The survey data suggests that AI is already helping many technical documentation teams work faster, so the smartest next step is to use it where it can deliver the most immediate and reliable gains.

Most people assume AI accelerates the writing process, but that is just people who think writing is easy. As a technical communicator, you know writing is a craft honed over years of experience.

AI really saves time by cutting out manual tasks like version control updates, reformatting, and adapting the same content for different audiences.

Begin by outlining your workflows. Identify simple tasks that slow you down, such as shortening existing content or validating that your content adds value for your target personas. Experiment and refine your prompts, and if it doesn't work after a day or two, move on to another workflow task.

You do not need a single line of code.

Once you have prompts and instructions that work consistently, you can package them up and share them with your team using built-in features available in nearly every AI product: GPTs in ChatGPT, GEMs in Google Gemini, Projects in Claude, and Agents in Copilot.

Coding skills are your next superpower.

From there, AI can repurpose content, draft in multiple languages, and reformat documents into HTML, DITA, Markdown, JSON, and more. For complex workflows, learning Git and GitHub opens up even more.

Even if AI never writes a piece of new content for you, it can still take back the afternoons you are currently losing to manual work.

The most important steps you can take are to learn how AI can support your workflows, carefully experiment with your ideas using well-formed, thoughtful prompts, and then automate the process.