Coworker pressures colleague to us AI tool to write simple 2-sentence email, colleague pushes back: 'It would take about ten seconds to write myself'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Mar 8, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

Sometimes, time-saving is actually time-wasting. 

These days, there is a shortcut for everything. Technology has shown us workarounds for everything, whether we want them or not. Tasks can be simplified with a push of a button, or so they say. But should we be relying on artificial intelligence tools to do the basic functions of our jobs? Especially if we had no problem doing them ourselves? Correspondence is a huge part of most people's day-to-day workflow. We have to let people know what we're doing and exchange information all day. We can now automate most of that work. But is something lost?

 Most of us who grew up after a certain time were taught how to write emails in school. We were taught how to use proper salutations and how to get our points across without sounding pushy or impolite. Maybe now you put your own spin on emails to make them sound like you. The way we speak to each other, even online, is important. Outsourcing that work might mean we lose the human edge to it. It also says that you don't value the email enough to spend any of your own time crafting it. It should be up to us as individuals to use these tools when they suit us and to ditch them when we don't. We're in charge of our own relationships with technology, and we can choose what we interact with and what we don't. But sometimes jobs can be a gray area where we might be forced to take technological leaps we're not comfortable with. 

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  • Coworkers go up to a third colleague at his desk and ask him to do something
    via Austin Distel

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • That's what happened in this story, where a coworker called his colleague out for not using a tool that the company was implementing. Though it was designed to save them time, it often backfired and made more work for everyone. So one employee exercised his right not to use it and to use his own brain instead. But his coworker, who was not even his boss, wasn't a fan of that choice. The employee was left wondering what to do and if there was a way around this conflict. Read on to hear what commenters had to say.

  • Coworker keeps pushing me to use the Al email tool for two sentence emails.

    Our company recently rolled out one of those Al writing assistants that integrates directly into Outlook. Management encouraged people to try it out, but it was presented more like an optional productivity tool than a mandatory new workflow. One of my coworkers has taken it as a personal mission.
    via u/Inside-Pepper-5988
  • Yesterday morning, they walked past my desk while I was typing a quick email and asked why I was not using the Al assistant. I stated that the email was just a simple check-in about a report, and it would take about ten seconds to write myself. They looked genuinely confused and
    via u/Inside-Pepper-5988
  • said I should be using the tools the company provides. They took it upon themselves to launch the Al tool, typed a prompt asking it to draft the same email, and it produced a four-paragraph message with a greeting, appreciation for continued collaboration, and a formal closing.
    via u/Inside-Pepper-5988
  • My version was just, "Hey, quick check if the report will be ready by Friday," usual regards and the whole shebang- and I chose to stick by it. Later, they messaged me again, suggesting I should start using the Al assistant so my emails can be more professional and efficient. At one point, they joked that I was being a bit of a sourpuss luddite about it, who 'thinks they are better than everyone else.'
    via u/Inside-Pepper-5988
  • The bothersome part is not the tool itself. It is being repeatedly called out for not using it by someone who is not my manager, especially when the actual supervisors who introduced the Al suite have been nowhere near that aggressive about it. I will admit I already have some skepticism about leaning on Al
    via u/Inside-Pepper-5988
  • tools for basic things because they can easily turn into crutches if used for everything, and I think they should be used carefully so people do not slowly end up with atrophied judgment and writing ability, but it is also possible that bias made me take my coworker's comment more personally than it was meant.
    via u/Inside-Pepper-5988
  • A coworker shows another coworker something on his laptop
    via airfocus

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Commenters gave their takes on the situation.

    Today Candid 9686 Your coworker is a moron.
    via u/TodayCandid9686
  • dazcon5 I don't use Al because I have a brain and know how to use it.
    via u/dazcon5
  • Whatadayithasbeen Your coworker has no business telling you how to work unless they are a mentor. If your coworker keeps bringing it up and is repeatedly pointing it out, that will be a problem.
    via u/Whatadayithasbeen
  • One incident is annoying. And no, unless mandated to use a new tool that is actually useful, (I will try it out off the clock) I am not changing how I work. I have to be extremely careful about correspondence and documents and Al is not the wise choice of tool at this time.
    via u/Whatadayithasbeen
  • thejt10000 'thinks they are better than everyone else.' 'Thanks. You sound insecure.'
    via u/thejt10000
  • Neeneehill If it takes longer to type the prompt but it does to type the actual email then it doesn't make any sense to use an Al. Besides no one wants to read a whole flowery email just to ask for an update. Al does too much at times.
    via u/Neeneehill
  • Ex... Honestly any time I receive a 6 paragraph novel that could have been a single sentence I think the person is a moron, and the reason they're using Al is because they're a moron. I use it to 1- click "got it, thanks", but I've
    via u/Exciting_Buffalo_502
  • had Al give wildly incorrect responses. If it takes the same amount of time to prompt/review/edit and to just do it correctly the first time.... it's obvious which isn't the stupid choice.
    via u/Exciting_Buffalo_502
  • ott... "No thanks. I prefer to use my brain so I remain functionally literate."
    via u/otter_759
  • GirlStiletto "Please mind your own business."
    via u/GirlStiletto
  • DudetheBetta "I learned to write well in grade school, thank you for your help."
    via u/DudetheBetta
  • JustMe39908 Sounds like it took longer for the Al tool to draft the response then it took for you to write the response. That isn't just efficiency, that is DMV level efficiency. It also sounds like your coworker does not know how to write a correct prompt for the Al tool. Maybe send him some information on prompt engineering.
    via u/JustMe39908
  • I would also start using the tool just for messages to that co-worker. However, engineer the prompt to create overly long, overly formal, overly flowery messages.
    via u/JustMe39908
  • Life-Education-8... "Thank you. I prefer using my brain. 'Use it or lose it,' you know!"
    via u/Life-Education-8030
  • BlackStarBlues Why is this co-worker policing your e-mails and why are you letting them by answering their obtrusive questions & entertaining their harassment & borderline insults?
    via u/BlackStarBlues
  • Embarrassed Fla... Is this where we are now? 80% of my emails are short, Hi X. Maybe some sort of personal comment. Few concise sentences. Signature. 10% are short responses. Ok sounds good. Or got it and working on it. Etc.
    via u/Embarrassed_Flan869
  • 10% are longer but highly technical emails with very specific things, inserted pictures or something. It would take longer to use. our Al assistant to do it and then have to correct it. The auto fill works perfectly fine on when I use similar things.
    via u/Embarrassed_Flan869

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