A free 15-minute Zoom call. No cost, no pressure.Start with the suite you already pay for
The simplest place to start is the tool that already lives inside your email and files. If your office runs on Google Workspace, that means Gemini. If your office runs on Microsoft 365, that means Copilot. Both are built to sit next to your inbox, your calendar and your shared documents, which is exactly where most of the daily work happens.
That matters because the AI can see the context. It can draft a reply to a thread, summarize a long document, or pull together notes from a meeting without you copying and pasting everything into a separate window. That convenience is real.
The catch is that you should check what your plan actually includes, since some AI features are add-ons, and they work best when your files are actually organized in the suite. If your shared drive is a mess, the AI will reflect that mess. Start by deciding which suite is your home base, then look at the AI built for it.
What Gemini with Google Workspace looks like
Gemini inside Workspace is aimed at people who live in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive. The natural first uses are drafting email replies, summarizing a long thread before you respond, and turning rough notes into a clean document.
A normal week looks like this: your office manager drafts vendor emails faster, your estimator cleans up a scope of work in Docs, and someone summarizes a long client thread so the owner can catch up quickly.
Watch out for two things. First, make sure the AI is set up on the company account, not on someone's personal Gmail, so the work stays in one place. Second, agree on what gets pasted in and what does not, especially for client files. A short written policy saves a lot of confusion later.
What Copilot with Microsoft 365 looks like
Copilot inside Microsoft 365 is aimed at people who live in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams. The natural first uses are drafting replies in Outlook, summarizing a long email chain, building out a Word document, and getting help making sense of a spreadsheet.
A normal week looks like this: your team drafts follow-up emails faster, turns a call into a written summary, and gets a first pass at a proposal in Word before a person edits it.
Watch out for the same two things. Keep it on the business account so the work stays together, and write down a simple rule for what client information is fair game. If you are in law, medical or finance, look closely at the data settings and talk through zero data retention or private AI before you roll it out.
Where Claude and ChatGPT fit
Gemini and Copilot are not the only options, and they are not always the right one. Claude and ChatGPT are strong general assistants. They are good for longer writing, careful thinking through a problem, and working with documents you upload.
A mix often works well. The suite AI handles the quick in-box work, and Claude or ChatGPT handles the heavier thinking, like shaping a proposal, rewriting a policy, or planning a project. You can also connect Claude or ChatGPT to your email and shared files so it can work from your real context instead of starting cold.
One thing to watch: do not let everyone sign up for their own personal accounts. That scatters the work and makes it hard to know what is connected to what. Set it up once, on the business account, for each person who needs it.
How to decide which way to go
Ask yourself a few plain questions.
- Which suite does the office actually use every day? Start the AI there.
- Is the work mostly quick email and document tasks, or longer thinking and writing? The first points to your suite AI, the second points to Claude or ChatGPT.
- Do you handle sensitive client files? Then the data settings matter more than the features, and you should look at zero data retention or private AI.
- Is the team small and stretched? Keep it simple and pick one path first.
There is no single right answer. The wrong move is signing up for three tools at once and using none of them well. Pick one, get it working, then add the next when people are comfortable.
What to set up first, and what to watch
Whatever you choose, the first setup is the same. Create the account on the business side, connect it to your email and shared files, set it up for each person who will use it, and run a first training session so people know what to ask.
Then keep it small. Pick two or three real tasks, like drafting replies and summarizing threads, and let the team get good at those before adding more.
Watch out for these traps:
- Staff quietly using personal accounts, so work and files get scattered.
- No written rule on what client information can go in.
- Paying for seats nobody opens because no one showed them how.
- Assuming the AI knows your business when it has not been connected or trained on your context.
A monthly check-in and a real person to text when something breaks keeps it from fading out.
How RMDW helps
We set up AI on your own account, whether you are on Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or a mix. We connect it to your email, files and tools, set it up for each person on the team, and run the first training session. You pay the AI company for the subscription directly. We never resell it.
From there you can keep a real person on call for logins, how do I questions, and can AI do this. For offices that cannot put client files into a public chatbot, we set up zero data retention or private AI on a machine in your office so files never leave.
The best first step is the free AI game plan. It is a free 15-minute Zoom call, no cost, no pressure. We look at your business, show where AI helps first, and say which level fits. Nothing is set up for free on that call, and you get your price in writing before anything starts. Book the free AI game plan and we will help you pick the right path.