Reviewed and updated 20 October 2026.
A generative AI copilot can help draft, summarize or organize work, but useful output still needs context and review. The right starting point is a specific task with a clear definition of success.
Choose work that is easy to check
Drafting an outline from approved notes is easier to verify than producing an unsupervised legal opinion. Start with work where a person can compare the result with a reliable source and correct mistakes before the output reaches a customer.
Useful trial tasks include turning meeting notes into an action list, suggesting alternative wording, organizing a document or generating ideas for a presentation. Coding assistance can also be useful, but generated code still requires review and appropriate testing.
Give the tool a bounded brief
Specify the audience, purpose, source material and desired format. Explain what should be omitted and ask the system to identify missing information. An instruction to avoid inventing facts is helpful, but it does not guarantee that the system will follow it.
Use only data your organization permits in the selected service. Check the provider’s current retention, access and training settings rather than assuming that all products with similar names handle data identically.
Evaluate the whole workflow
- Compare results with a small sample of the existing process.
- Count material errors as well as time saved.
- Include time spent preparing prompts, checking output and correcting mistakes.
- Record cases where the system should stop or escalate to a person.
- Keep an accountable owner for the final result.
For example, a support team could trial draft replies for one low-risk question type. A reviewer would check every reply before sending it. This is an illustrative pilot, not a measured case study.
Decide whether to expand
Expand only when the trial demonstrates a useful improvement at acceptable cost and risk. A fluent answer is not evidence of accuracy, and a successful demonstration may not reflect everyday performance.
Reference: NIST AI Risk Management Framework, including its generative AI profile.
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Cover photograph: James McKinven / Unsplash.