Most advice about AI at work is a list of things to try. This one goes the other way. Knowing where to stop is what keeps you trusted, and being the person who used it badly in front of a client is a hard reputation to shake off.
Here are the moments I keep it closed.
When the message carries feeling
Redundancy news, a warning, condolences, an apology for something you got wrong. People can tell. A perfectly balanced paragraph in a moment that should be awkward reads as cowardice, and the person on the other end will remember it for years.
Write those yourself, badly if necessary. Three clumsy honest sentences beat twelve polished ones.
When you don’t know enough to spot a wrong answer
This is the big one. AI is most convincing in exactly the areas where you’re least able to check it. If you can’t tell whether the output is right, you’re not reviewing it, you’re just hoping.
The test I use: could I defend every line of this in a meeting with someone who knows the subject? If not, I go and learn the thing, or I ask a human who already knows.
When the data isn’t yours to share
Customer records, unreleased numbers, someone’s health information, a colleague’s pay, anything under NDA. Check what your employer actually permits, because plenty of organisations now run approved tools where this is fine, and plenty still don’t.
If you need the help and the data is sensitive, strip it out. Structure and wording are usually what you wanted anyway.
I need to explain a pricing change to a customer. Don’t ask me for their details. Here’s the shape: price rises by a single-digit percentage, takes effect next quarter, reason is supplier costs. Give me three ways to open the email that don’t sound defensive.
When you’re avoiding a decision
There’s a particular kind of asking that is procrastination in a smart coat. You know what you should do, you don’t fancy it, so you generate options instead. Ten minutes later you have a tidy list and you still haven’t made the call.
If you catch yourself on the third rewrite of a prompt about something you already understand, that’s the tell. Close the tab and do the thing.
When speed is the actual problem
Some tasks get worse when they get faster. A performance review written in four minutes reads like it took four minutes. Same goes for a job reference, a strategy you’ll have to live with, or feedback on a colleague’s work. Thinking time is the work there, and skipping it just moves the cost somewhere less convenient.
A small rule that travels well
Use it freely for drafts, structure, summaries, checking your logic and getting unstuck. Be careful the moment the output carries your judgement, your relationships, or someone else’s private information. That single sentence covers nearly every case I run into.
And when you have used it on something that matters, say so if you’re asked. “I drafted this with AI and then rewrote it properly” costs you nothing and buys a surprising amount of trust.
Where have you decided to draw your own line at work?
For a safer way to polish the final message, see Rewrite copy for busy humans and How to turn a messy email thread into a decision.
FAQ
When should I keep AI out of a task?
Keep it out when the task needs high-stakes judgement, a sensitive people conversation, or a decision you must stand behind yourself.
Can I use AI on sensitive work material?
Only use an approved tool and remove identifying details first. If you cannot do that safely, do not paste the material.