How I Actually Use AI Tools to Save Time in My Business

Think using AI means handing over your thinking or losing your voice? In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I actually use AI in my small business, and it’s not about automation for everything.

I share what intentional, human-centered AI support really looks like, including how focused AI assistants help me save time, protect my energy, and communicate more clearly without sounding robotic. You’ll learn how AI can support your workflow, strengthen consistency, and still keep your business authentic and fully yours.

If AI has felt heavy or overcomplicated, this will help it finally feel useful.Join the free AI Simplified Facebook Group:

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Transcript

[00:00:00] 

Kristina Stubblefield: Today I wanna start by clearing something up. When people hear me talk about ai, they sometimes assume I'm just handing things off and letting it make decisions for me. That's not what's happening. The way I use AI in my business is very much a back and forth. And that's exactly what I teach the people I work with to do as well.

AI doesn't work when you expect it to do all the thinking. If you let AI make all the decisions, the result doesn't sound like you because what? It's not you. What works is starting with your thoughts, your ideas, your experience, and then letting AI help you shape the best version of that. That's the difference.

This is also where Pre-Baking the Oven matters so much. AI can only reflect you if it knows who you are. That includes your voice, your [00:01:00] values, your business, your audience. Everything I'm about to share is built on that foundation.

Welcome to AI Simplified the podcast for entrepreneurs, creators, and small business owners who want practical stress-free ways to use AI in their content and marketing. I'm Kristina Stubblefield, digital marketing strategist and creator of the Pre-Bake the Oven Method. Let's simplify AI so you can create faster, show up consistently, and feel confident in your content.

AI is something I keep open on my computer most all day as I move from task to task.

It's just there. I'm ready when I need it. I have a handful of custom made AI assistance each set up to help with a specific kind of task. And yes, I do move between different assistance throughout the day depending [00:02:00] on what I'm working on. But I'm not using them randomly. Each one has a clear role and that's what makes it feel supportive instead of distracting.

A good example of this is how I use AI for email. Email is a big part of my daily task. I care about how I communicate with clients, partners, my team, and I don't want to sound rushed, cold or unclear. But I know this about myself. Writing emails can drain me, not because I don't know what I want to say. Usually I know exactly what I want to say in my head, but because getting the wording and getting my tone just right, that really slows me down. Sometimes I'll even delay responding, not because I don't wanna reply, but because I'm overthinking how to phrase something.

And [00:03:00] if you've listened to last week's episode, this is exactly the question. What's one thing in my business that consistently drains my time or energy for me, I'm here to tell you it's email. That's one of those things. So instead of fighting that, I built an AI assistant specifically to help me polish emails When I use it, I don't start with write this email for me.

No, I start with my thoughts. Sometimes that means I'm dropping in a rough draft, half sentences, a few messy thoughts here and there, just fragments of what I want to say, not something polished or clearly ready to send. I also give it context before I ask for help that might look like me explaining whether this is a brand new client or someone who's worked with us for years, whether I'm replying to something they've asked for or introducing a new idea.

Hmm, or what the [00:04:00] situation is around the email. Those details matter because they affect the tone, clarity, and how the message should come across. Once I give it that context, my assistant can help me craft and polish the response in a way that actually fits the situation, and it does it in seconds.

Here's the important part. I don't just accept the first draft and move on, copy and paste. Sometimes I'll say, can you soften this sentence, or, that sounds a little too formal. Let's make it warmer or change this word because that doesn't sound like me. And it does the best part. It does it quickly. That back and forth is where the magic is because I'm still involved.

I'm still thinking, I'm still leading. AI is just helping me get there faster. Using an AI assistant for email has saved me, not only just time, [00:05:00] mental energy and a lot of unnecessary stress. I can talk in fragments. I can dump my thoughts without overthinking, and my assistant helps turn that into something that actually sounds like me.

Why? Because it knows me. That means I respond to emails faster, I communicate more clearly, and I don't carry that. I need to answer this, but I don't have the energy filling around those emails with me all day long. A lot of people think using AI will take more brain power. I'm here to tell you, in my experience, it's been the opposite When it's used the right way, AI doesn't replace your thinking.

It fills in. And fills out what you already have. You bring the ideas, the experience, the judgment. AI helps you move through the heavy parts faster. This is also why I believe so [00:06:00] strongly in having AI assistance or custom GPTs if you're using ChatGPT built for specific roles instead of trying to use one tool for everything.

And if you're curious what that could look like in practice. That's exactly what we've been building, a growing library of focused assistance designed to support real parts of your business in a simple, practical way. You can learn more on my website whenever it feels helpful. So when I say I use AI to save time in my own business, this is what I mean.

No outsourcing my thinking, no handing over control, but having supported in the places that slow me down the most, when you bring something to the table and let AI help you shape it, everything feels so much lighter, and that's when AI actually becomes useful.

[00:07:00] Thanks for listening to AI Simplified. If today's episode helped you feel more confident using AI in your business, hit follow and leave a five star review so you never miss what's next. Want to keep learning? Join our private Facebook group where we go deeper, share ideas, and simplify AI together.