Jess Carter: AI every day: How it’s helping me lead and parent

Let’s talk about AI. Not the “pie in the sky” stuff or abstract theory. I want to share how I, a real human leader and working parent, am using tools like ChatGPT right now. One of the most effective—and underrated—ways to learn new technologies is via peers. Learning from one another’s real-world use cases makes it less intimidating and way more actionable.

Quick caveat: You don’t have to use AI the way I do. I’m just one person, offering one perspective. But I’ll be honest: This is a train I don’t think you can afford to miss.

AI at work and home

Let me share some specific AI use cases that have genuinely changed how I work and live.

◗ Reviewing documents as a podcast: I recently used Google Notebook’s podcast feature while reviewing a 133-page, multimillion-dollar RPF response. The tool turned the entire document into a conversation that I could listen to while driving. To be clear, I still did my own careful analysis. It took me four hours to read that document front to back. But it was really interesting to understand the fidelity of a conversation that was created from the document. It helped me prep for the deep dive, giving me a sense of what to look for and where to spend my time most effectively.

◗ Preschool practice activities: My 4-year-old son is working on his letters and numbers. He’s also obsessed with trains. I asked ChatGPT for activity ideas for a 4-year-old boy who loves trains and needs letter-recognition practice. It created a game where his train picks up letter A, takes it to its place in the alphabet, then goes for letter B. Brilliant.

◗ Meeting-preparation game-changer: I’ve created profiles of every one of our executive leadership team members. Before I present to them, I provide my content to AI and ask how each person might respond and what questions they’ll likely ask. This stakeholder management approach has been genius. It helps me prepare substantially for how they might react and ways I might adjust my presentation.

◗ Personal executive coaching: Instead of venting frustrations to co-workers (which isn’t particularly edifying at a leadership level), I share challenges with an AI model I’ve trained on the coaching styles I admire. It then coaches me on how I could have handled situations better or what I should do to move forward.

◗ The “JessBot”: A hilariously practical use case recently emerged in our business development team. The members created what they’ve labeled “JessBot.” In my role overseeing our entire client experience department, I recently rolled out expectations around contract health. This tool programs all of my contract review questions. The AI understands the expectations and provides not just feedback to the team but suggestions, too. If someone uses certain phrases I often redline, it highlights the problem and suggests alternatives that protect the company while still meeting client needs.

Caveats and considerations

It’s worth noting that AI is trained to generate content that doesn’t already exist. That makes it incredibly powerful—but also prone to error and invention. That’s why, at this point in its evolution, it’s important to look over AI’s shoulder with a healthy dose of skepticism.

When I use ChatGPT for research, I treat it like an overconfident intern: helpful, fast, not always right. I always ask for sources. I double-check facts. And I remind myself that just because something is stated confidently doesn’t mean it’s accurate.

I’m also picky about how I use AI in more human-centered interactions. Plenty of people rely on it to write emails or handle personal communication—and that’s totally valid. But for me, that crosses a line. I might use AI as a second set of eyes, especially if I’m worried my tone sounds too sharp. I know where I tend to over-index, and I’ll ask for feedback on how to recalibrate. But allowing AI to intervene with my direct, human relationships? I take that seriously. I’m not sure I want a machine stepping in.

Experimentation to impact

Whether you’re trying to create more margin in your personal life or explore professional applications, my advice is the same: Start experimenting, document what works and scale what succeeds.

Picture yourself in your next job interview, confidently explaining how you’ve used AI and other tools to streamline processes and multiply your team’s impact. Then picture the candidate who hasn’t. Which one would you hire?•

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Carter is host of the Data Driven Leadership podcast and vice president of client experience and delivery operations at Resultant.