AI is very good at making rough ideas sound finished. That is not always the same as making them better. This article shows a more useful way to work with AI: ask it to question assumptions, point out weak spots, and read like a careful reviewer instead of a tool that just cleans things up and sends you on your way.

Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes a chat-based tool already covers most of what you need. This piece looks at where a paid license tends to make the biggest difference, where it may not change much, and how to judge the fit based on the way your work actually happens across Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 tools.

This month’s AI User Group features Eddie T. Etsey, Associate Athletics Director, Technology & Data Analytics and Women’s Tennis Administrator. The session will focus on how AI, data, analytics, and decision-making come together in Athletics, followed by time for questions and discussion. The session is scheduled for Thursday, April 9, 2026, from 10 to 11 a.m. on Microsoft Teams.