you've checked the preview box, send you a preview.

Felix is a handy AI-powered tool for globally distributed teams or employees whose first language isn't English.

Canva

A recent report by Canva on the visual economy said that more than half of global business leaders expect their teams to employ design principles at work. Canva released eight AI tools this year that help make high-quality, aesthetic designs accessible.

Magic Design will be the most helpful tool for non-designers. You can upload an image and let the AI present you with font, color, and design combinations. Within seconds, you can have a polished design.

Magic Design streamlines the creation of social graphics, long-form video thumbnails, posters, and more while allowing you to customize its generated results.

I recently spoke at a conference about generative AI. I used Magic Design to outline my presentation and create aesthetically pleasing slides.

You can input up to 100 characters about your presentation topic and Magic Design does the rest. It's not a replacement for your knowledge, and I had to modify the text and add data and examples.

Still, the structure it generated and the curated design options helped me streamline my prep time.

I prefer using Magic Design over other presentation tools, such as Tome or beautiful.ai — I like Canva's slide designs and it allows most of my marketing and teaching materials to live in one place.

Be strategic in your adoption of AI tools

My best AI advice for clients is depth and not breadth. It can be tempting to fall down an AI rabbit hole and test every AI tool that's released, but that's not going to be a winning strategy.

When experimenting with AI, it's essential to identify what will have the most significant positive impact on your productivity and invest your time in mastering the tools to address those things.

As a marketer and trainer, writing copy, creating scripts, and putting together slide decks took up much of my time. Using AI, I've been able to reduce my time spent on these activities by up to 80%, which has left more time for other activities that have a higher ROI.