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Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just for tech experts — it’s becoming an essential tool for professionals in every industry. Whether you’re managing data, drafting reports, or conducting research, AI can help you work smarter, saving you time that you can dedicate to more strategic and complex work.
In fact, 82% of U.S. workers say their productivity increases with the use of AI, according to PYMNTS Intelligence data.
Here are five ways you can leverage AI to boost productivity and efficiency:
1. Automating repetitive office tasks
A quick way to increase productivity is by automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks that are necessary but by themselves add little value.
Here are some AI tools to make your day more efficient:
- Email and calendar management: AI-powered tools like Reclaim.ai and Superhuman are email and scheduling assistants that can set up meetings for you, do follow ups and prioritize your daily activities.
- Task management: Asana and Trello can prioritize your to-do list by analyzing deadlines and identifying the most urgent tasks.
- Virtual executive assistants: Clara and Motion automate repetitive administrative work and manage your day-to-day tasks.
2. Smarter research and data analysis
You don’t have to spend hours sifting through long reports or big datasets. AI tools can do the job for you — it can process volumes of information in seconds to summarize trends and identify insights.
Here are some tools to consider for research and analysis:
- Summarize long documents: Tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity AI can generate concise summaries of financial reports, research papers and the like.
- Market trend analysis: AI-powered finance platforms such as Kavout, BloombergGPT (accessible through the Bloomberg terminal), and AlphaSense can analyze historical and real-time market data.
- Industry research: Crayon and Quid use AI to track emerging trends in various industries and provide competitor profiles.
3. Enhanced communication
Clear communication is crucial for workplace efficiency, whether it’s crafting emails, reports or presentations. AI-driven writing assistants can ensure professionalism, coherence, and even the right tone for different audiences.
Here are some AI tools for content creation:
- Refining writing quality: Grammarly and Jasper can check the grammar, offer clear writing and customize the tone for the audience.
- Keeping the brand voice: Writer.com and Typeface help make you stay true to your brand’s language, tone and style so you don’t have to manually rewrite marketing copy.
- Translation: Companies with offices around the world can overcome language barriers using DeepL or Google Translate. For those needing live translations during meetings, consider Microsoft Teams, Zoom AI Companion and Google Meet.
4. Optimizing meetings
Meetings usually take up a lot of time during the workday. AI tools can help make meetings more efficient by transcribing conversations, summarizing discussions, and generating action items.
- Automated transcriptions: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and Copilot in Microsoft Teams can record, transcribe, and highlight key points in meetings, making it easier to revisit important discussions.
- Summarizing meetings: Many AI meeting assistants can summarize meetings. In addition to Otter, Fireflies and Microsoft Teams, there’s Zoom AI Companion and Google Meet.
- Meeting scheduling and reminders: Motion and Clockwise use AI for better time management when setting up meetings.
5. Personalized learning and career planning
AI can serve as a personal coach, recommending custom learning paths to help you stay ahead or help you visualize your career journey.
AI tools to help you in your career:
- Personalized learning recommendations: LinkedIn Learning’s AI chatbot lets you customize your learning, as does Coursera’s Coursera Coach, and EdX’s Xpert. They can suggest courses based on your career goals and past learning patterns.
- AI-based coaching: Tools like CoachHub and Lattice Grow offer AI-driven career coaching and mentorship programs.
- Finance and AI-specific training: Employees working in finance can use AI-driven analytics courses on platforms such as Khan Academy, which has an AI chatbot called Khanmigo to help you along, or MIT OpenCourseWare to upskill in areas like AI-driven trading strategies.