AI in everyday office life: Your new invisible colleague

The most important step in using AI is understanding your role correctly. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or the upcoming Microsoft 365 Copilot aren’t perfect. They sometimes hallucinate (invent facts) and make mistakes.

Therefore, don’t see them as autopilots you blindly trust, but as co-pilots. They create a first, quick draft. You are the captain who reviews, corrects, and approves. Approaching it with this mindset saves time without losing control.

Forget abstract visions of the future. Here are four areas where AI can immediately take work off your hands:

1. Taming the email deluge (Communication)

We spend hours trying to find polite ways to phrase simple matters.

• The AI ​​hack: Use AI as a “phrasing sparring partner.”
• Example prompt: “Write a friendly but firm email to a client who still owes us documents for Project X. Remind them of the Friday deadline and offer a quick phone call if they have any questions.”
• The result: You get a 90% complete draft in seconds that only needs a few minor adjustments.

2. More efficient follow-up after meetings (Organization)

Nobody likes writing minutes. Modern meeting tools (such as MS Teams Premium, Zoom AI, or external tools like Fireflies.ai) can transcribe and automatically summarize meetings.

• The AI ​​hack: If you don’t have built-in tools, copy your raw meeting notes into a secure AI environment and ask: “Summarize these notes into a structured to-do list, sorted by responsibilities.”

3. Overcoming Excel Anxiety (Data & IT)

You know what you want to calculate, but not how the darned VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP formula works?

• The AI ​​Hack: Describe the problem in natural language.
• Example Prompt: “I have product names in column A and prices in column B. I want to find the price for the product ‘Laptop’ in cell C1. Which Excel formula do I need?”
• The Result: The AI ​​provides you with the complete formula, often even with an explanation.

4. Overcoming Creative Blocks (Brainstorming)

The “blank sheet of paper” is the biggest enemy of productivity. Whether you’re looking for topics for a presentation, an agenda for a workshop, or ideas for a team event.

• The AI ​​Hack: Use AI as an idea generator, not as the final solution. Have it generate 10 ideas, choose the best 3, and refine them yourself.

The quality of the results depends on the quality of your prompts. Simply saying “Do something on topic X” will produce poor results.

A good prompt in everyday office work needs context. Use the R-O-L-E method:

• R (Role): Assign the AI ​​a role. (“You are an experienced project manager.”)
• O (Objective): What is the clear objective? (“Create a project plan for…”)
• L (Limit): Are there any limitations? (“Maximum one A4 page, focus on budget.”)
• E (Example): Provide an example of the desired style. (“Use a formal business tone, similar to this example: …”)

Important warning: Data protection is not optional, it’s mandatory

This is the most critical point for your career: Never copy internal company data, customer names, or confidential strategy papers into public, free AI tools! Many free versions use your input for training. This can be grounds for legal action. For sensitive data, only use company-approved, data protection-compliant enterprise solutions (e.g., ChatGPT Enterprise or Bing Chat Enterprise, if your employer has enabled this).

AI won’t replace you. But a person who uses AI effectively will replace someone who doesn’t. Start small – perhaps with the next email you find difficult. You’ll be surprised how much easier your daily office routine suddenly becomes.