Using AI at Work: 6 Tips for Safer, Smarter Teams
- Graeme McInteer
- May 1
- 4 min read
AI is popping up everywhere—from inboxes to boardrooms. And it’s not just tech companies driving the change. According to the AI Forum’s March 2025 Productivity Report, AI use in New Zealand has jumped from 67% to 82% in just six months, following their initial survey in September 2024. That’s a huge shift in a short time. And while the benefits are clear—faster workflows, better insights, streamlined admin—it’s just as important to think about how we use AI at work. A bit of structure can go a long way in avoiding missteps. Explore simple, practical ways to help your team get the best out of AI, without compromising privacy, productivity, or trust.
Tip 1: AI Isn't a Vault —Treat It Like a Public Space
One of the easiest mistakes to make? Treating AI like it’s internal software. Tools like ChatGPT work by sending your prompts to external servers.
When employees paste in sensitive data (client names, financials, internal docs), they could be unknowingly exposing information to the outside world.
Rule of thumb: If you wouldn’t email it outside the business, don’t upload it to AI.
Tip 2: Use It to Speed Up, Not to Switch Off
AI can help with research, rough drafts, summaries, and sparking ideas, but it still needs someone steering it. The numbers back this up: 93% of New Zealand businesses say AI has made their teams more efficient, especially by automating repetitive tasks and freeing people up for more strategic work.
Think of AI as a clever assistant. It’s helpful, but your judgment is essential.
A Real-World Example: Using AI to Refine Tone
At Zephyr, our Director uses AI to polish emails—not to write them from scratch, but to adjust tone. Whether it’s softening a firm message or making sure a sentence lands just right, it’s a great example of AI enhancing (not replacing) human communication.
Tip 3: Give Everything a Quick Sense Check
AI can sound confident even when it’s confidently wrong. So if you’re using it to prep a client summary or inform decisions, it’s a good habit to review, verify, and polish before hitting send.
Treat AI output like a first draft, not the final say.
Tip 4: Set Expectations with Your Team
Not everyone on your team will have the same sense of what’s okay to do with AI. It can help to chat or jot down a few simple guidelines. It's not necessary to have a complete policy in place initially; what’s important is to establish a shared understanding among your team.
The AI Forum’s March 2025 Productivity Report revealed that 73% of organisations are actively implementing AI training programs. This indicates that business leaders are approaching AI not merely as a technological enhancement, but as a significant shift in necessary skill sets within their workforce.
Even basic training can go a long way in helping staff use AI more confidently and responsibly, reducing the risk of missteps and ensuring everyone is on the same page for safe, effective use.
Tip 5: Be Transparent with Clients
If AI helped generate a document or message, a quick disclosure helps keep trust intact. Clients appreciate efficiency, but they also appreciate honesty. Something as simple as “This was prepared with help from AI and reviewed by our team” helps to build trust.
Tip 6: Don’t Let AI Dilute Your Voice
AI can do a lot, but it can flatten your team’s creativity if you rely on it for everything. It’s great for getting started or clearing a mental block, but the magic comes from the people, and when it’s used well, you will reap the benefits. According to the AI Forum’s March 2025 Productivity Report, 56% of businesses say they’ve seen financial gains from using AI, but that usually comes from smart use, not overuse.
Ensure you express your personal and the business's tone, values, and style, as that's what humanises it.
Other Real-World Examples:
At Zephyr, we even used AI to draft our internal AI policy, asking it to lay out the key sections and core principles. We then tailored its suggestions so they fit our exact requirements. It was a great way to get a fast foundation in place, without starting from a blank page.
Here are some other ways AI is being used:
Generating templates for standard emails, forms or reports
Turning bullet points into summaries
Extracting key points from articles or long documents
Drafting LinkedIn posts
AI tools make daily tasks easier and can save time, but the work should be treated like a draft and reviewed by someone before the final version goes out.
Using AI at Work: A Little Guidance Goes a Long Way
AI can be a huge help, but like any new tool, it works best when everyone knows how to use it safely and thoughtfully. That doesn’t mean writing a 30-page policy. It means leading by example and helping your team stay curious, cautious, educated and human.
Start the conversation and allow sharing on how you and the team are currently using it.