Generative AI is revolutionising the workplace, yet many users still struggle to get the results they expect. Anna Bohoněk, a seasoned business professional, has trained more than 800 corporate people on the use of generative AI tools. At WebExpo 2024, Anna delivered an insightful talk full of practical lessons on how companies can boost productivity with Generative AI tools. Take a dive into Anna’s principles to work smarter, not harder with AI.
The biggest problem with Generative AI is …you
Anna kicked off her talk with a bold statement: “The biggest problem with generative AI is me, it’s you, it’s us”. Too often, people especially in corporate environments tend to treat AI like Google – type in keywords and expect magic. According to Anna, this approach leads to vague and mostly disappointing results.
It may be the word ‘intelligence’ that misleads us to believe that AI boasts superpowers. But the outcome is only as good as your instructions – prompts.
A quick recipe to become a prompt master
Think of AI as a junior colleague rather than an all-knowing machine. You wouldn’t give a newbie a task without context, instructions, and a clear goal, so why would you do that with AI? This simple shift in mindset can dramatically improve the quality of the results you get from tools like ChatGPT.
If you were to remember only one takeaway from Anna’s talk, it’s her foolproof prompt structure:
- Context and role: Outline the situation and assign a role to the AI. (e.g. “Act as a world-class expert in generative AI”)
- Task: Clearly define the task, using a verb like “brainstorm,” “write,” or “explain”.
☝ Anna’s extra tip: Always break down complex tasks into more digestible chunks.
- Goal: Define what you are trying to achieve – this helps the AI understand the bigger picture.
- Target audience: Specify who the output is for.
- Format: Whether you need a table, a bullet list, or long text, always clarify the format.
- Tone and style: Adjust according to your brand’s voice.
Caution: With this framework not only will you become a prompt master, but it will also sharpen your ability to delegate tasks.💡
The power of context (not only when talking to AI)
Sorry to disappoint you, AI is still just a tool, not a mind reader with superpowers. 😔 Just like with your newbie junior colleague, the more context you provide to generative AI the higher the chance you’ll be satisfied with the result.
Don’t want to repeat the same instructions over and over again? You don’t have to. Anna highlighted the feature of custom instructions. Even the free version of ChatGPT allows you to set up your personalised context – define who you are and how you want AI to respond. This is especially valuable for marketing and sales people, as it ensures AI outputs align consistently with your brand’s tone and objectives.
From generative AI to AI that takes action
In her talk, Anna mentioned several game-changers to improve your everyday workflow, such as voice notes, AI in your keyboard, meeting assistants, bots. All these tools can only generate content. But Anna took us even further by introducing us to AI agents.
AI agents are autonomous systems that can take action based on the data they are fed. These agents are connected to company tools like CRMs and can make decisions on behalf of the user. She even played a demo of an AI agent handling a customer service call, and it was almost indistinguishable from a human interaction.
This is where the future of AI is heading – towards systems that not only generate content but also take action, making them invaluable for customer service, sales, and even internal operations.
While Anna is clearly excited about new technologies, she also reminded us not to overlook the basics. Her advice? Read release notes and learn to use the tools you already have to their full potential.
Watch Anna Bohoněk’s full talk recording to transform how you work with AI. Click the play button below and take notes because these 40 minutes will definitely change the game for you. 🚀