AI isn’t coming – it’s well and truly here. There’s no denying that AI’s presence in our lives, at work and outside of work, will only continue to grow. Already we’re seeing AI change how we create content, write emails, even plan holidays. The prospect of AI completely transforming the way we do pretty much everything is both exciting, and a little intimidating.

“AI has the potential to be the most important invention of our lifetime,” said Eileen Mannion, VP of Marketing at Google. “If you can learn to use it as a tool, it can help to unlock heaps of effort and time, productivity gains, new levels of curiosity and unleashed creativity,” she said.

As we’ve seen before, men tend to adopt new technologies at higher rates than women and AI is following the same trend – research found that 50% of men use generative AI tools, compared to only 37% of women, suggesting an emerging AI gender gap. The key driver? Our own knowledge of generative AI.

So if the data tells us there’s no demographic difference in why women aren’t using AI, it raises an important question: why do women who do use AI to make their lives easier feel guilty for it?

We spoke to professional women to find out, plus an expert to help build your confidence with AI.

What’s behind women’s guilt with using AI?

Scroll your LinkedIn feed and you’re sure to find at least a post or two with a hot take on how to tell if an AI powered LLM wrote a LinkedIn post – and it probably has a long thread of comments debating the value of using AI to write content.

Simmering underneath is the notion that using AI to help complete a professional task that previously would require more time and effort, whether writing a LinkedIn post, creating a cover letter, or preparing for a job interview, is something to be debated, shamed and even covered up.

Nicole Marguerite Gray is a fractional head of marketing in London, who uses AI tools daily. “Historically I've placed value on the amount of time I've put into things, as well as the effort. Knowing now that I'm able to operate more quickly and get more done has meant that I've been able to do more planning while on the go – for example, speaking into ChatGPT and having it draft up initial outlines of documents while I'm out for a walk,” she said.

"But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I felt a twinge of guilt when something that I know would have taken me a few days is now something I can achieve in one afternoon. Despite that this is the result of my own development as well as leaning on AI, it comes with a sense of being worried I'll be 'found out', and that it's somehow wrong.”

Carly Jenner, VP of People and executive coach uses LLMs, including Google Gemini, daily. She said: “I like to think of AI as a productivity partner so I use it for brainstorming, refining ideas, summarising long meeting transcripts, enhancing productivity, and supplementing Google searches when I need fast, concise information. What’s important to me is using AI as a collaborator, not a crutch.”

Despite her initial skepticism of the tech, Jenner has eventually come to find AI adds a different dimension of value, which complements her own. “Initially, I feared that using AI would make me (or make me look) lazy and would be an indicator of less competence. So when I started using it, I felt a sense of guilt as if I was cheating or doing something sneaky. 

“But the more I used it, the more I started to evolve my thinking. I could see ways that AI could make me more efficient and able to focus on the tasks I am uniquely good at – increasing, rather than damaging, my impact,” she said.

The AI opportunity for women

For women who have yet to tap into the productivity benefits of AI, there’s a lot to gain. With such a rapidly changing piece of technology, all the ways you can use AI to help make your life easier are limitless.

“Gemini can help you write a tricky email, build a marketing strategy or create recipes to lessen your mental load – just point your camera at the fridge and ask Gemini what you can make for dinner with what you’ve got. This is just the beginning of what’s possible – the potential of AI is uncapped,” said Mannion.

So before an AI gender gap takes a stronghold, it’s important for women to invest in their own professional development and begin taking up AI tools to add to their existing skill set. 

“Where we already see discrepancies between men and women being paid fairly, I worry about what will happen if men are seen as more productive or able to achieve more, faster – because they are more confident in leaning on AI where women are not. This runs the risk of worsening the existing gender gaps that exist,” said Gray.

Jenner added: “We have the opportunity to be part of shaping what AI looks like in the workplace rather than being dragged along. But to do that we need to actively engage with AI and be part of the discussion.”

Beyond the daily or weekly benefits AI can bring to your routine, it’s also essential to learn and master AI to safeguard the future of your career.

“Women should absolutely use AI in their work and home lives, without guilt or feeling like it’s cheating. It’s crucial for women to use every skill at their disposal and AI is a brilliant tool in our kit to help make our lives easier,” Mannion said.

“It’s so important for women especially to experiment with and master new technologies, and AI is no exception. Upskilling in AI is the best way to futureproof your career,” she added.

How to build confidence with AI

It’s high time for women to ditch the guilt for using AI and instead, understand, learn and master it. The good news is that competence with AI tools is a skill that can be learned, just like any other skill, and the best time to become familiar with them is now. Plus, many generative AI tools are free to use.

“The best way to learn a skill is through practice – and prompting AI is a skill that you can teach yourself, just by getting started,” said Mannion. 

For anyone nervous to dip their toes into AI or feels like they’re already too late, Mannion shared her advice: “Fire up Gemini, simply ask for what you need and watch as it helps you create written content, images, functional coded applications and now, even videos with sound. The more you use it, the easier it becomes.”