AI tools have gone from novelty to everyday utility faster than most of us expected. If you're an office manager wondering how (or whether) to use them, you're not alone — and the barrier to entry just got lower.
AI Is More Accessible Than Ever
AI still on the rise: Raise your hand if you experienced a mild (or maybe even not-so-mild) panic last year that AI would replace us all within a few months. (Me. 🙋♀️ I did.)
Now, I don't know the future of AI, and I'm no fortune teller either, but I do know that ChatGPT opened up to a slightly wider audience at the beginning of April when its parent company, OpenAI, made it accessible even to unregistered users.
So what about you — are you working with AI? I certainly am, and here is a duo of simple rules I've created for using it as an office manager:
I never feed it specific data: No names, meeting transcripts, company data, or info about upcoming projects.
I want it to go wild: GPT is a master of very... unconventional ideas. That is precisely why I like to use it when I am as recycled as toilet paper 😀 and out of new ideas. Think team-building activities or themes for the 56th summer company party.
GPT when I give it one of my more confusing prompts.
Why These Rules Matter
On April 1, 2024, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT would be available without requiring an account — a move aimed at making AI accessible to its then 100 million weekly users across 185 countries. That means more people in your office are using it, whether you've rolled out guidelines or not.
The two rules above are a solid starting point for any office manager. The first — never feeding AI specific or sensitive data — matters because anything you type into a public AI tool may be used to train future models, unless you specifically opt out. Company names, internal project details, employee information, and meeting notes should stay out of the chat window.
The second rule — using AI for creative brainstorming — is where these tools genuinely shine. Need fresh ideas for an office event? A draft agenda for a team offsite? A list of icebreakers that aren't painfully awkward? AI tools are excellent at generating unexpected starting points that you can then refine.
Quick-Start Tips for Office Managers Using AI
Use it for first drafts, not final outputs. Let AI generate ideas, then edit with your own judgment and context.
Be specific in your prompts. "Give me 10 team-building ideas for a group of 25 people who work hybrid" will get you much better results than "team-building ideas."
Check your company's AI policy. If one doesn't exist, consider proposing one — even a simple set of do's and don'ts like the rules above.
AI for office managers isn't about replacing your expertise. It's about having a creative sounding board available whenever you need one.
