The hype of artificial intelligence has now passed. We are at the point where people have the expectation that AI will help them be more productive and creative. Much like new tech that burst onto the scene over the years, people soon see through tech–washing — in this case AI-washing — and recognize the smoke and mirrors for what they are and look for results.
Given this, much of what we do boils down to humans using tools in an effective way to “work smarter, not harder” — AI is no exception. However, AI has done something that other technology hasn’t done before and that is force us to rethink how we interact with technology which ultimately leads to reshaping how we work.
Reshaping Productivity
What is productivity? Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, author, and expert on productivity, put it this way:
“Productivity isn’t about busyness. Productivity is about making the right choice when a choice is genuinely needed.”
Charles Duhigg – Microsoft’s WorkLab podcast on “How to Build New Habits for the AI Era”
Answering a bunch of emails isn’t productivity — yes, they need to be reviewed and responded to in some way — but rather, it’s about being able to have the right access to the right information and combining that with our human intelligence to make the correct decision.
Microsoft conducted a survey where they asked employees what they would most use AI tools for. Across different roles — 85% from sales, 81% from customer service, and 85% from IT — the biggest response was to help them find the information that they need. While that may seem like and simple request and something that we have had access to for quite some time, AI is bringing a unique approach to this need. What I mean, and what was found in the survey, is that “for example, 79% of employees in sales roles said they would use AI to help them do tasks like unify marketing and sales data; people in finance roles said they would use AI to minimize information silos, while people in supply chain roles said they would use it to help them recognize patterns in the data they have.”
Notice the difference here. In prior iterations of technology, we might have typed in a search field certain keywords or phrases hoping that we would find that one document or spreadsheet that contained the data we needed — and hoping it was up to date!
Now, with artificial intelligence through Microsoft Copilot, we can ask with natural language for information that spans data locations, teams, and business applications to provide us with valuable insights to make the best decisions that steer the best use of our time. In essence, Copilot is reshaping our day and how productive we are.
Reshaping Communication
“I think at the beginning we all were sort of using it (AI) as, like, a glorified search of, instead of searching, I’ll put it in the AI and then it will tell me the answer, you know, microseconds faster than if I searched and clicked,” is how Christina Wallace, Harvard Business School instructor, serial entrepreneur, and author of the book The Portfolio Life, framed the early ways we were trying to figure out how to use AI.
“Now I think we’re starting to really unlock the power of using it almost as a partner, as a collaborator. And think, instead of AI as your virtual assistant, it’s more like AI as your virtual chief of staff, right?”
Christina Wallace – Microsoft’s WorkLab podcast on “How AI Can Help Us Rebalance Our Lives”
She went on to say, “There are these moments where you can actually get to the ‘so what’. Don’t just find me all of the search terms and the results — parse them, find the connections, give me the conclusion after having correlated these things together, and then I can use that information to make a judgment call.”
Christina’s notion of thinking of artificial intelligence like a “virtual chief of staff” brings me to the point of how AI is reshaping our communication and even forcing us to communicate better. Think about the times when you were thinking something in your mind and had many things worked out, but now needed to put the thinking into action. You communicate with your team or colleagues and in return are peppered with questions, ideas, or other feedback. This is great! However, the things you thought and the means or ways you communicated led to areas or topics you didn’t anticipate would be a barrier to the actions needed.
In a similar way, consider how Copilot is forcing us to rethink how we ask a question or demand a result due to poor quality output. We then ask follow-up questions or rephrase our demand to see what the result will be.
The root of this is: The words you use to frame your communication will define the output whether that’s from a human or AI.
Closing Thoughts
By understanding what productivity truly means and the importance of communication, you will have the right foundation to interact with AI-powered business applications — those tools you use every day to get work done. For example, if you use Dynamics 365 for Sales as a salesperson and are looking for better ways to connect with customers, reach sales goals, or find new potential customers, then it would be very beneficial to have an assistant to help you in each of those scenarios and to give you a competitive edge.
Consider this from Microsoft’s “Work Trend Index Special Report”:
- On average, users reported saving 90 minutes a week.
- 83% said Copilot for Sales makes them more productive.
- 79% said it reduces the amount of administrative work they have to do.
- 78% said it helps them stay in the flow of work.
- 73% said they can complete tasks more easily.
- 68% said they can keep their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems up to date with less effort.
- 67% said they are able to spend more time with their customers.
- 64% said it allows them to better personalize customer engagements.
- 58% said they find CRM information they need faster.
These stats are amazing! To see achievement like this for yourself, it requires proper communication, knowing what productivity truly means, and using technology tools by combining your experience with new artificial intelligence skillsets.
Microsoft’s business applications like Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain, Sales, and Field Service — just to name a few — provide users with powerful insights and data and streamline work. Now, each of these are infused with Copilot to bring the AI as an assistant to guide you, jumpstart creativity, or reach goals or deadlines. But it requires you to be willing to learn, adapt, and use these AI-powered solutions in your flow of work.
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