In today’s fast-paced environment, innovation leaders are harnessing the power of AI to speed up tasks, automate processes, and enhance creative output.
I asked 7 innovation experts on how they are using AI, the tools they use most frequently, and the tasks they still prefer to do manually (with good reason).
Nick Skillicornwww.improvides.com
Everyday Tasks Enhanced:
Drafting thought leadershipEditing textMeeting summarisation and note takingDocument summarisationVoice dictationDrafting emails in various languagesAutomating multi-step processes and workflowsDeep research and searchImage productionSimple coding to automate processes within office apps
Tools Used:
ChatGPT and Claude for drafting and refinementmake.com for automating repetitive processesClaude for simple coding tasksMicrosoft Copilot for image production and meeting summarisationPerplexity for deep market researchVarious smaller tools for one-off tasks
Tasks Still Done Manually:
Final reviews of text out outputs, since the risk of misunderstanding and hallucinations are still too high. I always check what an AI creates and make corrections and edits as requiredCreative output, since this still requires my individual thoughts to be usefulStrategic thinking, understanding the dependencies between itemsProject and People management, considering the best ways to communicate challenging topics to diverse groups, especially when it comes to change and things that might invoke fear or resistance
Jeff DeGraffjeffdegraff.com • innovatrium.org
Everyday Task Enhanced:
Tool Used:
Task Still Done Manually:
Outlining, to capture the nuances of complex problem-solving
Todd HenryToddHenry.com
Everyday Tasks Enhanced:
Generating rough outlines for new content based on past writing and podcastsAnalyzing old contentBrainstorming and finding new ideasTranscribing podcast episodesCreating show notesFormulating discussion questions
Tools Used:
Notion AI (within Notion)Castmagic
Robyn Boltonwww.milezero.io
Everyday Tasks Enhanced:
Content creation for blogs and social mediaDeveloping “gifts with purchase” for a book and lead generatorsFinding speaking engagementsResponding to tricky emails
Tools Used:
Claude for content creationChatGPT for researching speaking opportunities
Tasks Still Done Manually:
Managing emails, invoicing, scheduling, and project progress tracking
Paul Sloanewww.destination-innovation.com
Everyday Task Enhanced:
Supporting the creation of courses, articles, and a new book
Tools Used:
ChatGPTMistralPerplexityClaudeCopilotGemini
Greg SatellGregSatell.com
Everyday Tasks Enhanced:
Serving as a writing partnerAnalyzing photos and handling various ad hoc tasks
Colin Duffwww.mosaic-innovation.com
Tools Used:
A range of large language models including Chat, Claude, Perplexity, and GeminiRecently exploring Grok and DeepseekMidjorney for image generationAdditional tools with AI integration, such as Descript
In Summary
These insights show that AI is increasingly integrated into creative, administrative, and strategic tasks.
While many experts embrace AI to draft content, automate workflows, and streamline research, they continue to rely on human judgment for final reviews, creative decision-making, and strategic planning. This balanced approach highlights how AI serves as a powerful partner, enhancing efficiency without replacing the essential human touch.
Feel free to share your thoughts or ask any questions on how these practices might be applied in your own work.
Creativity & Innovation expert: I help individuals and companies build their creativity and innovation capabilities, so you can develop the next breakthrough idea which customers love. Chief Editor of Ideatovalue.com and Founder / CEO of Improvides Innovation Consulting. Coach / Speaker / Author / TEDx Speaker / Voted as one of the most influential innovation bloggers.
