Since joining Dovetail, I’ve seen just how much our customers think about AI. Which, based on how much it has blown up over the past few years, makes a lot of sense—and explains the mixed bag of opinions.

For some, conversations about AI are exciting and optimistic, exploring ways that this new, dynamic technology could be used to innovate existing systems and designs. Because everything is so new, these people are happy to be early adopters, and I regularly hear about how this feels like the beginning of a new frontier of tech. It’s an exciting opportunity to play a role in establishing the best practices that will carry our industry forward for years to come, trying to get ahead of the curve.

But, in another camp, fear and skepticism are also present. For people in this group, hesitation to use AI is motivated by confusion, fear of its impact on the job market, and valid concerns about losing the essential human-in-the-loop touchpoints. An element of fear of losing control of AI is present—which can be perfectly summed up by feedback I received from a recent customer call.

A customer recently said this to me when I asked her about her thoughts on using AI, and it’s an interesting way to explore it. 

If AI is driving the bus, is it going to replace my job? How much human touch are we losing by automating parts of our process? Can I actually trust an AI tool to help me conduct high-quality work?

Getting feedback like this is exactly why I love my job. I now have the perfect metaphor to explain exactly how we can use AI tools to improve how we approach our work—without feeling like you are giving the computers complete and total control.

Imagine you’re ready to take a car ride. Maybe it’s to explore the beautiful countryside with your friend. Maybe it’s a ride to the airport while you catch up with your family on a call. Or maybe you just need a solo drive to clear your head. Depending on the reason behind the drive, you would opt for a different driving experience, which is exactly what Dovetail has done to rethink how we offer AI support across our platform.

When you take a road trip with a friend, the passenger plays an important supportive role. They are the DJ, making great playlists to keep the good vibes coming. They are the navigator, checking for faster routes or attractions worth pulling off for. They even act as a safety check too, calling out when you should pull over and take a rest after a long day.

For a lot of professionals, this type of support is the perfect hybrid between having control as the driver, while still getting helpful assistance along the way. To emulate this experience, Dovetail created Suggest Mode, which is a toggle option for many of our AI features across our platform. 

When used, this mode makes specialized suggestions that you, as the driver of the project, can approve or deny. Nothing is done without your permission, but you also benefit from having an extra perspective to make the journey smoother and more enjoyable.

In action, this looks like a specifically curated list of possible options and suggestions crafted from tools like magic highlight. Created to help find the most important and key takeaways, magic highlight in suggest mode acts as your creative helper, making suggestions about possible themes to explore that you can verify, accept, or deny.

Alternatively, there are times when you just simply can’t (or don’t want to be) the driver of the vehicle, but you still have places to be. It’s similar to calling a car to drive you somewhere while you FaceTime your kids. Simply put, there are just times when complete control is just not the most important priority—and AI can be used to help.

To help people in this situation, we created on mode. Made to help move you forward on areas of your work that don’t require as much hands-on contact, it’s like having a trusted intern or driver help you progress forward when you can’t take the lead.

For context, using magic highlight, on mode automatically goes through the transcript and finds important moments, tagging them and creating an instant highlight reel to share with your team. It’s great for teams with large sets of data that want to communicate information fast—because it continually ensures everyone is plugged into the voice of the customer. 

Of course, like any good driver, you still control where you end up. If you notice that you are veering off course or want to make another stop on the way, they will respond to your needs and adjust course. You still have the final say—you just aren’t physically driving the vehicle when other things are more important.

Finally, there are just some times when you need to hop in the car and drive, getting some quality alone time to clear your head. In this case, you’re in full control of where you are going without any external input.

Driving on your own is a double-edged sword—having both the distinct advantages and disadvantages of being completely autonomous in how you move forward. But, for projects that need an expert’s touch or need to be fine-tuned based on your expertise, this can be the best option. And it’s why we made it possible to turn off Dovetail’s AI assistance.

Dovetail has an off mode option on all of our AI features. When used, no AI is used at all—meaning you have full manual control over every task it’s active on.

You get to decide where you go, how long you drive, and what you see. But, should you get stuck or lost, you can always toggle the other modes back on at any time. It is fully in your control when you invite someone into your car again, whenever you are ready.

In a time of so much technological advancement, it makes sense that people have complicated feelings about using AI to improve their products. But, with the right tools (and options to adjust its involvement based on your needs), I feel confident that teams can not only improve their workflows, but also make better customer-informed decisions, too.

AI is here to stay—but that doesn’t mean you have to give it full control of your bus. Learn more about using AI to meet your product and business goals by reading Dovetail guides.