Without AI, you may be the emperor who has fewer clothes
Some thoughts and resources on how to use and benefit from AI, with our vanity intact.
We have the desire to be more productive within our organization. If we are unwilling to recognize or admit the possible shortcomings of not using AI to our advantage - in some fashion (hence "fewer clothes") - we are doing ourselves a disservice. What feels new and uncertain now will become a common muscle we will all flex. As we learn how AI works, how to work it, how to work with it, and how to work with it to our advantage, AI will further clothe our productivity.
This article focuses on content and how it and we can influence AI. Alongside easier ways to create content, hold meetings, send email, share content, design solutions – in general, we can hope to spend more time on the higher-impact margins of our work.
A way to influence AI output
If garbage in = garbage out is true, then treasure in = treasure out must also be true. And if one person’s garbage is another person’s treasure, then the importance and methodology behind content discovery and use must be important to learn, understand, and implement.
Like all good AI hallucinations, let’s workshop this until we start seeing things! I ask you: What is the new SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for this AI era? Since I work at Microsoft, I’ll ground my example in Copilot - though feel it holds true for a variety of AI tools at all our fingertips. Within Microsoft 365, I assert that the new SEO is CGO: Copilot Grounding Optimization. Ground your content with your audience in mind. Add specific elements that AI prompts and LLMs can sink their eTeeth into AND accelerate collaboration!
According to Semrush (SEO specialists), the following are best practices individuals can follow to implement good SEO - to “improve brand awareness”:
Align your content with search intent.
Leverage primary keywords.
Write compelling title tags and meta descriptions.
Optimize your images.
Build an internal linking structure.
Let' us carry forward good SEO practice, and now don our hallucinatory, imaginary CGO VR headset, to visualize six things to consider within our control to further ground content to improve future AI benefits - to “improve content’s discoverability and reuse”:
Use descriptive language, clear titles, and people’s names - Add notes about the intent of the document, where it’s to be published, authorship and experts, etc. Beyond using metadata (see two below in this list), the more you explain what something is and how it’s to be used, the more AI can carry that value forward - intact.
Write as if you want others to reuse your content, not just find it easier. Include important messaging and positioning, taglines, expanded acronyms, etc. Sometimes the discipline is ensuring something is not only comprehensive and readable, but already good for reuse.
Use metadata, tags, keywords - whatever micro-notes that add clarity, definition, leverage known taxonomy, and aligns the content with the business. This was a cornerstone to SEO discoverability, and I believe as important - if not more - in this era of CGO.
Put your content in the right place, associated with the right people, project(s), teams, org, etc. Where content lives says a lot about what it is, who owns or can access it, and enhances connections to other content like it.
In recorded meetings, say important things more explicitly, speak people’s names out loud - like “remind Megan Bowen to send the report to the group”, restate important decisions, and use “task oriented” language like, “Let’s meet next week to choose the final design.”
Manage access and control data governance - where something is stored grounds it even further based on who sees it and can use it. This is often the biggest worry, and barrier, to adoption - and mainly initial perception versus use and reality. AI doesn’t change access. It adheres to it.
All of the above means your content is more discoverable, more usable, can be used by the right people - in the right ways (better governed), and overall pays knowledge forward.
It helps to both know what to try - to build the muscle of working with AI and make your content work better with AI. As much as you wanted (and want) to optimize SEO for better, more-accurate search results, so, too, can you influence better ‘Content AI’ outcomes, AKA CGO excellence. Optimize your content, and the meaning of your content.
Where to start and what to try first
In the context of Microsoft, seeking CGO excellence makes Copilot better, which makes Copilot better for you, your colleagues, and your company at large. Below is a nice graphic of the “Top 10 things to try first with Copilot for Microsoft 365.” Imagine with solid content AI practices, each skill’s outcome - be it your first time trying it and as you become AI expert - is a better outcome with a little CGO goodness sprinkled in.
To enhance productivity, the organization needs to embrace AI despite initial uncertainties. Learning to clothe yourself with a few AI tools and techniques will boost productivity by streamlining tasks like content creation, meetings, and communication, allowing more focus on high-impact work areas.
First, I suggest watching “How Copilot for Microsoft 365 Works” presented by A.J. Brush and Mary David Pasch - imo, this is one of our best, latest technical training that answers the question, what is Copilot for Microsoft 365:
Then, dive into a nice, and yes SharePoint-specific, training and insights video - for how to apply these concepts in context of content stored in Microsoft 365 (much of which is stored in SharePoint). Watch “Prepare content for Microsoft Copilot with SharePoint Content Governance” with Dave Minasyan:
Additional resources
Read “The Art and Science of Working with AI” (Worklab)
Read “Prompt Like a Pro: 8 Tips and tricks for working with Copilot in Teams” (Article + videos)
Watch “Mastering the Art & Science of Prompting in the world of AI” (Lightning talk training video)
Overview Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Learn)
Plus, a bonus explainer video that sums up generative AI really well, by Henrik Kniberg, “Generative AI in a Nutshell - how to survive and thrive in the age of AI” [18-AI-learning minutes worth watching]:
Cheers and thanks, Mark “Grounded (most of the time)” Kashman 🧔🏻♂️
A day without Kashman is a day with chaos and Utube trackers and objectionable adds