I’ve been wondering about this question for a while now and today, I’d like to share a few thoughts that may lead to some possible answers.
I do think that the short answer to the question is yes.
But the real question is more about how we should be using it and I want to propose a few ideas today and hopefully make you think about the answers for yourself.
Having said that, I should be super honest – I don’t know the full answer to this question! I think that the same can be said for AI generally right now. I’m a firm believer that AI will indeed lead to huge change in our industry and the wider world, but I don’t think that anyone truly knows what this change looks like yet.
Below, I’ll share a bunch of thoughts, trends and ideas for you to think about and try to suggest a few ways that AI could indeed be useful for managers.
For ease, I’ll use “AI” throughout this article but the principles will apply to whatever tool(s) you use such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude etc.
People are turning to AI for emotional support
One key trend that we need to be aware of as managers is that people are using AI more and more as a counselor / therapist. Right now, it doesn’t matter whether you agree with this or whether this is an appropriate use of AI, but the fact is that people are doing it and it’s clearly a growing trend.
This is relevant to managers because a key part of our role is to provide emotional support for our team. Therefore, it’s perfectly plausible that your team may start turning to AI for this kind of support in their day-to-day role.
Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it doesn’t mean that if they do this, that you are doing a bad job as a manager, but it is something that you should be aware of. It’s especially important when it comes to understanding how you can differentiate yourself from AI tools, which we’ll talk about below.
Coach your team on how to use AI in their roles.
You need to look closely at how your team is using AI for their day-to-day role and where appropriate, provide some guidance and coaching on responsible use.
This is less about how to use AI in a technical sense and more about how to use AI responsibly, whilst enabling your team to innovate and be more effective.
Every role and company will be different here, but broadly, you should keep an eye on how your team uses AI in relation to things such as:
Data privacy and security
Educate your team on what kind of information is safe to input into AI tools. Be clear that sensitive company data, client information, or personal employee details should never be shared with public AI models.
Fact-checking and critical thinking
While AI can generate content that at first glance seems impressive, it’s crucial to stress that its output should always be fact-checked and evaluated. AI can “hallucinate” or provide biased information, so encourage your team to verify any critical data before relying on it.
Attribution
You should encourage your team to be transparent about when they use AI tools such as AI and avoid the temptation to present AI-generated work and content as if it is 100% their own.
Bias awareness: Explain that AI models can perpetuate and amplify existing biases present in their training data. Encourage your team to be aware of potential biases in AI outputs and to challenge them when they arise.
Appropriate use cases: Help your team identify when AI is a helpful tool and when they should be using their own judgement and experience. For example, if you work in Digital PR, using AI to draft the outline of a press release can work well. But it’s still going to need refinement and experience added to it in order to be effective.
Think of AI as an assistant, not your replacement
Think of AI as a powerful assistant that can free up your time for higher value activities. A lot of people are scared about what AI may mean for their jobs right now. The best way to protect yourself is actually to embrace AI and use it to make you better at your job – not bury your head in the sand and hope that you’re never affected by it.
It’s useful in a bunch of ways as a manager, such as:
- Automating repetitive tasks such as taking and summarising meeting notes with your team or drafting emails that you’re struggling with.
- Spotting trends in large amounts of data or notes from your team. For example, asking AI to review someone’s longstanding personal development plan or meeting notes for the last year to spot trends and areas to focus on.
- Generating outlines for difficult conversations – I’ve used it very effectively for this and basically told ChatGPT what I want to say, then asked it to give me 3-5 bullet points which can serve as a conversation outline that is easy to recall.
The added bonus here is that this mindset and attitude can be a good example to set for your team who may also worry about the future of their roles and whether AI is a threat to them or not.
Actually use AI tools beyond the basics
I think the key right now is to simply play with the tools available to understand what’s possible. You should be doing this regularly and using AI tools in your day-to-day work. I see far too many people trying tools once or twice, not being overly impressed, then moving on.
The classic example is getting ChatGPT to generate some content for you, such as a newsletter or LinkedIn post, being somewhat impressed, but not blown away by the response, so you move on with your day.
It’s capable of so much more than content generation. So if you are not testing it beyond this, you need to catch up.
I’ll admit – this was me for the first 12 months or so after ChatGPT was launched. There is no shame in it! But you need to catch up at some point or you’ll be left behind.
Ask yourself what you can do that AI can’t
A key reason that you need to use AI beyond the basics is because you need to find ways to differentiate what you can do for your team vs. what it can do. If you don’t understand its capabilities, then you’re going to struggle with this.
One big area that AI will struggle with is genuine empathy and understanding. Yes, the tools can sound empathetic and understanding, but in reality, they are not actually able to do these things. AI isn’t emotionally intelligent and most tools such as ChatGPT and Claude will acknowledge this when a conversation goes in this direction.
This is a big difference between AI and you in the context of being a manager.
When a team member comes to you with a problem, they often need more than just a solution – they need to feel heard, understood and supported. AI tools can’t pick up on unspoken anxieties or stress, the tone of voice that indicates deeper issues, or the personal history that might influence a situation. Your ability to connect on a human level, to offer genuine encouragement and to navigate complex situations truly will make you stand out and be of value to your team.
This means that you need to focus on becoming very good at things like:
- Active listening and being present in a conversation.
- Asking follow up questions that genuinely seek to understand what someone is saying.
- Taking time to think about your response.
- Remembering personal details about your team, especially things that may sit outside of work such as their birthday or where they went on holiday recently.
These are the kinds of things that can build trust with your team – which is a good thing anyway – but also things that AI can’t do as well as you can.
The future isn’t 100% AI driven, but it’s not 100% human driven either
This is probably the case for AI generally, but I definitely think that it’s the case for managers.
Sure, AI could technically be a good manager for an individual. But I think that a better option would be a human manager who knows how to use AI.
In the short term at least, whilst we all figure AI out a little more, I’d suggest doing a few things:
- Embrace AI tools and use them in your daily work to see what’s possible (and not possible).
- Prioritise the human connection element of your role by doubling down on getting to know your team as much as possible.
- Don’t avoid talking about your use of AI in your role. Quite the opposite – be open about it and set a good example for your team on when it’s a good idea (and not a good idea) to use AI.
I don’t think we’re in imminent danger of being replaced as managers. But I do think that those managers who don’t embrace the change that is coming are genuinely at risk of being left behind.
