More and more people are using AI tools for work—some because it’s required by their employers, and others because they actually find it helpful. But no matter your reason, make sure that you never let the AI agent, however pleasant it may be, take the steering wheel.
If your name is going on the final product, your own wonderfully human perspective needs to be part of the end product. Leaving your mark isn’t just about pride; it’s an important part of making sure your work represents who you really are — and how what you produce is seen.
When AI Collaboration Backfires
AI is a powerful tool, but it is still just a tool. It is easy to forget this boundary and hand over more authority to automated beings than we should. If you ask an AI agent whether it makes mistakes, it will truthfully answer “yes.” AI is still a work in progress, and we are all learning as we go—the algorithms included.
Whether you’re using AI to research complicated questions or draft written content, you need to remain fully involved. Be skeptical and keep the classic programming saying in mind: GIGO — Garbage In, Garbage Out. The quality of your results depends entirely on how carefully you frame your questions and review the output.
When you trust AI blindly things can go wrong
- Critical factual errors: If you don’t take the time / make the effort to verify the information, you risk submitting work containing serious mistakes. And the benefits of using AI for work are blown to smithereens!
- Loss of your personal voice: AI-generated text often misses the feeling of a human voice. And misses out on your unique style / way of communicating. The result can be a slow, lifeless read and far more difficult to digest than what your voice would deliver.
- Inconsistent answers: How you phrase a prompt drastically alters the response. Asking the exact same question in three different ways can yield three completely different answers — each perhaps with some useful facts.
- Stifled creativity: AI agents are clever, but if you let them do all the thinking, you miss out on the creative, “aha moment” solutions that only come from wrestling with a problem all by yourself.
How to Work with AI and Win
To make AI work with you rather than against you, treat it like a collaborative assistant. Here are some ideas I hope will help you gain the upper hand:
- Try different phrasing: Ask your initial question, then rephrase it slightly to see what alternative angles or information the AI comes back to you with.
- Correct the course: Read the output carefully. If the AI misunderstands your intent, just tell it. AI agents are great at adjusting their behavior when given clear corrections.
- Fact-check aggressively: If you are gathering key data or facts for a work project or personal needs, ask the AI for its sources. And then check them out on your own.
- Double-check mutual understanding: Once you receive an answer, use the newly-learned info to double-check the logic. Try prompting with, “Based on that, does this mean…” to make sure you understand the concept.
- Give AI detailed instructions: When asking an AI to write a draft, help it produce something close to what you’d write. Specify the desired tone, style, word count, target audience, and key focus areas.
- Supply outline or rough draft: Even a brief outline of how you want the piece to flow acts as a guardrail for the AI. You can always adjust things once they give you a draft.
- Edit carefully: Review every sentence. Rewrite sections that don’t feel natural and inject the missing elements / thoughts that make the work truly yours.
Pro-Tip: Keep the Session Alive
Please don’t close your window the moment you get an answer. Keep your AI session open until you’re completely finished. This way you can feed edits back and forth into the same thread, with AI maintaining the context as your work progresses.
One last thought
I hope that helps you when working with AI agents. So many people look at AI as the enemy — or conversely the “be all and end all” of knowledge. But as a helper tool there is much to be gained. Especially if you take the lead!
[And yes … I know there are still many things to be worked out with AI and its infrastructure needs. But that’s another article!]
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About Ronnie Ann Himmel
Ronnie Ann is a certified career coach, organizational consultant, and the founder of Work To The Wise. Since 2006, she has provided deeply personal, “hand-holding” support to help job seekers overcome anxiety, rebuild their confidence, and navigate complex career transitions.
Expertise & Credentials:
NYU Certificate: Career Planning & Development
Advanced Degree: Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Real-World Experience: Decades of corporate hiring, interviewing, and serial job-seeking adventures.
Learn more about her personal approach on her About page or connect directly via LinkedIn.
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