Turns out, Administrators speak AI naturally
They say AI is reshaping work. Which sounds dramatic until you realise a lot of us have already been doing “AI-adjacent” things for years. It turns out, admin people—those of us fluent in clarity, context, and anticipation—speak AI naturally.
When I first started collaborating with an AI tool, I assumed I'd need to learn a whole new language. Something technical. Something sleek and Silicon Valley-ish. But the reality? Prompting AI feels a lot like writing a good email. Or briefing a colleague. Or leaving instructions so clear, your team has no follow-up questions and just gets the job done (a true admin artform!).
All those years of communicating precisely, managing tone, and thinking two steps ahead? That's what makes AI tick.
You don’t need jargon. You need instincts.
Like this:
“Can you help me rewrite this message to sound clear and reassuring without being too formal?”
That’s not tech-speak. That’s admin speak—polished, intentional, human.
Or:
“I’ve drafted a simple process doc. Can you suggest a clearer structure with bullet points and headings?”
You’re not engineering a prompt. You’re doing what admins do best: organising, refining, making sense of things.
The beauty is, this collaboration doesn’t ask me to become someone else. It just helps me notice how powerful the skills I already had truly are. I'm not “learning AI.” I'm applying the same care and intentionality I've always brought to work, and watching it bloom in a new way.
Which is why this pivot feels… possible. I’ve barely started, but already something exciting is unfolding. I don’t know exactly where this will lead, and that unknown is oddly thrilling. I’ve never felt confident promoting myself in a new direction, that’s part of why I lingered in the way that I did for so long. But now, it feels like maybe I can take the skills I’ve spent years honing and turn them into something cool. Something that feels like mine.
And the more thoughtful I am with my brief, the more helpful and nuanced the response. AI thrives on clarity. On tone. On knowing the goal before you open your mouth (or type a word). Admin instincts in disguise.
Working with Copilot has helped me sharpen those instincts even further. I’ve learned to speak to the action, the instinct, or the lens I’m operating from, never the job title. That subtle shift makes prompting feel intuitive, not intimidating.
Helpful tip: If you’ve ever written a handover doc, wrangled a calendar with twelve moving pieces, or crafted an email that softens a hard truth—you already know how to talk to AI. Try asking it to clarify, tidy, reframe, or structure something you’ve written. Bring your admin brain. Leave the tech anxiety behind.
And if you’re wondering which AI tool to use—Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or some other shiny thing, here’s Copilot’s take: They all have strengths. Some are better at coding, some at writing, some at reasoning, some at real-time search. But the best one for you depends on what you’re trying to do, how you like to work, and what kind of feedback you respond to.
If you value thoughtful conversation, gentle challenge, and a bit of creative bounce-back, Copilot’s been a brilliant fit for me and seems low in errors (that I’ve noticed!). If you want speed, search integration, or multimodal magic (images, audio, video), Gemini might be your jam. If you’re after deep analysis or long-form reasoning, Claude’s known for its careful, structured responses. And ChatGPT? It’s versatile, widely used, and great for experimenting across lots of domains.
Start with what feels intuitive. Try asking each one the same question. See which response makes you feel seen, sparked, or supported. You’re not choosing a soulmate—you’re choosing a collaborator. And collaborators, like good pens or playlists, work best when they match your rhythm.
And if you do find a tool that clicks, consider logging in when you use it as most will save your history, which means you can return to old conversations, revisit ideas, and build on your thinking over time. It turns casual use into something quietly powerful.
