🚩Tactical Memo 100: Stop Hiding That You Use AI
Your coworkers use it too. Hiding it is what costs you.
Justin Bateh
October 08, 2026
Tactical Memo #100 | The Unwritten Rules · AI | 3 min read
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In brief The situation: You use AI at work and you keep quiet about it. The mistake: Most people hide it and hope nobody asks how the work got made. The move: Say what AI drafted and what you checked, before anyone asks. |
The story
You finish the draft with AI and close the tab before anyone walks by.
The person 2 desks over does the same thing.
So does your manager.
58% of employees use AI at work. 57% say they hide it.
(You've probably done it this week.)
Everyone is using it. Nobody is saying it.
If you've ever hoped nobody would ask how you finished so fast, you're in the same spot.
Using AI at work is normal now. Hiding it is the part that costs you. Here's how to work with it.
The moves
1/ Say it before anyone asks
Mention AI in the same message as the work.
Keep it to 1 plain sentence, and NEVER apologize for it.
When you say it, it's how you work. When someone else finds it, it looks like something you hid.
The same fact lands very differently depending on who says it first.
Say this "I used AI for the first draft. I checked every number and rewrote the recommendation myself." |
2/ Name what you added
AI wrote a draft. You decided what stayed and what got cut.
That second part is the job now.
Nobody sees it unless you say it.
So put it next to the work every time.
When you hide the AI, you hide your own judgment along with it.
Checklist What AI drafted. What I checked. What I changed, and why. |
3/ Ask your manager for the rule
Most teams have no stated rule for AI, so people guess.
Guessing is why they hide.
Ask your manager where AI is fine and where it stays out. Start with client data and confidential files.
You ask once, and you stop guessing on every piece of work after that.
Ask this "Where are you comfortable with me using AI, and where should I keep it out?" |
4/ Show 1 teammate how you did it
Your teammates are already using AI on their own.
The first person to say it OUT LOUD makes it normal for everyone else.
So pick 1 task AI made faster for you and show a teammate exactly how. Share the prompt and what you had to fix.
The person who shares how they use AI becomes the person the team asks.
Do this Bring 1 prompt to your next team meeting. Show the first output and the version you sent. |
The outcome
| Most people | You |
|---|---|
| Close the tab when someone walks up | Say you used AI before anyone asks |
| Let the boss guess how the work got made | Name what AI drafted and what you checked |
| Guess where AI is allowed | Ask your manager for the rule once |
Proof. In a 2025 study of more than 48,000 people in 47 countries, 58% of employees said they intentionally use AI at work, and 57% said they hide it and present AI-generated work as their own. University of Melbourne and KPMG, 2025
This week
Using AI used to be the thing people worried about getting caught doing.
That part is over.
People who've learned this say how the work got made before anyone has to ask.
Try it next time you send something AI helped with. Add 1 line on what it drafted and what you checked.
If you hide the tool, nobody sees what you did with it.
Reply
Do you tell your manager when AI helped with your work? Reply with yes or no. I read every one.
Until next time.
Justin Bateh, PhD
Former COO, LinkedIn Top Voice
Founder and Editor, Tactical Memo