Let me tell you what nobody wants to admit about AI productivity tools:
Most people are using them wrong.
They’re either treating AI like a magic wand that’ll do their job for them, or they’re ignoring it completely because they’re worried it’ll replace them.
Both approaches are costing you time, energy, and honestly? Career momentum.
I’ve spent the last 18 months integrating AI into nearly every part of my marketing workflow. I’m talking real, daily use, not just dabbling or experimenting. AI isn’t doing my job. But it’s absolutely changing how I do my job.
Here’s what actually works.
First: stop asking AI to think for you
The biggest mistake I see? People treating AI like an oracle.
- “Write me a campaign strategy for Q1.”
- “Give me 10 blog topics.”
- “Create a webinar presentation on research integrity.”
You know what you get? Generic garbage that sounds like every other piece of content on the internet.
AI doesn’t know your audience. It doesn’t understand the nuance of your industry. It hasn’t sat through the customer calls where someone describes their actual problem in their actual words.
You have. Use that.
The Framework: AI as your assistant, not your brain
Here’s how I actually use AI to multiply my productivity without sacrificing quality:
- Use AI for structure, not strategy
When I needed to develop content for Research Exchange’s FY26 campaign launch, I didn’t ask AI to create the strategy. I already knew our “Built by Wiley. Powered for you” positioning. I knew our audience. I knew what problems we solve.
What I did ask AI:
- “Here’s my key message and three supporting points. Structure this into a webinar outline with logical flow.”
- “I have these five customer pain points. Organise them into themes for a nurture campaign.”
- “Take this technical explanation and rewrite it for clarity without losing accuracy.”
AI gave me the scaffolding. I brought the insight.
Result? I can develop a comprehensive campaign framework in 2 hours instead of 2 days. But it’s still my framework, with my understanding of what our publishing directors and editorial teams actually need.
- Batch the boring stuff
There’s a category of work that’s necessary but soul-crushing. Email drafts. Meeting summaries. Reformatting content for different channels. Progress updates.
This is where AI genuinely gives you hours back.
My actual workflow:
- After strategy calls, I’ll use AI to draft the meeting summary while details are fresh. I review and adjust, but I’m not starting from scratch.
- When I need to adapt a long-form piece into social posts, I’ll feed AI the core message and ask for LinkedIn-appropriate versions. Then I rewrite them in my voice, adding specific examples and removing the generic bits.
- For routine update emails to stakeholders, I’ll outline the key points and let AI draft the structure. I spend my energy on the insight, not the formatting.
The trick? Always review. Always adjust. Always add the human bits that make it actually useful.
- Use AI to challenge your thinking
This is the one most people miss.
AI is brilliant at playing devil’s advocate or offering alternative perspectives, if you ask it the right way. Before finalising campaign messaging, I’ll feed AI our positioning and ask:
- “What objections might a skeptical publishing director raise to this?”
- “What am I assuming about my audience that might not be true?”
- “What’s the weakest part of this argument?”
Sometimes it surfaces something I hadn’t considered. More often, it confirms I’ve thought things through properly. Either way, it makes the work stronger.
I do the same thing before big presentations or strategy proposals. It’s like having a colleague who’ll tell you the hard truths, without the office politics!
- Build repeatable prompts for recurring tasks
If you’re doing something more than once, you should have a saved prompt for it.
I have templates for:
- Converting webinar content into follow-up nurture emails
- Adapting technical product information into benefit-focused messaging
- Restructuring long documents into executive summaries
- Generating first-draft social posts from campaign assets
Each prompt includes specific instructions about tone, structure, what to include, and what to avoid. They’re customised to how I work and what quality looks like for my team.
This isn’t about being lazy. It’s about not reinventing the wheel every time you need to do the same type of task.
Create your template once. Refine it twice. Use it forever.
- Let AI handle the research grunt work
When I’m building content around complex topics, like our AI whitepaper research with 2,400+ global researchers or data harmonisation webinar, there’s a lot of background research required. AI can:
- Summarise long technical documents into key points
- Compare different approaches or methodologies
- Identify themes across multiple sources
- Explain complex concepts in simpler language
What it can’t do? Verify accuracy or understand context.
So I use it to speed up the research phase, but I always validate claims against original sources. Especially in scholarly publishing where accuracy isn’t optional, it’s the entire point.
- Use AI for idea generation (then immediately make them better)
When I’m stuck or need fresh angles, I’ll ask AI for ideas. Not to use them verbatim, but to spark something.
“Give me 10 angles for a LinkedIn post about research integrity challenges.”
Usually 8 are generic. 2 are interesting. I take those 2 and make them specific to our audience, add real examples, connect them to actual customer conversations.
The AI ideas are kindling. Your expertise is the fire.
What doesn’t work (trust me, I’ve tried)
Let me save you some time:
Don’t ask AI to write in “your voice”
It can’t. It’ll give you something that sounds vaguely professional but utterly forgettable. Your voice comes from your experience, your perspective, your specific way of seeing the world. Write your own conclusions. Let AI help with structure.
Don’t use AI for anything requiring deep subject matter expertise without verification
I work in scholarly publishing. If I let AI generate content about editorial workflows or manuscript screening without checking every detail, I’d lose credibility fast. Use AI to draft, always verify with your own knowledge or trusted sources.
Don’t automate relationship-building
AI-generated LinkedIn comments, networking messages, or “personalised” outreach? People can tell. Automate tasks, not relationships.
Don’t expect it to replace strategic thinking
AI is a tool. You’re the craftsperson. It can’t tell you what your audience needs, what your brand should stand for, or what campaign will actually move the needle. That’s your job.
If you’re just getting started
Pick one repetitive task you do every week. Just one.
Maybe it’s:
- Drafting routine emails
- Summarising meeting notes
- Reformatting content for different channels
- Creating first-draft social posts
Build a prompt for it. Test it. Refine it. Use it until it saves you at least 30 minutes a week.
Then pick another task.
Don’t try to overhaul your entire workflow overnight. That’s how people get overwhelmed and give up.
The bottom line
AI productivity isn’t about doing less work. It’s about doing better work with the time you have.
Use it for structure, not strategy.
Use it for speed, not quality.
Use it to handle the boring bits so you can focus on the brilliant bits.
Your expertise still matters. Your judgement still matters. Your ability to understand your audience and create work that resonates? That matters more than ever. AI just helps you do it faster.
And in 2026, when everyone has access to the same AI tools, the marketers who win won’t be the ones using AI the most. They’ll be the ones using it the smartest.
The views expressed in this article are solely my own and do not represent the opinions or positions of my employer.
LAB Marketing 