Liang himself is I’m appalled to confess my interview recording technique: I launch the Voice Memos app on my iPhone and manually upload the transcript to a Google Doc. CEO of the company Ottera transcription service used to analyze meetings stares at me like I’m trying to connect to our video chat on a rotary phone. Naturally, he thinks I should switch to Otter. He’s probably right.
It’s all part of a modern identity at work (and perhaps at home): native AI. Time-saving productivity tools like next-gen notebooks, task agents, and chatty inbox assistants are gaining ground and invading every corner of our digital lives. While it’s critical to keep security and hallucination concerns in mind when using any AI feature, early adopters are developing a fluency that will likely pay dividends for years to come.
1. Kill your chatbots
ChatGPT is like it’s 2022. The nippy kids are all about the Code these days. Your eyes may well up, rightly so, at the mention of “AI agents,” but compared to anything that was on the market just a year ago, software automation tools like Codex and Anthropic’s Cowork are much better at taking over your computer and getting things done. Don’t waste your time playing with one chatbot when you can command an entire army of them.
2. Go to voice mode
Oh, you still write everything you want AI tools to do, Boomer style? That’s adorable. But trust Liang Otter: “The voice will become more and more dominant in the future,” he tells me. “People hate writing.” (Reserves this ANDjournalist, probably doesn’t hate writing, which is mostly true.) This move is primarily about input, not necessarily output. For example, I rarely operate voice mode in ChatGPT, but I often speak a prompt into my phone and then review the text.
3. Build a sandbox
Even though the agents are really good now, the mischievous little devils can still screw things up without proper boundaries. (Earlier this year, an agent using Claude’s assist deleted the startup’s file entire production database and backups.) So if you’re ready for some third party to take control of your computer, you need to spend an afternoon examining everything these tools can create and configure dedicated folders for the files you want to access.
4. Give it your all
5. Create an impersonator
Barrow tells me that he puts all his Slack messages into a document so the bots know what he sounds like on that platform, and he does the same with his inbox and social media accounts. “People are using artificial intelligence to improve their tone of voice,” he says. “There are only so many times you can say, ‘OK, a little warmer. OK, a little less formal.’ It’s a time waster.” Creating these guides for agents won’t fully replicate your voice, but they can trick the bot into producing something at least closer to the rhythm and tone of your voice.
6. Think cross-sectionally, in teams
Data is powerful, and adding more of it from people around you can make your AI tools even better. Think about your co-workers: “Many people use a meeting recorder these days, but they still use it at the individual meeting level,” Liang says. He touts the “knowledge engine” that Otter can create when: the entire workplace buys, from the engineering team to the marketing department. You can even do this at home: if family members put different notes from their day into one shared AI tool, it will provide more information than isolated operate.
7. Learn to jailbreak
Using AI tools effectively in 2026 requires no writing – that is to talk— excellent prompts. Still, starting more elaborate tasks with a artistic, well-calibrated request can be arduous. Experiment with wording, especially if you come across unexpected railings blocking your exit. I recently tried to get a bot to send me the email addresses of various niche experts, but it refused to deliver. But when I started a modern chat and shared the details of why I needed this information (for reporting purposes, not for harassment, of course), the list forked.
What do you say?
Let us know what you think about this article in the comments below. Alternatively, you can send a letter to the editor at [email protected].