AI has officially moved past the “sounds interesting, will look into it later” stage.

It is already part of how a lot of work gets done, sometimes quietly, sometimes badly, sometimes in a way that makes you wonder why this was ever hard in the first place. Emails, notes, content, admin, planning, research. It is all happening, whether your workplace has leaned into it or is still pretending it is a phase.

The good news is you do not need to reinvent yourself to keep up. Upskilling in AI is not about becoming technical or changing careers. For most people, it is just about figuring out where these tools genuinely help and using them in a way that makes work feel slightly less painful...

What Upskilling In AI Actually Looks Like In Real Life

Most people do not start using AI because they are excited about technology. They start using it because they are busy.

They want to get through emails faster. They want a decent first draft instead of staring at a blank screen. They want meeting notes that make sense without rewatching an hour-long call. They want admin to stop creeping into evenings and weekends.

That is where AI earns its keep.

Used properly, it supports the work you already do. Drafting, summarising, organising, speeding things up around the edges. It does not replace judgement or experience, and anyone who has tried to let it make decisions for them has usually learned that lesson pretty quickly.

If something in your role feels repetitive or unnecessarily annoying, that is usually where AI fits first. If it relies on context, relationships, or knowing when something just feels off, that part is still very much on you.

WAIT A SECOND...Before You Go All In On AI And Stress Out IT

Before AI becomes your new work bestie, it is worth checking what is actually allowed where you work.

Some organisations have approved tools. Some have strict rules. Some are still figuring it out and hoping nothing explodes in the meantime. What they all have in common is a very low tolerance for confidential information ending up in the wrong place.

A few basics that will save everyone a headache:

• Check your company’s AI, data, and security policies
• Stick to tools that are approved or clearly permitted
• Do not upload client details, financials, personal info, or anything you would not want screenshot and forwarded
• Treat public AI tools like public spaces
• When unsure, anonymise or generalise what you are working with

Use AI properly, check the rules first, and don’t come blaming us if IT comes knocking. We did warn you. ????

Everyday AI Tools That Actually Make Work Easier

Writing, Drafting, And Avoiding The Blank Screen Spiral

This is where most people feel the benefit almost immediately.

Emails, job ads, documents, decks, captions, notes. AI is very good at getting something workable down quickly, especially when you know what you want to say but cannot quite land it. Used well, it handles the boring first pass and gives you something to react to. Used badly, it produces something that looks impressive until someone actually reads it.

The skill is not pasting in prompts. It is adding context, then editing the output so it sounds like you, your team, or your brand, not like it came off a factory line.

• ChatGPT - Used for drafting emails, documents, job ads, summaries, and getting unstuck on first drafts.
• Claude - Popular for longer documents, clearer summaries, and more natural writing flow.
• Grammarly - Helpful for tightening language, tone checks, and cleaning up drafts rather than writing from scratch.

Research, Summaries, And Information Overload

If your days are full of meetings and things you are meant to read “when you get a chance”, AI can take a lot of the grunt work out of staying across everything. Long reports become short summaries. Meetings turn into clear actions. New topics become easier to understand without disappearing down a rabbit hole.

You still need to sense check what matters, but AI is very good at getting you most of the way there quickly.

• Perplexity - Used for research, quick explanations, and summaries that include sources.
• Otter.ai - Popular for meeting transcription and generating summaries and action points.
• Notion AI - Useful if your team already works in Notion for notes, planning, and documentation.

Workflow Shortcuts And Small Automations

This is where the time savings quietly stack up.

Small automations can take care of follow ups, notes, updates, and admin that no one enjoys doing. You do not need to automate your entire job or turn your workflow into a science project. Most people start with one annoying task they repeat every week. Once they see how much time that saves, it becomes much easier to spot what else could be simplified.

• Zapier – connecting tools and automating repetitive tasks without needing to code.
• Make – more customised or complex automation workflows.
• Microsoft Copilot – drafting, summarising, and analysis across Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams.

Slides, Design, And Visual Content

If you have ever spent far too long nudging text boxes around in a deck, this is a welcome upgrade. AI can help with structure, layouts, and early concepts, which speeds things up significantly. The final polish still needs a human eye, especially if brand and quality actually matter. It gets you to the good bit faster, without doing the thinking for you.

• Canva Magic Design – slide layouts, social content, and quick visual drafts.
• Gamma – fast presentation and document creation.
• Midjourney – image generation and visual concepts, typically outside of sensitive or confidential work.

How People Actually Get Better At Using AI

Very few people “learn AI” in one hit. What usually happens is someone starts using one tool regularly, notices it saves time, and keeps going. One manual step gets replaced. Then another. Tips get shared. Workflows slowly improve. At some point, it stops feeling like “using AI” and just becomes part of how work gets done.

To wrap this up..

You do not need to be loud about AI to get value from it. 

The people seeing the biggest benefits are usually the ones quietly using it to make their days run smoother, not the ones posting hot takes about it every second week.

Used properly, AI is just another tool that helps you get more done with less friction, without losing the human judgement that actually makes the work good.