As the co-founder of a digital agency, my daily responsibilities span across accounting, bookkeeping, project management, account management, website development, HR, business strategy, and solving everything that happens in the office. Running this business with my husband for the past seven years, we have constantly sought the most efficient ways to work—balancing productivity with work-life harmony while ensuring projects move forward to maximise revenue.
With the rise of AI, my reliance on it has grown significantly. From generating quotes and drafting emails to bookkeeping and development work, AI has become an integral part of our operations. I actively encourage my team to embrace AI whenever possible, not as a replacement for their jobs but as a tool to enhance efficiency. AI doesn’t take jobs away—it helps complete tedious tasks faster, freeing us to focus on creativity, strategy, and high-value work.
The Key to AI Efficiency: Asking the Right Questions
One realisation I’ve had in recent years is that while anyone can use AI, not everyone can use it efficiently. The way AI is used matters as much as the tool itself.
For example, I often observe my colleagues debugging code using AI. Many will simply copy and paste an error message into the chatbox without providing context. The result? They spend an entire afternoon chasing solutions because they don’t fully understand the problem and fail to frame their AI queries effectively. On the other hand, when I use AI for debugging, I provide detailed references, context, and expected outcomes—allowing AI to generate precise solutions in minutes. What used to take me three days to solve can now be resolved in 15 minutes with well-structured prompts.
Some issues can be as trivial as a missing semicolon, yet they can take hours to identify if AI is not properly guided. To be efficient, people must learn to ask strategically rather than blindly. AI is a powerful assistant, but its effectiveness depends on how well we communicate our needs.
AI in Action: Enhancing Productivity in a Digital Agency
AI has transformed various aspects of our business, significantly improving efficiency across different functions:
Project Management
AI helps plan out project timelines efficiently. By providing a scope of work, it can generate a Gantt chart outlining each module’s timeline, allowing for better planning and resource allocation.
Account Management
It drafts structured responses and generates well-organised weekly project updates, improving communication with clients.
Design
My designers use AI to generate stock images and mascots for clients, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Copywriting
While AI struggles with Malaysian-style copywriting, it provides a strong foundation for content creation. It significantly aids in planning SEO blogs, enabling us to produce content more consistently for search engine optimisation.
SEO
AI has helped us learn and execute technical SEO tasks, allowing us to improve our website rankings more effectively.
Development Work
AI assists with setting up applications, writing code, debugging, and creating documentation, reducing development time and minimising errors. Additionally, AI enables us to take on projects using frameworks we haven’t worked with before, allowing us to learn along the way without needing to enrol in online courses.
Bookkeeping & Accounting
AI helps identify transaction types and generate financial reports based on data, streamlining our financial processes.
HR & Recruitment
AI supports writing job advertisements, job descriptions, employment contracts, warning emails, monthly newsletters for staff, company announcements, and onboarding documentation.
Email & Communication
AI excels at drafting initial and reply emails. It is particularly effective at composing assertive emails in a polite yet firm manner, ensuring frustrations are professionally communicated.
One of my most exciting AI discoveries was a software tool that auto-generates code based on the functions I specify. Instead of spending a week writing an application, my team completed it in a single day—with zero errors. This breakthrough allowed us to go home on time without compromising our work quality. The impact AI has on our productivity is undeniable.
The AI Skeptics: Are You Using It Correctly?
Over the years, I have travelled to multiple countries and engaged in discussions with professionals and students about AI adoption in their work. Surprisingly, many people still claim that AI isn’t helpful in their roles.
But my question is: Are you using AI the right way?
If AI isn’t improving your workflow, the issue might not be with AI itself but with how you’re utilising it. Even in personal experiences like travel planning, AI has helped me create optimised itineraries, saving time and effort. AI is not about replacing human intelligence—it’s about reducing errors and enhancing efficiency.
As I often say, “If you want to see me suffer, just take AI away from me.”
Let’s Discuss!
AI has undeniably revolutionised how we work, especially in a fast-paced digital agency environment. But I want to hear from you—how do you use AI in your daily tasks? Has it improved your workflow, or do you face challenges in integrating it effectively?
Let’s start a conversation. Share your experiences in the comments below!