As concerns about job security grow among various sectors due to the rise of artificial intelligence, employees are increasingly eager to adapt and enhance their skills. This anxiety isn’t confined to entry-level positions; recent findings from a Harris Poll, commissioned by Dataiku, reveal that over 75% of U.S. CEOs are also wary of potential job loss.
In this challenging landscape, embracing AI has emerged as a common strategy for both employees and executives. For Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, integrating generative AI into his daily tasks has become a vital part of his routine. He recently disclosed his utilization of GPT-5 on Copilot to assist with generating meeting summaries, project updates, and tracking productivity. Nadella even shared the specific prompts he utilizes to optimize workflow.
Nadella’s Key AI Prompts for Workflow Enhancement
According to a LinkedIn post, Nadella indicated that recent advancements in AI add a “new layer of intelligence” to his applications. Here are five prompts he suggests can significantly enhance everyday productivity:
- “Based on my prior interactions with [/person], give me 5 things likely top of mind for our next meeting.”
- “Draft a project update based on emails, chats, and all meetings in [/series]: KPIs vs. targets, wins/losses, risks, competitive moves, plus likely tough questions and answers.”
- “Are we on track for the [Product] launch in November? Check eng progress, pilot program results, risks. Give me a probability.”
- “Review my calendar and email from the last month and create 5 to 7 buckets for projects I spend most time on, with % of time spent and short descriptions.”
- “Review [/select email] + prep me for the next meeting in [/series], based on past manager and team discussions.”
Fortune attempted to reach Nadella for additional comments.
How Other CEOs Are Implementing AI
The integration of AI into daily operations is a growing trend among top business leaders, particularly within the tech sector. Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang has expressed his reliance on AI tools such as Perplexity and ChatGPT, noting their importance for learning and research.
“I use [AI] as a tutor every day,” Huang shared during the Milken Institute Global Conference earlier this year. “In areas that are fairly new to me, I might say, ‘Start by explaining it to me like I’m a 12-year-old,’ and then work your way up into a doctorate-level over time.”
Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who sometimes prefers traditional methods, actively employs ChatGPT for tasks like email processing and document summarization. He noted that the AI has been transformative, particularly as he navigates parenting.
“Clearly, people have been able to take care of babies without ChatGPT for a long time,” Altman remarked on the OpenAI podcast. “I don’t know how I would have done that.”
Best Practices for Effective AI Prompting
While the phrasing of prompts has become less pivotal due to advancements in large language models, there are still effective strategies to enhance results. According to Anthropic, the company behind Claude, success begins with clear communication, or what it terms the “golden rule of clear prompting.”
To apply this principle, Anthropic suggests:
- “Show your prompt to a colleague, ideally someone who has minimal context on the task, and ask them to follow the instructions. If they’re confused, Claude will likely be too.”
Adapting communication is essential when working with AI. If initial responses do not meet expectations, users are encouraged to clarify their requirements or provide more specific details. When errors occur, it’s important to point them out.
According to Anthropic’s prompting expert, Zack Witten, adding certain phrases can aid in directing the AI’s thought process, but users should validate the AI’s understanding.
“One thing that people will do is they’ll put ‘think step by step’ in their prompt, and they won’t check to make sure that the model is actually thinking step by step because the model might take it in a more abstract or general sense,” Witten said in a YouTube video earlier this year.
AI can also assist in refining how users interact with it, as noted by Maggie Vo, head of user education at Anthropic.
“AI can literally teach you how to communicate with it better,” Vo stated previously, emphasizing its effectiveness in reducing the need to memorize prompt templates.
If you’re a CEO utilizing AI in your daily operations, Fortune would like to hear your experiences. Please reach out at preston.fore@fortune.com.
