Where generative tools win
Generative tools are strongest where the cost of a mediocre first draft is low and the cost of a blank page is high: outlines, naming, summaries, boilerplate.
They compress the distance from nothing to something, which is usually the slowest part of creative work.
Where they quietly cost you
They are weakest where verification is expensive. If checking the output takes longer than producing it yourself, the tool is a net loss regardless of how impressive the demo looked.
Anything requiring precise recall of facts, figures or internal policy belongs in that category unless you supply the source material.
The reversibility filter
Use AI freely for reversible work, and keep a human in the loop for anything that ships to customers or touches money.
Reversibility is a better test than importance: a low-stakes irreversible action can still cause real damage.
Measure the actual saving
Two weeks of honest before-and-after timing will tell you more than any benchmark.
Track time to first draft and time to shippable separately — tools that improve the first often leave the second untouched.
- AI
- Workflow
- Automation
Frequently asked questions
- Which tasks should never be delegated to AI?
- Anything irreversible or hard to verify: legal commitments, financial transactions and customer-facing claims about facts.
- How do I know if a tool is actually saving time?
- Time the same task with and without it for two weeks, and measure time to shippable rather than time to first draft.
