Remember when you had to manually write every email, juggle tabs for research, or type out all your meeting notes?

Those days are disappearing fast. AI is quietly becoming the ultimate productivity partner, if you know how to use it.

This guide will help you get started, get smarter, and get results. All without getting overwhelmed.

What we cover today

News, Tools & Resources

Stay ahead of the curve with some news and experimental AI tools.

📰 News from the AI world

• Higgsfield x OpenAI Let You Star in Iconic Movie Scenes
  Higgsfield’s new “Iconic Scenes” lets you drop your selfie into famous film moments using video AI, powered by OpenAI’s generative models. Think Titanic or Pulp Fiction — now starring you.
  👉 Try it out

• Mastercard Unveils Shopping AI Agents
  In partnership with Microsoft, Mastercard’s “Agent Pay” allows AI agents to search, compare, and complete purchases. The system keeps users in the loop for final approval, aiming to redefine digital commerce.
  👉 Read the full story

• Visa Follows Up and Enables Purchases by AI Agents
  Visa will connect AI agents to its global payments network, partnering with companies such as Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI and Perplexity to enable secure, autonomous transactions.
  👉 Dive deeper 

• OpenAI Adds Product Search to ChatGPT
  ChatGPT now returns shopping results powered by Bing and APIs from Klarna and Instacart—showing images, reviews, and links with no ads or sponsored placement.
  👉 See announcement here

• Meta Launches Llama 4 and Meta AI App
  At its first LlamaCon, Meta introduced Llama 4 and a new Meta AI assistant integrated into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. A standalone app is coming soon, with hints at future ad models.
  👉 Explore Meta’s AI vision 

• Zuckerberg Shows AI Writing Meta's Code
  Meta engineers showcased internal tools using Llama 3 to generate, review, and debug code—part of a broader push to AI-automate internal workflows and product iteration.
  👉 See highlights

• Google Plans Gemini-Powered Search Experience
  CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed Gemini will be embedded in future search and Ads products—plus Google is negotiating with Apple to bring Gemini into iPhones.
  👉 Full context

• Duolingo Goes “AI-First,” Cuts Contractors
  Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced that AI will now generate most learning content. The move reduces reliance on human contractors and mirrors the company’s past “mobile-first” pivot.
  👉 Read the coverage

• China’s Xi Pushes for AI Self-Sufficiency
  President Xi Jinping emphasized building an “AI sovereign stack” to reduce reliance on U.S. tech, including foundational models and chip production—urging massive state-led coordination.
  👉 See the Reuters report

🚀 A practical Guide to AI at work

🧩 How to Use AI at Work (Today)

1. For Meeting Productivity

• Smart notes: Granola AI turns rough bullet points into well-structured summaries—perfect for async teams and follow-ups.
  

• Voice-to-thoughts: TalkNotes: Captures, transcribes, and restructures voice notes into to-dos, emails, or content drafts.

2. For Research & Deep Thinking

• Deep Research: Use the Deep Research feature on ChatGPT or use Perplexity to run dozens of real-time web searches and synthesize them into a concise report with sources.
  

• Structure your ideas: Prompt with “Structure these bullet points into a business plan” or “Turn this brainstorm into a strategy doc.”

3. For Writing & Communication

• Refine like a pro
  Prompt: “Edit this message to be more concise and collaborative without losing authority.”
  → (Use this prompt to follow up after an initial AI output or paste your draft below. AI will refine tone, clarity, and structure.)
  

• Translate ideas across audiences
  Prompt: “Rephrase this explanation so a non-technical executive fully understands the value and impact.”
  → (Add your technical notes, diagrams, or summary. Keep it safe—no sensitive data.)

🎯 The Art of Prompting (What Most People Get Wrong)

1. Meta-prompting (Ask AI to write a prompt)
   → “Help me write a great prompt for analyzing our product’s competitive positioning.”
   

2. Role assignment
   → “As a CFO, review this budget for red flags.”
   

3. Format / output structure control
   → “Summarize as 3 bullet points: What to know, What to do, What to avoid.”
   

4. Give as much context as possible
   → “We run 2-week sprints [then add all details to give full context — you can even just write as if you would tell it to a friend]. Based on this, draft a realistic timeline for these tasks.”
   
   Pro tip: Think of a time when you were managed poorly vs. a time when you had a great manager. More likely than not, the great manager gave you full context, guidance, and details for you to solve the problem. Managing AI is no different.

⚖️ Tool Matchmaking: Which AI for Which Task?

🚫 Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

✌️ Vague Prompts

The issue:

• Generic requests like “Help me with my deck” or “Fix this email” leave the AI guessing your intent. You’ll often get a bland or misaligned result.

What to do instead:

• Be specific about your goal, audience, format, and tone.

Example:

• ❌ “Help me with my deck.”

• ✅ “Create a 5-slide investor deck highlighting our revenue growth, user traction, and upcoming milestones, for a seed-stage VC audience.”

Pro tip:

• You’re not just prompting a machine, you’re briefing a capable assistant. Similar to managing people, the better your instructions, the better the output.

☑️ No Fact-Checking

The issue:

• AI models often present information confidently, even when it’s wrong. This can lead to embarrassing errors or misinformation in public documents or presentations.

What to do instead:

• Always verify data, names, sources, and statistics before using them in important decisions or external communication.

Example:

• If AI tells you “X company raised $50M in 2023,” look it up before including it in your deck.

Pro tip:

• Use tools like Perplexity or plugins like WebPilot (ChatGPT Pro) for real-time, source-backed research.

🧠 Ignoring Memory (and Context)

The issue:

• Starting every new prompt in a blank chat resets the AI’s context. You lose continuity, which leads to inconsistent or redundant results.

What to do instead:

• Create a dedicated conversation thread for each project or topic. Name them clearly (e.g., “Q2 Marketing Plan” or “Investor FAQs”).

Pro tip:

• With memory-enabled tools like ChatGPT Plus, the more context you give over time, the smarter and more tailored the responses become.

⚙️ Over-Automation

The issue:

• It’s tempting to throw everything at AI and hope it runs your work for you, but full delegation often backfires. You lose nuance, context, and credibility. Most importantly, you lose the ability to think critically and problem-solve. Your brain is like a muscle, it still needs training.

What to do instead:

• Use AI to assist, not substitute. Let it draft, structure, or research—but review, refine, and own the final result.

Example:

• Use AI to generate an outreach email, but understand why it should sound a certain way and tweak the tone or insert personal details before sending.

Pro tip:

• Ask AI not just to do something, but ask it what to change, how to approach it and why. Get feedback on the reasoning behind a rewrite or a specific approach. This ensures constant learning.

✅ First Wins This Week

Final Thoughts

The first step is always the hardest, and that’s exactly why it matters most. It’ll feel messy, uncomfortable, even overwhelming, but clarity only comes through action.

Until next time — keep building, stay curious, and rock on! 🚀 

-Andrea