Wherever your team works, remote, hybrid, or on-site, one thing’s certain: they’re never far from their phones. It’s one of the constants of modern work life. But for forward-thinking organisations, the personal smartphone is no longer just a communication tool, it’s becoming a gateway to smarter productivity through generative AI (GenAI).
By Ernst Wittmann, TCL regional manager for southern & East Africa and global operator account manager for Africa
The rise of GenAI marks a major shift in how people work, collaborate and create. Tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, now readily available on mobile, are transforming our smartphones into powerful digital assistants that can summarise emails, generate documents, brainstorm ideas, or even create meeting notes, all in real time, from the palm of your hand.
This mobility-first AI experience unlocks a more personalised, responsive and efficient way to work. Employees can work smarter, not harder, using tools they already know and trust. But while the possibilities are impressive, responsible adoption is key.
Here are some ideas about how you can get started with using large language models (LLMs) and other GenAI tools in your professional life.
Making GenAI work for you (and your employer)
Before diving in, it’s important to understand that using GenAI tools for work isn’t as simple as downloading an app and prompting away. These tools handle data, and with that comes responsibility.
Here’s what smart professionals need to keep in mind :
- Get IT approval first: Before you use any GenAI tool for work or on a work device, check that it’s vetted and approved by your IT department. This helps protect sensitive company data, ensures compliance with internal policies, and can spare you from getting into trouble with your IT manager.
- Understand privacy and data risks: Be careful about which data you capture in a GenAI tool, unless you have permission from the IT department. Be especially careful personal information – you’ll want to know the data is secured and managed in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
- Don’t use work AI tools for personal prompts: Any LLMs or co-pilots you use at work may log your activity or be monitored by IT. Keep your personal and professional use separate to avoid policy breaches and protect your privacy.
- Stick to official apps: Only use GenAI apps from trusted developers and official app stores. Avoid third-party versions that could introduce security vulnerabilities.
- Back up your work: Some AI tools don’t automatically save content and others can lose information or draft content. If you generate something useful, be sure to copy it to your notes, cloud storage, or email it to yourself.
- Know what AI is good and bad at: GenAI is useful for drafting, summarising and ideation, but it can still make errors and even hallucinate (make up nonsense). Review all output to make sure the tone is right and check facts carefully.
- Keep your team in the loop: If you use Gen AI to prepare client comms, meeting notes, or reports, be transparent about it to your team members and other people.
- Avoid over-automation: Don’t let AI replace your judgment. It’s a productivity tool, not a replacement for personal expertise or accountability.
- Stay updated on company policies: GenAI rules are evolving fast. Keep checking your employer’s guidelines to stay on the right side of IT and compliance.
Some use cases for beginners
The potential use cases for GenAI are limited mostly by your imagination. Here are some good ways to use it to enhance your day-to-day productivity:
- Draft quick emails or replies: GenAI is useful for quickly turning a few bullet points or some rough notes into a professional email.
- Summarise long texts or reports: Paste a wall of text and ask the AI to break it down into key points.
- Brainstorm ideas: Generate ideas for presentations, social posts, events or project plans.
- Create meeting agendas or action items: Convert your notes or voice memos into structured outlines.
- Rephrase or translate content: Make your writing clearer, more formal, or available in another language.
- Explain tricky concepts: Use AI as your 24/7 explainer for business terms, tech topics, or workflows.
Some proven GenAI tools to try on Android
- Microsoft Copilot is a chat assistant integrated with Microsoft tools like Word, Excel, and Outlook.
- ChatGPT (by OpenAI) is a conversational assistant for writing help, summarising, brainstorming, and more.
- Google Gemini (formerly Bard) connects to Gmail, Docs, and other Google services.
- Notion AI helps you write, summarise, and organise notes or tasks inside the Notion workspace.
- Grammarly edits grammar, spelling, and tone, and offers generative writing suggestions.
- Otter.ai turns meeting recordings and voice notes into searchable, editable text with speaker IDs.
- Imagine generates images from prompts for your presentations, social posts and so on.
Used thoughtfully, GenAI can turn your smartphone into an intelligent co-pilot for your workday, one that fits into your pocket and adapts to your needs. The key is balancing convenience with caution. Understand your workplace policies, protect your data, and never outsource your critical thinking. Happy prompting!