How I Use Copilot and AI to Boost Productivity

 

A personal account of how artificial intelligence has helped me write better content and code.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we work, learn, and create. As a novice developer and a writer, I have been using Copilot and AI to enhance my skills and streamline my workflow. In this post, I will share some of the ways I personally use Copilot and AI to boost my productivity and creativity.

AI: A Game-Changer for Decision Making

AI has revolutionized the way I make decisions and approach problems. Previously, I would use Bing and Google search to find documents, educate myself, and then go through a lot of trial and error. Now, I use AI and Copilot prompts instead of web searches, helping me start with draft code or content right away. This has significantly reduced the time and effort required to find solutions and make informed decisions.

CoPilot: A Smart Assistant for Coding

I am a novice coder at best, in my role I don't develop applications, but I do need to script and automate. GitHub CoPilot in VS Code is a powerful tool that helps me write better code faster. My process is accelerated by getting draft code started or autocompleting entire lines or functions, generating comments, fixing syntax, organizing code blocks, and even providing comments. It works with a variety of languages and frameworks, and it learns from my own code and the millions of public repositories on GitHub.

Getting started information HERE and HERE

·      Recently I needed to leverage Terraform for Azure resource creation and management. I used CoPilot to generate basic configuration files and blocks, within seconds I had a template and then modified them to suit my needs. Starting from scratch here, I used the CoPilot command palette to build an initial framework for Terraform Azure VM creation. 

·      Another way I use CoPilot is to speed up my development process to assist clients. CoPilot can save me a lot of time and effort by writing boilerplate code, handling edge cases, and suggesting improvements. For example, when I was working on a PowerShell automation task, I used CoPilot to create a script that can perform various operations on Azure and M365 resources, such as creating, deleting, updating, and listing them. I love the AI assistance which also documents comments and provides explanations in the chat window.

·       A third way I use CoPilot is to enhance my code quality and readability - as I mentioned, I am a novice. CoPilot can help me write cleaner, more concise, and more consistent code. It can also help me avoid common errors and bugs, and catch them before they cause any trouble. For example, when I was writing a KQL query for an Azure dashboard, I used CoPilot to format my code according to the best practices, and help with syntax to ensure accuracy. I started with a basic KQL on the right, and leveraged GitHub CoPilot chat to enhance the query and then used in Azure Log Analytics to create a dashboard in Azure.

AI: A Creative Partner for Writing

 Sometimes us technical writers tend to forget there is reader at the other end of the content. AI is also a great tool that helps me write better content faster. It is a creative partner that can generate ideas, sentences, paragraphs, and even entire articles based on my input. AI can also help me edit, proofread, and optimize my writing for different purposes and audiences. There are many AI-powered writing tools available online, but I mainly use M365 CoPilot, Microsoft Designer and LinkedIn AI for blog posts and updates, Teams to find chat topics within lengthy chat history, and Word and PowerPoint CoPilot to draft internal and client content.

·       In addition, I use AI is to brainstorm topics and titles for my blog posts and updates - such as this one here. AI can help me summarize my topics and create engaging headlines. For example, in this post here, I wanted to write about my experience with CoPilot and AI, I used Microsoft Designer, CoPilot in Word and LinkedIn AI to generate some possible titles and images, such as "How I Use CoPilot and AI to Boost My Productivity".

·       Search has forever changed with AI. I now easily find relevant and elusive chat topics within lengthy chat history. AI can help me search and summarize the key points and questions from previous conversations and suggest new topics to continue the discussion. For example, when I wanted to chat with a colleague about a project we were working on, I used Teams Copilot to find the most recent and relevant messages and topics we exchanged, and then I used AI to generate some follow-up questions and comments.

·       When drafting internal and customer content with Word and PowerPoint Copilot, AI helps me write clear and professional documents and presentations that communicate my ideas and goals. For example, when I wanted to write a proposal for a new project, I used Word Copilot to generate an outline, a summary, and some key points, and then I edited them to make them more specific and persuasive. When I wanted to create a presentation for a client, I used PowerPoint Copilot to generate a template, a title, and some slides, and then I edited them to make them more attractive and audience specific.

These are some of the ways I personally use Copilot and AI to boost my productivity and creativity. Refining how I ask for assistance, and reviewing the created content helps me ensure a personal context. I hope this blog post has inspired you to try them out and see how they can help you with your coding and writing projects. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on LinkedIn. Thank you for reading!