05-05-2025
A True Story: In December 2022, my husband and I were dining with some colleagues and friends when one of them asked if I had heard of ChatGPT, which had been released a few weeks earlier. He mentioned it because he knew earlier that year I had signed a contract to write an undergraduate textbook on strategic business writing, and in 2021, I had launched an undergraduate business writing course that was scaling.
After learning more about ChatGPT through our conversation, I didn’t sleep well that night. However, the next morning I woke up and knew what had to be done. After researching OpenAI and ChatGPT, I revised my book plan, keeping the first part of the book and the core of the strategic business writing course I had developed the same. I knew my innovative, people-first approach to business communication was not something AI could do fully. For the second part of the book, I would introduce the readers and my students on how to use artificial intelligence (AI) effectively, efficiently and ethically in various types of business writing exchanges.
By fall 2023, the Daniels School of Business was among the first at Purdue to provide substantive learning to undergraduate students about AI and how to optimize it for business communication. My textbook, Strategic Business Writing: A People-First Approach, published by Kendall Hunt in May 2024, was one of the first business writing textbooks to market that discusses how to use AI effectively.
AI is constantly changing, and it is important to stay up to date, but some of the best practices for using it to help improve effective communication have not changed since it was first introduced a couple of years ago. I will discuss those below.
Prompt engineering is the key to using AI effectively in business writing. A prompt is the information/task you provide AI to generate an answer. The more specific you are in the prompt, the more specific the response will be. You can tell AI what you want it to do and what you do not want it to do. It relies on you for the situation, context and directions. Keep in mind that AI is predicting human communication– it uses all the information it has access to and makes a best guess.
AI is a great tool to help brainstorm ideas when you are feeling stuck. Like talking to a colleague, AI can help you come up with new angles to tackle a challenge or explore opportunities.
AI can also help someone to outline, organize or structure their writing. This allows for the development of more clear and concise documents that get to the point faster. AI is good at finding patterns and grouping similar content together. It can provide subheading options to break up written content, making it easier for the reader to skim the message or document.
We could all use a little advice now and then, but sometimes we don’t have someone at work we can chat with – so AI can be your colleague who can help you revise your writing to make sure it hits its mark. Whether you need to edit for clarity, conciseness, or style and tone, AI can help you reach your writing objective.
AI-generated content can sound a bit robotic or too formal. It is important that you don’t lose your authentic voice when using AI, but if someone struggles with using an appropriate style and tone in their business writing, AI can help the writer polish their message, making it more professional overall.
AI should not be used in the following scenarios:
AI is not always accurate and can be biased and misleading, so it is up to you to check for accuracy and decide what should and should not be used from AI.
Recently, I had the opportunity to participate and share some of these same thoughts on an AI panel at the Cornerstone for Business Conference hosted at the Daniels School of Business at Purdue. I know that some organizations and companies are embracing the use of AI in various ways to take their businesses to the next level. I believe it is also important to consider how we can use AI to help us develop better business communication skills. After all, working with other people is sometimes the most challenging part of a person’s job. If AI can help improve how people communicate and work with others, then that person, the people around them, and the company overall will benefit.
This blog post is part of a series written by Professor Kasie Roberson. This series is designed to share best practices in business communication. Each article highlights a business communication principle or idea and actionable strategies.
Kasie Roberson is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Business Communication and Associate Director of Outreach and Coaching for the Center for Working Well at the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University.
A strategic communication expert, executive coach, and award-winning faculty member, Roberson is also the author of “Strategic Business Writing: A People-First Approach.”
If you are interested in scheduling Roberson as a speaker for your organization or company, please contact the Center for Working Well.
This blog post provides general insights and best practices for business communication. It is for informational purposes only and should not be considered coaching, consulting, or professional advice. Neither Professor Kasie Roberson, nor the Mitch Daniels School of Business, nor Purdue University are responsible for how readers apply this information in practice. Readers should use their discretion and seek professional guidance as needed.
