AI at work: productivity, confidence and communication

Artificial intelligence has become an important part of how organisations seek to work more efficiently, use their resources and develop individual and collective skills. Beyond operational gains, it may also support an often overlooked dimension: employees’ confidence, professional credibility and ability to speak with impact.

Used thoughtfully, AI can become a partner in preparation and performance as well as a technical tool.

AI and productivity: what the research shows

AI’s effects depend on the occupation, task, users’ experience and how the tool is integrated. In the 2023 version of “Generative AI at Work”, researchers report an average productivity gain of 14% among 5,179 customer-support agents using a conversational assistant. The measure was issues resolved per hour; the finding does not represent all businesses or occupations.

For a team, potential benefits may involve:

• time spent producing a first draft, analysis or summary;
• the quality of prepared documents and arguments;
• the ability to compare options before a decision;
• structuring ideas and preparing conversations.

Checking, correcting and adapting the output also takes time. The point is to improve particular working situations, rather than promise everyone a fixed number of hours saved each day.

Reducing the burden of getting started

Procrastination is often connected to workload, uncertainty or a lack of clarity. AI can help unlock a task by:

• clarifying ideas;
• structuring an action plan;
• producing a first draft;
• generating an initial analysis;
• reducing the pressure of not knowing where to begin.

A starting point can make the most difficult moment — beginning — more manageable. This may mean less avoidance, fewer delays and a stronger sense of control.

Regular use can therefore support a practical routine for getting work under way. The user still needs to assess the material and take responsibility for the next steps.

Becoming familiar with AI and professional credibility

In many organisations, people who use AI effectively can be seen as adaptable, efficient and able to find solutions. That can affect their credibility as well as their productivity.

Someone who knows how to use the tools appropriately can:

• save time on suitable tasks;
• prepare answers more quickly;
• create clearer supporting documents;
• explore a wider range of possibilities;
• adapt their preparation to complex situations.

This familiarity can complement operational and management expertise. The value lies in using the tool with judgement, not simply in being seen to use something new.

AI as an ally for confidence

One less visible effect of preparation with AI is the confidence it can help people develop. Employees can use it to:

• examine the strength of an argument;
• prepare a spoken contribution;
• practise responding to objections;
• anticipate questions in a meeting;
• clarify a message;
• reduce the feeling of being unprepared or out of place.

Better preparation can support confidence, which may in turn make it easier to take initiative. AI can provide a reassuring starting point while people develop greater independence. This is support for their own judgement, not a guarantee that an argument is correct.

Preparing to speak at work

Public speaking is a practical area for AI-assisted preparation. It can help a speaker:

• organise a speech;
• find a clear angle;
• simplify complex messages;
• create a three-part outline;
• adapt the content to an audience;
• practise with simulated questions, objections or interruptions.

For meetings, pitches, stand-ups and interviews, this creates an opportunity to rehearse before the real exchange.

A better-prepared person is more able to speak clearly, stay concise, choose precise wording and give others confidence in the message. The preparation only becomes useful when the person reviews it and makes it their own.

How AI and people can support collective performance

The effect can extend beyond an individual task into the way a team works together.

More focused meetings

When people arrive with clearer ideas and better preparation, the discussion can focus more quickly on the decisions that need to be made.

Better-prepared decisions

Analyses can be brought together, data organised and arguments set out more clearly. The team is then better placed to compare options and decide, while still checking the underlying information.

Smoother conversations

Reducing vague language and approximations can help people discuss the substance of a subject and understand one another’s reasoning.

Greater independence

A useful first draft or a structured set of questions can help employees move forward without continually waiting, hesitating or postponing. They can then ask colleagues more specific questions when human input is needed.

Used in this way, a technology can support human abilities: expressing ideas, making decisions, cooperating and persuading.

A tool for creating value

AI can contribute to several connected goals:

• developing employees’ potential;
• making it easier to move past blocks;
• improving efficiency;
• supporting confidence;
• improving communication quality;
• strengthening professional credibility.

For an organisation, the intended results include greater productivity, more effective meetings, better-aligned projects, more confident employees and clearer spoken communication.

These outcomes depend on the tasks, working methods and people involved. AI becomes useful when its role is connected to a concrete need and its output remains open to critical review. Its value is both organisational and human: preparation should leave more room for the conversations and decisions that matter.

Source

Erik Brynjolfsson, Danielle Li and Lindsey R. Raymond, “Generative AI at Work”, 2023 version: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w31161/revisions/w31161.rev0.pdf.