How you can use AI in the workforce: everything you need to know

We’ve all seen the articles and news segments about college and high school students getting busted for using AI to write their term papers and essays. However, while students may be experiencing severe restrictions around using AI due to academic integrity, those of us in the workforce have the opportunity to use this new and exciting technology to our advantage.

While we still can’t use AI to write whole reports and completely make brand new marketing campaigns as that is fundamentally dishonest, there are ways in which we can utilize the power of AI to help make our working lives a lot easier.

Here are some key ways that professionals could use AI in their everyday working lives. This list is about helping you to work smarter so that you can divert your attention to more pressing and important tasks.

Using AI in the Application Process

Whether you’re already in the workforce or are trying to get into the workforce, AI can help you when applying for jobs. While it’s not a good idea to have your cover letters and resume completely written by AI, there are tools out there that can help.

An increasing number of employers are asking candidates to submit a headshot alongside their normal application documents so that they can match a face to the application. The issue with this is that headshots are extremely costly to obtain and most people don’t have this kind of cash sitting around.

This is where tools such as Portrait Pal and PixelPose can help you. They’re AI headshot generators that create a realistic professional headshot of you based on photos you submit. These are powerful tools that are driven by the technological wonders of AI, helping to save you time and money.

You can also use generative AI to help to draft and edit cover letters. Cover letters can be particularly bothersome for job seekers as each application needs an individual and customized letter. You can use AI to prompt you with ideas and check whether you have matched the job description laid out in the advertisement with your cover letter. This will help you refine your cover letter and become a stronger applicant who has a higher chance of landing the role.

Using AI To Analyze Documents

Another way that AI can be used within the workforce is by using it to read and analyze documents for you. A recent article highlighted that this use of AI will be particularly useful for lawyers and other members of the workforce who are required to read through and summarize stacks of documents.

Instead of spending hours staring at black and white pages hoping that the information sinks in before then summarizing it in a shorter document, there’s now technology out there that can read the documents for you. Think of AI like an assistant—it does the slog and you get to summarize that information without needing to read hundreds of pages.

Additionally, AI can analyze data contained in documents and help you make more important predictions and decisions based on the data at hand. This could involve analyzing marketing reports to figure out which approach is the best way forward or reading through historic court documents to decide whether a current case is likely to be successful in court.

The options are endless, allowing workers to cut down on menial tasks so they can work on the heart of their issues—which is what really matters. This is a revolutionary use of AI and, as it continues to develop, is something that will change the way many people work forever.

Drafting Emails

Many people’s least favorite part of their workday is the mornings often spent catching up on emails. It can be time-consuming, frustrating, and difficult if you’re someone who doesn’t naturally have a way with words. However, AI can be used in this instance to help. If you have a particularly long or difficult email to write, you can prompt AI to give you suggestions as to how you might approach it. Keep in mind that it’s still a good idea to write the email yourself so that your personality is still infused in the writing—and so that you can double-check that all the facts are correct.

Alternatively, if you’re in the middle of a work dispute and you’ve typed out a rather heated email, consider asking AI “How do I make this email more polite, yet still firm” for suggestions on ways you can water down your anger and remain professional while communicating your feelings. AI can be a powerful tool to help you improve the tone and content of your emails and might help reduce the number of miscommunications that occur due to ambiguous writing.

Drafting Social Media Posts

AI can also be extremely useful when it comes to social media management. In the last few years, the relevance and importance of social media have risen, meaning that just about every type of brand and company has some sort of online social presence now. In order to keep up with consumer needs and marketing trends, a high volume of posts and social media engagement are needed for success.

If you manage your company’s social media or contribute to marketing ideas, AI can help you. Whether you’re trying to write a lengthy LinkedIn post or drafting ideas for 50 different Instagram post captions, you can ask AI to give you suggestions on what to include in your content to keep each task unique, fresh, and relevant.

While you shouldn’t solely rely on AI to come up with ideas, you can bounce ideas off of it and use it as inspiration. Coming up with 50 Instagram captions in one day isn’t easy and you can run out of ideas very quickly. However, by using AI as a source of inspiration, you can increase your productivity and cut down on time spent coming up with ideas from scratch.

Moving Forward

Some people may be worried that AI is going to take their jobs; however, the reality is that AI can be used to improve your job. By harnessing the powers of AI, you can cut down on menial tasks that take up the bulk of your time and instead focus on the things that really matter. AI is a powerful tool in the workplace and one that shouldn’t be underestimated. As the technology continues to develop, it will be interesting to see how our work habits evolve with it.