This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Grace Leung, a digital growth consultant based in Vancouver. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
Most business owners who hire me to integrate AI into their workflow are aware of AI trends like agents and automation, but they’re completely overwhelmed by it and have no idea where to begin. Their employees tend to have even less AI knowledge and just think of it as a basic chatbot.
Other clients want to jump right into complicated AI tools without learning any of the building blocks. They’re trying to learn to fly before they learn to walk. Perhaps these clients are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of AI tools, or they’re worried they’ll get left behind in the AI boom.
My goal is to teach them that AI is not here to replace them; it’s here to help them. I’m a digital growth consultant who helps brands grow organically and hone content strategy using AI and digital marketing techniques.
Since taking on my first clients in March of 2024, I’ve helped companies — from fintech to e-commerce develop their AI skills. These are the first AI skills I tell people to learn if they want to be a high performer in the workplace.
Get comfortable with prompting on ChatGPT
The first skill people should refine is proper AI prompting. I suggest using ChatGPT because it still has the largest market share compared to other AI models.
A good prompt uses precise language and clear communication to explain a task and give it context. Prompting is a conversation. It should be floating and dynamic, not just following a technical process like you’re checking boxes.
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My advice is to talk to AI like you would talk to a new hire. Just as you wouldn’t assume a new hire knows your criteria for success or your reasoning for needing a certain task done, you can’t expect AI to either.
Use AI to create templates and workflow systems
AI can simplify the content creation process, whether you’re drafting emails, creating social media posts, or editing a newsletter, as long as you make it repeatable. For content writing, I prefer to use Gemini for its creativity or Claud for its human-sounding, empathetic “personality.”
Instead of asking AI to draft me a one-off YouTube video script, I ask it to create a project that will act as a reusable template for all future video scripts.
I’ll feed the AI as much important context and information as possible, such as my tone of voice, a style guide, field examples, or even a template knowledge file. I can even set up a command so that whenever I type in a word like “YouTube,” it knows to trigger the workflow and write a script.
Don’t think about AI in terms of isolated features and tools; think about how you can combine the features to create a system and trigger a workflow.
There are a few ways AI can help with data analysis
AI tools can help structure data, enrich the context, and give important insights. I prefer Gemini, specifically its paid pro version, because it can handle large data sets with multiple rows.
Ask Gemini to “clean up” or organize data by extracting rows that match certain criteria, and ask it to reference data from another dataset to create a new dataset.
You can also submit large datasets to AI and ask it to summarize the data and generate insights. I might even ask it to build a beautiful dashboard that is ready to share with my team or stakeholders.
There are cons to using AI, but it can be helpful
One of AI’s biggest cons is data privacy. Employees may unintentionally pass sensitive data to AI, so companies must have clear guidelines around AI usage.
Another reality of AI is that it’s replacing entry-level jobs. Leaders must make sure to upskill their more junior workforce and not overly automate entry-level roles for short-term wins.
There’s so much collective anxiety about AI replacing humans, but I like to remind people that AI can never replace your judgment.
AI can help you learn faster, but it’s not about taking shortcuts. Your biggest tool is still your judgment, which is derived from years of experience, trial and error, and critical thinking.
Do you have a story to share about how you’ve used AI to transform your career or life? If so, please reach out to this reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.
