Lately, my initials have become the most used term on the planet. Apparently, I didn't choose the AI life... AI life chose me.
For the past few months I have been diving deeper into these tools and here is how progress looks like for me.
Personal World
I use LLMs for everything, from travel planning to "vibe coding" and random topics. While I have not tried every tool out there (I have a social life too, I promise), here is my current roster:
- Gemini: My daily driver. It has moved from my browser to a "long-press" shortcut on my phone. Its ability to offer unsolicited yet highly relevant insights is its superpower.
- DeepSeek: Impressed me with clean code and alternative logic paths, although I used it superficially.
- Mistral: A fantastic European alternative that holds its own against the giants.
Verdict: ChatGPT and Copilot are solid options for simple personal queries, but for deep thinking Gemini worked best for me. I will be trying more tools soon for personal productivity.
Work Life
Using Microsoft 365 Copilot at work was more than a new chat window. My evolution followed a clear three-step path:
Step 1: The "Crude Prompt" Phase
This is where we all started, by asking simple questions. I quickly learned that magic can be found in asking the right follow-up questions and refining the initial prompt. Tools like Prompt Cowboy or Copilot’s own Prompt Agent taught me the Holy Trinity of prompting: Context, Intent, and Boundaries.
Step 2: Grounded Efficiency
This stage was about using different Agents for different tasks. By grounding AI in specific documents, the hallucinations stopped, and the actual utility began. It wasn't just "an AI" anymore. It was a real teammate who knew what I wanted to achieve.
Step 3: The Matrix Moment
This came after accessing Copilot Studio Lite. It changed everything.
“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You take the red pill... I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
Shout out to Luc Späth for the "Red Pill."
I moved from conversations to orchestrations. I am now building a personal assistant that doesn't just talk. It acts on my behalf by creating documents, sending emails, organising meetings, publishing decisions and minutes on command.
What’s next?
Mastering Topics, Actions, Orchestration of Embedded and Connected Agents, and exploring autonomous Agents further.
I am not quite at the point where I can head to the beach while AI does my job, but with enough time investment I will be getting closer every day.
How about you? Are you still in the "Chatting" phase, or have you started building your own "Agents" yet? Drop a word in the comments!
