Can AI really help you be more productive?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly starting to pique our interest as we think about the way we work. AI-powered tools and software are making it easier for you to streamline work processes, eliminate redundancy, and automate various tasks. And when it comes to productivity, AI promises to take your game to the next level. In 2023, Generative AI has gained some notoriety, and you can't go to a social media platform without reading a post, article, or comment about it. Over the past few months, I've been doing a lot of information sessions around Generative AI. The number one question I get about Generative AI is, "what can I really do with it?" and "how do I use it in real life?" Let's take a moment to take a closer look at Generative AI specifically and how it can help you maximize productivity.

Let's start off by defining what Generative AI is. Generative AI is an algorithm that generates output that mimics some aspects of human creativity. In other words, it can create things that typically only humans could do, like write a cohesive paragraph on a specific topic, create a video, or compose music. I'm not talking about robots taking over the world or your job here, but rather tools that can make your life easier and more productive. I've put together a list of some Generative AI-powered tools that you can start using today:

1. Text Generation - Generative AI tools that can assist with writing tasks, such as generating reports, emails, or memos. Some examples of such tools include Sudowrite (https://sudowrite.com/) and Copy.ai (https://www.copy.ai/).
2. Automatic Translation - AI-powered translation tools that can help break down language barriers, including Google Translate (https://translate.google.com/) and DeepL (https://www.deepl.com/translator).
3. Data Analysis and Visualization - AI-powered data analytics and visualization tools that can help make sense of complex data sets and create visual representations of them. Examples of such tools include Tableau (https://www.tableau.com/) and Power BI (https://powerbi.microsoft.com/).
4. Workflow Automation - AI-powered automation tools that can streamline and optimize routine tasks, such as scheduling, document management, and invoicing. Examples of such tools include Zapier (https://zapier.com/) and IFTTT (https://ifttt.com/).
5. Image and Video Editing - Generative AI tools that can assist with image and video editing tasks, such as removing backgrounds, enhancing images, or adding special effects. Examples of such tools include Adobe Sensei (https://www.adobe.com/uk/sensei.html) and Pixlr (https://pixlr.com/).
6. Speech-to-Text - AI-powered tools that can automatically transcribe audio recordings into text, which can be useful for meeting notes or transcribing interviews. Examples of such tools include Otter.ai (https://otter.ai/) and Google Cloud Speech-to-Text (https://cloud.google.com/speech-to-text).
7. Meeting Scheduling - AI-powered tools that can help schedule meetings by finding available time slots based on participants' calendars. Examples of such tools include x.ai (https://x.ai/) and Calendly (https://calendly.com/).
8. Email Prioritization - AI-powered tools that can help prioritize emails by analyzing their content and importance, such as Astro (https://www.astro.ai/) and SaneBox (https://www.sanebox.com/).
9. Document Summarization - AI-powered tools that can summarize long documents and articles into shorter, more manageable versions, such as Aylien (https://aylien.com/text-api/summarization/) and OpenAI's GPT-3 (https://openai.com/blog/long-context-wikipedia/).
10. Contract Review - AI-powered tools that can help review legal contracts and identify potential issues or inconsistencies, such as LawGeex (https://www.lawgeex.com/) and Kira Systems (https://kirasystems.com/).

These are just the tip of the iceberg—10 tools you can use today. There are a plethora of other AI tools that can help you in different aspects of your daily workflow. These tools are game-changers when it comes to maximizing efficiency, streamlining work processes, and automating time-consuming tasks. As AI technology continues to evolve, there will be even more AI productivity tools that business, marketing, sales, and learning professionals, as well as faculty, can use to improve productivity.

Are you exploring or using a Generative AI tool today to automate some of your workflows? Share it in the comments. We want to hear your recommendations.