December 09, 2024
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The promise of higher productivity makes using ChatGPT and other gen AI tools to help with daily business writing tempting. But there are risks: loss of your unique voice, inadvertent errors, and ethical pitfalls, all of which can negatively impact your credibility and relationships. Using AI to help you rather than replace you as you write can help you avoid these downsides and take advantage of the technology. Instead of having it write for you, use it to summarize and organize your ideas; draft small, tricky passages (but not the whole thing you’re writing!); and give you feedback.
The promise of sky-high productivity makes the idea of gen AI–assisted writing nearly irresistible: One experimental study found that using ChatGPT made professionals more than 50% faster at their writing tasks, while improving the quality of their work. When you consider how much of our work time is spent on writing in all its forms — a 2023 Microsoft report found that professionals spend a third of their time on email and text messaging, and another third on tasks like note-taking and preparing presentations or documents — you can see how AI-enabled writing might help you tackle the problem of overload and overwork.
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New!
HBR Learning
Writing Skills Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Writing Skills. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Capture your audience’s attention with smarter emails, Slacks, memos, and reports.
