What is generative AI?
Generative AI is AI that creates new content, such as text, images or sound, from an instruction.
Earlier AI was mostly about recognising and sorting. Generative AI writes, summarises and phrases. It builds its answer word by word from patterns it has learned.
That makes it useful for much of what takes time at work. A first draft of a tender, a summary of long minutes or an answer to a question about a routine.
Generative AI writes convincingly even when the material is missing. So the answers need to build on the right documents, and someone needs to review what will be used further.
How it works
A generative model has learned what text, images or sound tend to look like. Given an instruction, it builds the result piece by piece, choosing each part from what came before. That is why the same instruction can give different answers at different times.
Why it matters
Much of the work in an office is putting things into words. Answering the same question again, rewriting a text for a new reader or summarising a long document. Generative AI can shorten the road to a first draft, so the time goes into judging and improving it.
What to keep in mind
A draft sounds finished even when it is not. It is easy to accept a well-written answer without checking facts, amounts and references. Decide who reviews and what gets checked before the text moves on.
Consider what goes in as well. The material must be fit for that use, and content created with AI may in some cases need to be labelled under the EU AI Act.
What it means for you
Use generative AI for drafts and summaries that a colleague then reviews.
Common questions
How is generative AI different from ordinary search?
Search returns documents that match your query. Generative AI writes an answer of its own. Combined with RAG, that answer is grounded in your own documents.
Can generative AI get things wrong?
Yes. It writes convincingly even when it has nothing to go on, which is known as hallucination. Answers that show their sources are easier to check.
What is generative AI best used for?
Drafts, summaries and answers where there is material to work from. Anything that will be used further should be reviewed by a person.
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