How to Use AI to Make Money, Save Time, and Be More Productive

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  AI is any system that tries to do a humanlike task, and it's already everywhere.

  AI expert Allie K. Miller says AI covers everything from self-driving cars to your Roomba. The term has been around for decades. What's new is generative AI that you can talk to, and how accessible it is: 'We have never had tech be as accessible as it is today.' Mel notes her company already uses it everywhere at work, but she hasn't used it in her personal life.

• 02

  Women are adopting AI about 25% less than men, and the gap compounds.

  Miller hopes women and other hesitant groups see AI 'as a source of agency and not of anxiety.' She warns that people who start now will build momentum that's 'really hard to catch up on in the next two years.' Many hold back because it feels like cheating.

• 03

  The biggest mistake is giving too little context.

  'Plan me a family vacation' gets a generic answer. Tell it who your family is, where you've been and why you liked it, allergies, the length of the trip, and what each person wants. The more you give it, the more useful the answer. AI moves you from filtering Google results yourself to having a co-pilot.

• 04

  Go beyond quick one-off tasks.

  Most people are stuck as 'microtaskers,' using it for things like a meal plan for 20 diners where two are gluten-free. Other ways to use it: as a real-time companion through live video or screen sharing, as a talking partner (she has spoken conversations while walking around New York to play devil's advocate on a problem), and as a delegate for big research and planning jobs you come back to 20 minutes later.

• 05

  Have AI interview you.

  'Go full Mel Robbins on me. Ask me 20 questions.' Then ask: 'Here's my plan. What are five risks I'm not thinking of and how do I mitigate them?' and 'What are 10 crazy ways to make this more interesting?' Miller does this at the hair salon, whispering to it for 20 minutes and, she says, getting four hours of work done.

• 06

  Use it to become who you want to be, not just to write emails faster.

  A sticky note on her desk says 'Use AI to become the person you want to be.' She calls AI 'a prosthesis for reinvention' and says getting stuck on speed is a 'productivity trap.' There are three levels: doing what you already do faster, doing it better, and doing things that are completely new. If she'd had it when starting her business, she'd have asked how to form an LLC, how to choose a lawyer and accountant, and what 20 questions to ask a first hire.

• 07

  AI makes mistakes ('hallucinates'), so verify what matters.

  These systems weren't trained to recite facts, so occasional made-up answers happen. She says the best models are approaching roughly a 1% hallucination rate. Mel's example: searches recently claimed she was divorced and drove a Lamborghini. Miller also wouldn't trust AI over a map app if you're lost.

• 08

  Use it lazily and you'll get lazy. Use it actively and it makes you better.

  On the MIT study about cognitive decline that Mel raised, Miller's view is that the people in it used AI to write essays and then couldn't remember them, because they hadn't written them. Like calculators and math, we still need to teach critical thinking, taste, creativity and writing. Do your own writing if remembering it matters, and use AI to interview you or critique your draft.

• 09

  Instead of 'AI is coming for my job,' think 'AI is part of my job.'

  Every role, whether marketing, legal or finance, will be AI-supported, and the tasks within jobs will shift. If you're worried, lean in. Users also get a voice in demands for regulation and labeling of AI-generated content. 'It's still you': authenticity, confidence and trust remain human.