Auditing and Organising your AI Usage

Here’s a structured approach to auditing and organizing your AI usage, broken down into actionable steps:

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1. Define Your Objectives

• Purpose: What are you trying to achieve by using AI? (e.g., productivity, learning, business optimization, creative work)
• Categories of Use: Identify categories of AI usage such as:
  • Personal productivity
  • Content creation
  • Coding assistance
  • Data analysis
  • Communication/chatbots
  • Automation

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2. Inventory Your Current AI Tools

• List All Tools and Models You Use:
  • GPT-based models (e.g., ChatGPT, Codex)
  • Image generators (e.g., DALL·E, MidJourney, Stable Diffusion)
  • Automation platforms (e.g., Zapier, Make)
  • Other AI services (e.g., Grammarly, Notion AI, Jasper)
• Note Specifics: For each tool, note:
  • Purpose
  • Subscription details (free vs paid, renewal dates)
  • Frequency of use

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3. Evaluate Usage and Effectiveness

• Assess Value: For each tool:
  • How much time does it save you?
  • How well does it meet your needs? (scale 1-10)
  • Are there overlaps with other tools?
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: Compare the tool’s costs with its benefits.

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4. Audit for Overlap

• Identify tools with similar functions (e.g., multiple text generators).
• Consolidate usage by choosing the most effective ones.

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5. Organize Your Tools

• Centralize Access:
  • Use a digital notebook (e.g., Notion, Airtable, or Excel) to document:
    • Tool name
    • Purpose
    • Access links
    • Login credentials
  • Tag tools by category or functionality.
• Set Priorities:
  • Rank tools by how essential they are.
  • Mark rarely used tools for review (keep, upgrade, or drop).

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6. Plan for Skill Development

• Identify features or tools you don’t fully understand.
• Create a learning plan for deeper usage (e.g., tutorials, forums, webinars).

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7. Explore and Compare New Tools

• Research New Tools: Periodically search for new AI tools or updates to existing ones.
• Benchmark Against Current Tools: Compare new options against your current inventory.

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8. Automate Your Workflows

• Look for ways to integrate tools for seamless workflows:
  • Use automation platforms like Zapier or Make.
  • Set up API integrations if available.
  • Build custom workflows (e.g., chaining AI models for specific tasks).

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9. Monitor Usage Metrics

• Track Performance:
  • Time saved using tools.
  • Quality of outputs.
  • User satisfaction.
• Consider journaling weekly or monthly summaries.

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10. Schedule Regular Audits

• Quarterly Check-ins:
  • Review your list of tools.
  • Evaluate ongoing relevance and effectiveness.
  • Adjust subscriptions if needed.

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11. Stay Informed

• Subscribe to newsletters or follow industry blogs to stay updated on:
  • New releases
  • Features
  • Best practices

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Tools to Support the Audit:

• Notion/Airtable: For organizing inventory and tracking usage.
• Toggl: To track time spent using AI tools.
• Google Sheets/Excel: Simple tracking of tools, costs, and evaluations.
• Bookmark Manager: To organize and quickly access AI tool websites.

If you want to try out a Web App I knocked up (just for you) to help you carry out such an audit as outlined above, checkout https://ai-auditor.ogunlana.net

Let me know what you think of it