How to Use ChatGPT at Work: Tasks Worth Delegating to AI
Practice3 minInnovialabs editorial team
In short
ChatGPT is good at drafting emails, structuring reports, writing spreadsheet formulas and first-pass research, but a person always checks facts, figures, names and anything that goes to a client.
What to delegate to AI and what not to
A good rule: AI writes the draft, a person writes the final version. ChatGPT and similar assistants are strong where you need to write, rephrase, structure or explain something quickly. They are weak where you need exact facts, fresh data and accountability for a decision.
| Good fit | Use with care |
|---|---|
| Drafts of emails and replies | Legal and financial conclusions |
| Report structure, key points, document summaries | Figures, dates, quotes, source links |
| Excel / Google Sheets formulas, explaining errors | Calculations going straight into official reports |
| Translation and editing | Texts containing confidential data |
Emails
Write a polite email to a client: the delivery is delayed by 3 days
because of customs. Offer a discount on shipping for the next order.
Business tone, no excessive apologies, under 120 words.
State who it is for, why, the tone and the length — the answer will be close to what you need right away. Ask for 2-3 versions and pick the best.
Reports and documents
Below are my notes on the month's results. Create a report structure
for my manager: results, problems, plan for next month.
Keep it short, use bullet points. Do not add data that is not in the notes.
[paste notes]
The line "do not add data that is not in the notes" noticeably reduces the risk of made-up facts.
Spreadsheets
In Google Sheets, column A has dates and column B has sales amounts.
I need a formula that sums sales for the current month.
Explain the formula step by step.
AI is also useful for explaining someone else's complex formula, suggesting a pivot table or finding the cause of an error. Test the formula on a few rows where you already know the result.
Research and making sense of information
Explain in simple terms what [term] means and give an example
from retail. If you are not sure, say so.
For a first look at a topic, comparing options and preparing questions for an expert, AI saves time. But verify specific facts, laws and prices against the original source.
Always double-check
- Figures, dates, names and titles — the model can be confidently wrong.
- Links and sources — they may not exist.
- Calculations — recompute key numbers yourself or in a spreadsheet.
- Tone and promises in client emails: AI may promise something your company does not do.
- Compliance with company rules and the law.
Data safety
- Do not paste passwords, client personal data, contracts or internal financials into public versions of these services.
- Find out whether your company has a business plan or an approved tool and what its data processing terms are.
- Anonymize: replace names and amounts with placeholders when they do not matter for the task.