Using Generative AI (GenAI) on the Job: Bovée and Thill Business Communication

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are transforming the ways people create content on the job, from simple email messages to presentations and reports.
While the tools get more powerful seemingly every day, they are not foolproof or without risks. GenAI is a deep and evolving topic, so the details vary from tool to tool and will keep changing over time. However, there are some fundamental ideas for using any GenAI tool efficiently, effectively, and ethically.
1: Understand What Your Tools Can and Cannot Do
The rapidly evolving abilities of GenAI tools are becoming so impressive that it’s tempting to think they can flawlessly execute any task you give them. As impressive as they are, however, GenAI tools can also make mistakes, even to the point of making up information and passing it off as real. Even though GenAI can feel like a digital superhero that knows everything and can create anything, users need to remember that it’s not magic, and it doesn’t actually understand the material it is creating, at least not in the way human writers do.
While GenAI tools such as ChatGPT appear to be writing, what they are really doing is making statistical predictions about which words are most likely to appear together, based on the billions of words they have been trained on. Moreover, these tools lack the emotional and social intelligence that human writers possess, and they can exhibit biases picked up from their training sources. Beyond these general cautions, make sure you are aware of any specific limitations of the particular tools you use, such as not having access to information beyond a certain date.
2: Recognize Your Responsibilities
Just as you are responsible for how you use spreadsheets, messaging apps, and other digital tools, you are responsible for how you use GenAI tools-and this includes both the information you share with the tools and how you use the material the tools generate.
THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE
While a GenAI tool is giving information to you, you are also giving information to it. If you ask a model to review your company’s top-secret business plan, for example, you have just handed that plan to the model.
Because of this risk, many companies restrict how their employees can use GenAI, so make sure you know your employer’s policies.
THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVE
The first rule of using information from an AI model is to question everything. Don’t assume the information you receive from a Gen-A-I tool is accurate or up to date, or that the tool has made logical conclusions or recommendations.
Verify key information by doing your own research. Keep in mind that as with every other information source, you are responsible for how you use the information you get-and for any consequences that result from other people using the information you provide them.
3: Help the Tool Help You
The quality of Gen-A-I output depends heavily on the quality of the inputs you provide it. Professor Marcel Scharth advises AI users to imagine they are hiring a writer and want to give this person a creative brief that explains the parameters of the project. Depending on the topic and your information needs, this could include as many as seven separate elements:
The role you want the GenAI to play, such as a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or teacher, for example
The task you want it to perform
Background information that will help guide the model in the right direction
Any requirements you have for the answer, such as avoiding complex technical language
Any limitations you want to place on the tool’s work, such as the number of words or paragraphs
What you hope to accomplish with the output, such as persuading an audience to accept a new idea
Your desired format for the output if it’s anything other than regular paragraphs, such as an outline or a video script
As you draft your prompts, follow this advice:
• Be clear, specific, and concise.
• Use key words and phrases related to your content area.
• If you don’t get a satisfactory result on the first attempt, ask follow-up questions or approach the topic from a different angle.
• Don’t use biased language when describing people or events.
GenAI can be a helpful productivity tool for a wide variety of business tasks, but remember to treat it like a partner or a co-creator, not a magic genie. To generate the best possible outcomes, be sure to complement the tool’s capabilities with your own creativity, logical analysis, emotional intelligence, and social awareness.
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