Women and AI: Building Confidence for the Future of Work

By: Han Diep

AI is becoming a common part of how we work, learn and communicate. But as AI tools become more integrated into daily tasks, a prominent question is emerging: how can we use AI to enhance our work without losing the human element that makes our work meaningful?

To better understand how women are approaching AI, the Women in Leadership Foundation conducted an AI Readiness & Learning Survey. The survey explored how women are currently using AI tools, which tools they use most often, what they use them for, and what areas of AI they would like to learn more about. The goal was to gauge where people are in their AI journey, and where there are opportunities to build greater confidence and knowledge.

We also explored these themes through WIL’s mentorship session, AI Digital Leadership & Building your Personal Brand (Watch the AI Digital Leadership & Building your Personal Brand Session). The conversation looked at how AI is influencing the way we lead, communicate and expand our professional presence, while considering the importance of maintaining authenticity and keeping our uniquely human skills at the centre of our work.

AI is Already Part of the Everyday Toolkit

Survey respondents reported using a variety of AI tools, including ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Canva AI and Grammarly AI. It is being used for research, brainstorming, writing and editing, presentations, planning, creative work, meeting notes and career development.

But using AI effectively requires more than simply knowing which tools are available, a key theme in our mentorship session. Rather than treating AI as something that should simply do the work for us, the discussion explored using AI as a thought partner, something that can help us strategize, test an idea, summarize information or support our learning while we remain responsible for the decisions that follow. That distinction becomes important because AI-generated information is not always accurate or relevant to the situation. Additionally, AI does not have our lived experiences, professional context or personal values. Reviewing its output and deciding whether it actually serves our purpose remains a significant part of using the technology effectively.

The conversation also raised the reminder: not every task needs AI. Depending on an organization's resources, industry, privacy requirements or workplace policies, there may be instances where using AI isn't practical or appropriate. Being able to determine when not to use AI is becoming part of AI literacy too.

What Do People Want to Learn Next?

The survey also revealed areas where leaders want to build their knowledge and confidence. Respondents expressed interest in practical applications, like how to use AI more effectively, how to write better prompts, and how to understand the technology's capabilities and limitations.

Research into how people are adapting to AI at work reinforces this shift. Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index found that 86% of AI users treat AI output as a starting point rather than a final answer, remaining responsible for the thinking behind the work. The research also found that quality control and critical thinking are becoming crucial as AI takes on more tasks. This represents a change in the skills people need to develop. AI can help with the first draft, initial analysis or information gathering, while the human role veers toward evaluating, refining, contextualizing and deciding what to do with the result.

For anyone looking to build their practical AI skills, there are already resources available. Google's AI Essentials course introduces AI fundamentals, prompting, responsible AI use and practical applications for work and everyday life. Google also offers Prompting Essentials, a self-paced course focused specifically on creating effective prompts, evaluating AI outputs and applying AI to daily tasks.

These resources offer a useful starting point, but AI readiness doesn't require becoming a technical expert. It means forming enough confidence to experiment, learn what different tools can do and make informed decisions about how they fit into your work.

AI and Your Personal Brand

When it comes to personal branding, the mentorship session emphasizes that AI can help shape how we communicate, but it cannot create the experiences and perspective behind our story. Crystal Sinclair stressed that relying too heavily on AI-generated content can cause our work to lose some of the characteristics that make our communication recognizable and authentic. Shannon Ballance similarly noted how simply copying and pasting AI-generated content can cause communication to “fade into the background.”

If everyone has access to tools that can produce polished writing, our individual perspective becomes even more critical. There are several practical ways to maintain that individuality:

1. Do the thinking first. Before asking AI for an answer, consider what you already know about the subject. Crystal recommended using AI to check and expand your thinking rather than simply copying its response. Starting with your own ideas allows AI to become a tool for advancing your understanding rather than a substitute for it.

2. Humanize what AI produces. AI can make something sound polished, but polished doesn't necessarily mean personal. Before sharing AI-assisted content, bring your own tone, experiences and perspective into it. Ask yourself: Does this sound like me? Does it reflect something I actually believe or have experienced? Would I say this in a real conversation? 

AI humanizer tools can also be useful during this editing process. These tools can take an AI-generated draft and adjust things such as sentence structure, word choice and flow to make the writing sound more natural and conversational. You should still review and edit the result yourself to make sure it reflects your actual voice, experiences and intended message. A few free tools to explore include QuillBot AI Humanizer, Grammarly AI Humanizer and Ahrefs AI Humanizer. 

3. Build experiences beyond the screen. Karen Knight highlighted the value of volunteering and community involvement as ways to discover your voice and create real-world experience. Those experiences become part of your professional identity because they give you genuine stories, skills and perspectives to draw from.

AI can support this process without defining it. For example, you might use AI to identify themes across your experiences, brainstorm ways to communicate a lesson you've learned or generate questions that encourage reflection. The goal isn't to avoid AI, it’s to make sure your own experience remains the foundation of what you create.

From AI Users to Confident AI Leaders

Becoming more confident with AI is moving from individual tasks to thinking about how AI can support broader workflows. This pivot starts with understanding your own workflow. Consider:

• What parts of my work are repetitive or time-consuming?

• Where could AI help me organize, research, summarize or generate a first draft?

• What context does AI need to produce something useful?

• Which parts of the process require my expertise or approval?

• What information should I avoid sharing with an AI tool?

  
  

From there, three practical habits can help move AI use from experimentation toward more intentional implementation:

1. Start with your workflow, not the tool. Start by identifying a challenge in your existing workflow. Maybe you're spending too much time summarizing meeting notes, organizing information, drafting repetitive emails or preparing research. Once you understand the problem, you can determine whether AI is actually an appropriate solution.

2. Learn how to communicate effectively with AI. Better results often come from providing better context. Explain what you're trying to accomplish, provide relevant information and be clear about what you want the result to look like. You can then review the response, provide feedback and refine it. Growing this skill requires trial and error rather than relying on a single “perfect” prompt.

3. Explore how AI can connect different parts of your work. AI doesn't have to exist as a standalone chatbot. Depending on the tools and systems available in an organization, it can potentially support connected workflows. For example, helping organize information, draft communications, summarize documents or assist with routine processes.

This was the focus of Kieran Newbom's Build Your AI Brain: Live Webinar July 21 (Watch Kieran Newbom's Build Your AI Brain: Live Webinar - July 21). The training explored how organizations can move beyond basic, chat-based AI and begin integrating AI into broader workflows. Kieran introduced concepts such as skills, agents and an AI “brain,” demonstrating how AI can be given context and structure to support repeatable tasks and more complex workflows. The webinar also demonstrated how AI can connect with other tools and platforms across different areas of a business. Most importantly, the training showed AI as part of a structured workflow rather than an independent decision-maker, with human oversight and approval remaining part of the process.

Looking Ahead: AI and the Future of Work

AI is moving beyond being a tool we turn to for individual tasks. The focus is leaning toward how AI can be integrated into the way we work. For professionals, this means developing both technological confidence and the ability to make informed decisions about its use. Recognizing how to communicate with AI, evaluate its results, protect sensitive information and identify appropriate opportunities for implementation will also become valuable.

Simultaneously, human capabilities such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, adaptability, judgment and personal perspective remain essential as AI becomes capable of producing more convincing outputs.