This week, Digital Copywriter turned to Guillermo Rubio, A-list copywriter and AI early adopter, to find out more about how writers can use AI beyond writing.
Guillermo shared ideas for using AI tools to help manage your time, prioritize your tasks, free you from feeling overwhelmed… and much more.
Read the interview below and see how you can get more done and still have more time for yourself.
Digital Copywriter: AI is a great tool to help with writing support, but it has so many applications outside of that. Can you talk a little about how AI tools can help writers with time management?
Guillermo Rubio: It really has tons of applications outside of just writing support.
As far as time management goes, AI can help you manage your time better… but you need to already have some time management in place to build from.
So, for example, if you’re tracking your time each day — how much time you spend on projects, running errands, etc. — you can ask AI to analyze how you’ve spent your time and make you aware of any blind spots.
It can help you see where you’ve “wasted” time without realizing it.
If you’re the kind of person who uses to-do lists and plans out your week, it can also help you prioritize things, based on your schedule or your main goals.
And it can help with *how* you schedule your week, too.
For example, in discussing ways to organize your workweek with AI, you might discover it works best for you to “theme” your days throughout the week, where Mondays are for writing, Tuesdays are for research, Wednesdays are for tying up loose ends, running errands, doing administrative work, etc.
Really, how AI can help out in terms of time management is limited only by your own creativity and thinking.
DC: For a writer who is new to thinking about AI tools this way, what prompts would you recommend to help them uncover the ways AI can streamline their day?
GR: I’d say start with what’s already frustrating you. Maybe it’s, “I have these five things on my to-do list, and I don’t know what to tackle first… help me prioritize.”
Or, “I’m feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to get done this week — can you help me organize this into a realistic schedule?”
You can also ask it to audit how you’re currently doing things. “Here’s how I typically plan my writing projects — what am I missing?” Or, “I always seem to run out of time on deadlines — what questions should I be asking myself when I’m estimating how long things will take?”
Basically, pretend you’re talking to a friend or an expert that can help you. Tell them what’s going on and ask for advice and support. You’ll be surprised at the answers you get most times.
DC: What are some of your personal experiences with AI and time management?
GR: For me personally, it’s been asking it to help me get clear on what my priorities are when I’m feeling overwhelmed… and help me decide on what should be most important.
For me, often EVERYTHING feels important… so then nothing tends to get done, because I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
DC: Better time management is just the first step in being more productive. The next step is actually getting things done. What are your favorite ways to use AI to get things done faster?
GR: For that, I mainly use AI as a writing partner. I harness it for research, especially. That used to take me forever, but now it goes a lot faster.
That, and getting to a full draft of whatever it is I’m writing.
I find I do better when I can start “tweaking and editing” copy that’s already there, versus starting out from scratch.
DC: As you’ve experimented with AI, what’s something that’s surprised you about how you can use it?
GR: I’ve used it to help me keep the score when playing a board game with my family (instead of doing it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper), by taking photos of the table and where everything was at…
I’ve used it to help me come up with meal ideas based on what’s in my fridge, by simply taking a picture of the inside of the fridge…
I’ve even used it for design help when working on stuff for clients, like an opt-in page.
DC: What AI tools or features do you find yourself using every single day?
GR: Every day I use Claude, Poe, and ChatGPT. Throughout the week I’ll also use Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity.
I use the typical research mode, where you prompt and get answers. And I also use ChatGPT’s agent mode. Oh, and projects. I use lots and lots of projects, both in Claude and ChatGPT.
Oh, and ALSO, “Bots” in Poe and GPTs in ChatGPT. I’m testing using AI agents now, too, with a cool browser extension I’ve found.
DC: As AI capabilities evolve, how do you see the role of a writer changing? And how can writers prepare now to stay ahead of the curve?
GR: I think the role is changing in that you have to see yourself as way more than a writer.
You need to essentially become a strategist/marketer who happens to be a great copywriter. And then, you also need to think of yourself as your client’s partner, versus someone who just gets hired to do a one-and-done job.
This is how you can “futureproof” yourself AND earn premium fees, regardless of what happens with AI in the near future.
And to stay ahead of the curve, I’d say start using these AI tools.
Master how to use them.
Don’t wait until you “have to.”
And constantly be experimenting. Get in the habit of asking AI what you’re missing. Learn and get better by using it.
But all that said, remember at the end of the day, it’s still not truly “intelligent” in the human sense.
You still need your brain. You still need to be able to think and discern.
To stay ahead, I’d say get comfortable using these tools now. Don’t wait until you “have to.” Experiment with different AI platforms, figure out what works for your workflow. But also, keep developing the skills that are uniquely human — your voice, your ability to connect with readers, your understanding of what makes good content good.
AI is incredibly powerful, but it’s still just a tool. It’s like having the world’s most knowledgeable intern or assistant. You have to be the one directing it, by coming up with the strategy and the creative ideas… and being the “taste maker” who decides what ideas should be pursued, what headlines to go with, what to pull out from the research, and more.
And, ultimately, that’s what clients are paying you for.
