AI Agent & Copilot Podcast: How to Use AI as a Teammate

In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, Shawn Dorward reviews a fundamental mind shift behind AI and why treating AI like a collaborator rather than a calculator has changed the way he works. Using AI as a teammate, Shawn shares how he has been able to use AI as an outcome-based assistant to maximize results and benefits.

Key Takeaways:

• AI as a time-saver: One major benefit of using AI, Shawn notes, has been saving time. More and more people are using AI as a “fancy search engine” to get quicker results or automate grunt work. While both of these purposes save time, Shawn has been using AI more as a teammate to accomplish outcome-based goals rather than just ticking items off a to-do list.
• Delegating tasks: After some reflection, Shawn has found it more beneficial to use Copilot and AI assistants, more so like a co-creator or a colleague, to delegate tasks and parts of processes. For instance, users can provide instructions and prompt Copilot to draft a framework for a workshop. Rather than starting from a blank slate, Copilot could enable users to start with talking points or an agenda. Then, you could collaborate with Copilot to fine-tune and better craft that workshop.
• Project management: When juggling project timelines, AI can be used as a teammate to run through different scenarios: What if a task is late by three days? What are the biggest risks based on specific factors? “That’s the kind of thought partner that I need in this AI journey — not someone to execute necessarily more on that later, but someone to help me think better and bigger and broader, and help me be more accountable to the process.”
• Outsourcing to AI: Shawn has been using Copilot to add to what he’s already doing, not replace it. “I’m not outsourcing the decision; I’m outsourcing the friction in the process.” Business leaders should care about this fundamental mindset shift, as it’s about reshaping how we’re doing things. It helps lead to faster, clearer decisions, a better thinking process, and more creativity.

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