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AI in Project Management: Advantages, Limitations, and Tools

September 25, 2024

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Emily May

Most project managers are using AI tools. You'll need to incorporate artificial intelligence into your workflow to keep pace with your industry peers. 

But before jumping headfirst into the world of GenAI automation tools, get to know what AI can do for you and what it can't. 

This article explores the pros and cons of AI in project management and seven helpful AI tools.

The Advantages of AI for Project Management

Integrating AI tools provides several benefits to project managers that support a productive workflow. 

The advantages of AI for project management include:

  • Budget & time savings
  • Real-time project tracking & reporting
  • Data-driven decision-making
  • Evolving process improvements

The Limitations of AI for Project Management

Artificial intelligence isn’t perfect. It makes mistakes. That’s why AI technology is not a sufficient replacement for human judgment. 

The limitations of AI for project management include: 

  • Inability to make complex decisions
  • Inaccuracy
  • Cost

However, rapid innovations have made the job market more competitive for project managers. Organizations are hiring candidates who have experience with AI tools or are willing to learn how to use them. 

AI isn’t going to replace your job, but learning how to use it can improve your chances of growing your career. Building your skills, especially your ability to use new technology, can give you an advantage when interviewing. An excellent place to start? Our Foundations of AI certification course.

7 AI Tools for Project Managers

person looking at computer for different ai tools

Consider this your crash course in all things AI project management. These seven AI tools will help support you as a busy project manager. 

1. Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot offers a free, AI-powered chat assistant. However, with a Copilot Pro subscription or as a plug-in with Microsoft products, like Microsoft 365, Copilot can supercharge your project management tasks. 

When pairing Copilot software with Microsoft 365, users can leverage the tool within Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Word. For example, with Copilot and Word, project managers can generate a project plan document within seconds. 

2. Trello's Butler

Trello is an excellent project management tool with built-in AI assistance. Both the free and paid versions offer automation capabilities.

Some notable features of Trello’s AI assistant, Butler, include creating automatic rules, buttons, and email reports. 

3. ChatGPT by OpenAI

person working at a desk on a ai prompt for Chat GPT

ChatGPT remains a leading artificial intelligence tool for project managers. The free version (GPT-3.5) and the paid version of ChatGPT (GPT-4) offer several ways to optimize your workflow. 

A helpful feature of ChatGPT-4 is the ability to create custom GPT models. Building a custom GPT helps project managers create a space that serves a particular function or calls on specialized expertise. For example, you can make a custom GPT that formulates project milestones based on your previous timelines. 

4. Gemini by Google

Gemini is an AI assistant that easily integrates with Google Workspace for a fee. If you don’t have a business subscription, you can access the Gemini chat assistant with a personal account for free. 

The Gemini chat assistant can benefit project managers in several ways, such as analyzing lengthy project documents. For example, by analyzing project planning documents, the Gemini chat assistant can identify potential project risks or populate a quick project summary to share before a meeting. 

5. Grammarly

Project managers are constantly communicating online with stakeholders. Grammarly is an AI writing tool that helps communicators measure the correctness, clarity, engagement, and delivery of their writing. There are free and paid versions of Grammarly available. 

Grammarly connects to Google Docs as a plug-in. Instead of copying and pasting your text into the Grammarly platform, real-time editing helps you edit and share your documents faster. 

6. Otter.ai

group of people talking in a meeting using Otter.ai to record the meeting

Project managers also spend significant time in meetings. Otter is an AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes meeting audio. The AI note-taking software offers different pricing tiers depending on your needs.

Remembering collaborative information about current and upcoming projects is crucial. Project managers can log into their Otter platform, locate the previous meeting by date, and read or listen to the discussion for a refresher. 

7. Clockwise

The last project management AI tool to add to your stack is Clockwise. Clockwise is an AI calendar assistant that helps project managers book meetings effectively. Personal and team-based plans on Clockwise are available. 

Project managers often coordinate meetings with stakeholders, but finding the right time for all participants can be challenging. Clockwise automatically provides the best times to meet based on the current availability of attendees. 

Conclusion

two people looking at the flow of a project

As a project manager, you can decide how to incorporate AI tools into your workflow. The automation opportunities are endless, from smart calendar management to AI plug-ins. However, as valuable as artificial intelligence may be, human project managers are here to stay. 

Our Agile Project and Delivery Management certification course is a good learning opportunity for project managers who embrace change. You’ll learn how to take an iterative approach to project management and implement new processes within your team. Read through our Agile Project and Delivery Management learning outcomes for more information.

See you in class!

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TAGGED AS:
Foundations of AI, Agile Project and Delivery Management

About the author

Emily May | ICAgile, Marketing Specialist
Emily May is a Marketing Specialist at ICAgile, where she helps educate learners on their agile journey through content. With an eclectic background in communications supporting small business marketing efforts, she hopes to inspire readers to initiate more empathy, productivity, and creativity in the workplace for improved internal and external outcomes.

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