AI can be genuinely useful. It can save time, improve access, support better thinking and help people tackle work they might otherwise struggle with.
But as AI becomes part of everyday work, more people are asking questions about its energy use and environmental impact. The difficulty is knowing what genuinely makes a difference when many dramatic claims about individual prompts aren’t based on particularly solid evidence.
Our conclusion? Don’t use less AI. Waste less AI. The Right-size AI Check gives you six practical questions to help you match the AI, the amount of thinking, the output and the autonomy to the value of the task.
What’s Inside the Right-Size AI Check?
The one-page check helps you:
- decide whether generative AI adds useful value to the task
- choose between quick and deeper reasoning
- ask for the output you’ll actually use
- reserve agentic AI for work that genuinely needs several steps
- notice automatic summaries, search answers or inbox analysis that may no longer be useful
- keep more compute-intensive use for work where the overall outcome makes it worthwhile
This Will Help if…
- you’re wondering whether you should use less AI
- colleagues are raising concerns about AI’s environmental impact
- you want a sensible way to review your own AI habits
- your team needs clearer, shared expectations for using AI
Right-sizing isn’t about minimising AI use at any cost. A more intensive interaction may be entirely sensible if it improves access, prevents errors or saves substantial effort. The aim is to make a conscious, proportionate choice rather than treating every task in the same way.
Want to Go Further?
Want to understand the evidence and thinking behind the check? Read Are You Using More AI Than You Realise? How to Right-size AI at Work.
Explore the Workshop
If your organisation needs help turning individual AI habits into clearer, shared ways of working, explore our AI-Ready Teams workshop.
