AI tools for managers

Runs meetings, makes decisions based on numbers, writes emails and reports, is responsible for the team and the department's results.

Tools ranked for this role

Best tool for each task

ChatGPT

All-purpose chat assistant with web search, file and spreadsheet analysis, voice and custom GPTs. Paid plans from $20/mo. Free plan available.

Claude

Assistant for long documents, contracts and careful writing, with a Project for each matter. Paid plans from $20/mo. Free plan available.

Microsoft 365 Copilot

Assistant inside Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and PowerPoint with access to company data. Paid plans from $20/mo. Free plan available.

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Meeting recordings that discuss salaries, dismissals and deals: anonymize the transcript before uploading it to a public service
• Plans, prices and terms for specific clients: a trade secret, refer to the client as [Client]
• Ratings and feedback for specific people: personal data, into the prompt as [Employee 1]
• Strategy documents and deals under NDA: only inside a corporate environment with a data processing agreement
• Assistant access to email and Drive: only on a corporate account, never on a personal one with work data

Tasks with a prompt and steps

• Write meeting minutes from an audio recording 20 min
• Write a weekly report to your manager 10 min
• Write a business letter 10 min
• Build a quarterly results presentation 40 min
• Design a KPI dashboard for the business owner 40 min
• Write AI usage guidelines for your team 20 min
• Frame feedback for an employee 15 min
• Summarize a long PDF 10 min
• Compare two versions of a contract 15 min
• Run a quick counterparty check before a deal 20 min
• Write a sales proposal 30 min
• Build a 12-week cash flow forecast 45 min
• Write a job ad and a job description 20 min
• Build a 30/60/90-day onboarding plan 25 min