PRACTICAL AI AT WORK · OPENAI · CHATGPT
Administrative work often involves turning one form of information into another: meeting notes into an email, a long document into a briefing, or a messy list into a plan. These are useful places to experiment with ChatGPT because a colleague can compare the output with a clear source.
OpenAI documents support for working with uploaded files and for organising related material in Projects. The practical value depends on what you supply and how you review the result. Start with approved sample material and a task small enough to check properly.
1. Turn notes into a useful follow-up
Provide the notes and ask for three separate outputs: a short summary, an action table and a draft email. Keep decisions separate from suggestions. If no owner or deadline was agreed, the assistant should say so rather than completing the table with plausible guesses.
2. Prepare a briefing from a long document
Specify the audience and the decision they need to make. A manager may need key changes and unresolved issues; a new employee may need definitions and first steps. Ask for references to sections or pages, then check that those references support the claims.
3. Draft a procedure from an existing process
Describe the trigger, inputs, steps, owner and exceptions. Ask ChatGPT to turn these into a readable procedure and identify gaps separately. It should not quietly add approval rights or invent company policy. Have the person who does the work walk through the draft using a realistic example.
A PRACTICAL WORKFLOW
4. Make handovers easier to act on
A good handover tells the next person what is happening, what is due and where to find the evidence. Give the assistant the current status notes and ask it to group items into completed work, outstanding actions, blockers and decisions needed. Check the dates and links before sharing.
5. Build a reusable weekly update
Agree a consistent structure: progress, next priorities, risks and help required. Keep the reference material and writing instructions together in a Project where your account supports it. Reuse the format each week, but explicitly provide the current reporting period and current facts.
A saved project is a place to organise context. It does not, by itself, guarantee that a report will run on a schedule or that an email will be sent. Those actions require the relevant capabilities, connections and permissions.
A practical prompt for your first test
Use these approved handover notes to prepare a one-page update. Include: current position, completed work, outstanding actions, blockers and decisions needed. For each action show the owner and deadline only if stated. Otherwise write “Not agreed”. Separate facts from suggestions. Do not send messages or change any records. Finish with questions I should resolve before sharing.
Measure the whole job
Time the task from preparing the input to approving the finished output. Include correction time. A draft produced in seconds may still be poor value if someone spends twenty minutes finding the mistakes. Compare several examples, including an awkward case with incomplete information.
ChatGPT is one option. Claude can also help draft and organise supplied material, while Gemini may suit teams working within Google Workspace. The transferable habit is a well-defined task with a visible review point. Start with one workflow, agree the standard and expand when the result is dependable.
Sources and further reading
Product information checked 4 November 2026. Features and availability depend on your plan and administrator settings. Examples and suggested workflows are illustrative.