Forty minutes stuck on the E18 motorway. It used to be dead time. Now it is the most productive meeting of the day.
I do not touch the phone. I do not look at the screen. I talk. And at the other end there is more than one assistant. Each has its role, its responsibilities, its skills and its ongoing projects.
How it works
The idea is simple. You give a bot a voice command. The bot carries it out or delegates it. And answers you by voice.
A real example from an ordinary Tuesday:
- “Summarise my latest emails and sort them by importance.” It reads the urgent ones first.
- “What is on my calendar today?” It reads my appointments and warns me if anything overlaps.
- “Move the eleven o’clock one to the afternoon.” It proposes the change. I confirm with a yes.
- “How is the new article for the website coming along?” In thirty seconds, the coordinator sums up what is done, what is blocked and what is waiting for my decision.
- “Read me the changes the other party proposes to the contract.” It reads only what has changed. I say, “accept clause three, but not clause five”. It is noted down for review at my desk.
When I get to the office, the work is in my inbox, waiting for my final say.
One or more bots
You can talk to a single assistant that does everything. It works. But if you manage several projects or different areas, such as marketing, operations or software development, it is easier to have several specialist bots. Each knows its own area and stays out of the others’.
What voice does well
- Thinking out loud. Dictating an idea while it is fresh, having it processed straight away and sent to your inbox is worth more than three notes on your phone that you will look at again God knows when.
- Making decisions. Yes, no, change this. Voice is perfect for approving and correcting.
- Organising the day. Calendar, priorities, reminders.
- Keeping track of projects. Asking “how is it going?” and getting a short summary.
What voice does not do
- It does not sign. A draft dictated in the car is a draft. You review it at your desk before sending it.
- It does not replace reading a long document. Listening to an entire contract in a traffic jam is a bad idea.
- It does not take your eyes off the road. If something requires you to look at a screen, it is not for the car.
The rules I have set myself
- Hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Voice only, always hands-free. If traffic needs my attention, the bot waits.
- Nothing leaves the organisation from the car. The bot proposes and I decide. Everything lands in my inbox and I send it myself from the office.
The conclusion
A lawyer’s time is valuable. And a lot of it gets lost in the car, in queues, on the train.
Voice and bots do not make you work more. They give you back hours you thought were lost. The traffic jam is still there. What changes is what you do in it.
Always follow your country’s traffic rules on using devices while driving.
Text by Roberto Ortega, prepared with AI editorial assistance. The Norwegian and English editions are editorial adaptations of the Spanish original.