AI Assistant: Your first recruit of 2026

It’s January. That time of year when you start with good intentions. Maybe this is the year you finally get your marketing sorted. Or follow up every quote. Or tidy up that install pack template once and for all. But let’s be honest, something always gets in the way.

What if you had an extra pair of hands? Not a new hire, not another apprentice to train. Just a virtual assistant who’s always around, doesn’t get sick, and doesn’t need paying. Well, almost doesn’t need paying!

That’s AI. Your (not so) new assistant.

This month, instead of asking “How do I use AI?” ask yourself, “If I had a new apprentice in today, what would I get them started on?” Because that’s exactly what this is. Only difference is, you don’t need to sort payroll.

Let AI take the small stuff off your plate

If you’re going to move forward this year, you’ll need to stop doing everything yourself. AI won’t run the business, but it can take a surprising amount off your hands.

Here are five quick jobs you can offload right now:

1. Writing emails you’ve been meaning to send

Follow-ups, delay messages, confirmation notes. They’re always on your list. But they’re usually the thing you put off until it’s too late.

Take five minutes. Grab the last quote you sent and ask ChatGPT to write a friendly follow-up. You can give it a steer using your GLASS prompt format (see below) if you’ve got one saved. Let it write the first draft, then you tweak it.

You’ll be done before your tea’s gone cold.

2. Revamp your sales docs

If your quote cover or customer intro still looks like it did in 2019, it’s probably time for a freshen-up.

Drop in what you’re using now and ask AI to make it sound more confident and current. Keep it clear and professional and maybe add a short bit on customer care.

You’ll have something sharper in no time, and it’s still written in your voice.

3. Sorting out your scattered info

We’ve all got info spread across emails, WhatsApp messages, folders and memory.

Let AI tidy it:

• Group your upsells into simple categories
• Write plain-English answers to your most common questions
• Turn a survey write-up into a clean site summary

Think of it like a junior admin who never forgets where you put things.

4. Turning survey notes into job sheets

Got a pile of survey notes or a message from the surveyor? Paste it into ChatGPT and ask it to create a clear job sheet: address, access, product list, extras.

You’ll have something fit to hand to the fitters or save in your CRM without retyping the whole thing.

5. Planning a few weeks of posts

You don’t need a full-blown content calendar. But it helps to have something lined up.

Grab a few customer questions you’ve had recently. Ask AI to turn them into short social posts that explain things simply.

You can even get one turned into a quick video script you could film on site.

A new pair of hands, without the overhead

You wouldn’t expect an apprentice to run the business, but you’d expect them to:

• Take a few things off your plate
• Save you time chasing the small stuff
• Keep things ticking over behind the scenes

That’s what AI can do, only it doesn’t take breaks, and it won’t be asking for a pay rise.

It just needs a bit of guidance. That’s where GLASS comes in:

Goal – What are you trying to get done?

Listener – Who’s it for? Action Format – Email, checklist, update, etc. Style – Your usual tone Specifics – Job details, products, customer info, etc.

Once you’ve got a couple of prompts saved, you’ll be surprised how often you come back to them.

Make it a team effort

If you really want AI to make a difference in 2026, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with your team. They are no doubt already using AI tools for fun anyway.

This might be your sales staff using AI to write faster follow-ups, your office manager using it to tidy up notes and create handover documents, or even your surveyor using it to structure site reports.

The best way to start? Pick a time and walk through one small task together. Open up ChatGPT or CoPilot and show them how to feed in a quote or get a follow-up email drafted. Let them see it in action. They will be looking to you to say, ‘it’s OK!’

From there, you can build on it. Make prompt templates. Store example outputs. Use it consistently, not just when you’re in a rush.

And if you want help putting that structure in place, and moving beyond the simple tasks in this column, that’s where thinkivity come in. Training your team to use AI well is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. As glazing professionals, we come armed with real life experience in the industry, not just AI talk. We will have your entire team saving you money and getting more done with less from the day of training onwards.

Your January challenge

Bu the end of the year, you will have made big changes, but for January, just pick one job you normally do yourself and ask:

“Could AI do the first draft, and I just tidy it up?”

If the answer’s yes, give it a go. You’ll start saving time without even noticing. The key is consistency. Making it all very ‘normal’.

Here’s to a smarter start to the year.