This is our primer on how, when and where we use AI at Narratives Work. We take you through a few things we believe, and a few things we don’t, about how AI can help companies like ours give clients better results – with guardrails.
AI is here to stay
Artificial intelligence (previously, machine learning) has become part of how business gets done. Firms like ours, that advise managing partners, founders and CEOs, have an obligation to understand where the market is heading and how work is changing, so we can continue improving results for our clients.
So we do use AI in our work, when we and our clients both think it's advantageous to do so. But we impose strict guardrails on how and when we use AI – some of the strictest in our line of work, as far as we know. There are things that are more important than using the newest pieces of tech. Keeping client data confidential, for example. We are worried when we see companies committing to share as much information as possible with AI tools.
You may be reading this thinking about engaging Narratives Work on a project. If you are, we recommend paying this article close attention, so you have a real sense of our instincts and preferences on AI.
Let's get started by outlining when and how we use AI in our work, and when we do not; which tools we use, and why we use them.
Designing new, streamlined workflows for your content and communications
The very best work is done by people, not machines. That will not change any time soon. But sometimes, new computing technologies can help us do great work faster and at a more competitive price. It is our duty to be clear about where we think AI can improve results for our clients, and where it can’t.
Our AI 'stack':
We use Anthropic’s Claude large language model (LLM) for a finite, pre-defined set of tasks during client projects.
We use Notion Agents and CodeWords to run specific 'agentic' workflows on behalf of clients
(A note: we are not trying to experiment with as many tools as possible. If clients are passionate users of a particular tool, and want Narratives Work to adopt it during a project, we will certainly review that tool and seek to adapt to our clients' preferences. But we are intentionally keeping our AI 'footprint' light.)
In a content review, we might bounce ideas around with Claude, exploring alternatives and then, if Claude’s helped, using aspects of that conversation to create a better sentence. When we’re analysing data, we might upload a csv to Claude and ask it to highlight any patterns, anomalies or interesting findings.
We predominantly use Notion Agents for project management, while CodeWords has proven useful for designing 'characters' based on the tone of voice for specific senior executives we are working with.
It is very, very important to say that we will only ever use any of these tools with your permission. We know that AI still confidently makes inaccurate statements, and that models still hallucinate. We do not take these risks lightly. If you are concerned about the risks of AI products, or if you have any worries at all relating to data protection and privacy, we are very happy to carry out our work without AI.
If you wish for us to refrain from uploading certain forms of data (whether it's a deck, a spreadsheet or even social content) – to an LLM, just say the word. When we do use AI, we preserve all chats, projects and artifacts relating to our clients’ work until the end of an engagement, when all artifacts will be deleted.
This is the default approach, but clients are free to ask us to delete artifacts, or to share with them any and all AI artifacts relating to our work with them, at any time. We will always carry out these requests.
We believe that we are, and will always be, more creative than any AI
Every day, your current and potential customers wade through a mass of subpar content, much of it AI-generated slop. The reality is that your buyers are jaded. They are rarely sure that the stuff they read and watch will actually help them.So the bar is set low. And this is your opportunity.
Great narratives sparkle; they're sublime, electric. They seed trust. They change people’s minds. They help you win business. LLMs can’t tap into the experience we’ve acquired having spent years delivering great work for clients just like you.
We back ourselves to give you results full of heart, wit, and ingenuity – the stuff AI can’t automate. We do this by understanding you and your business before jumping to recommendations. How do you want to speak? What tone of voice fits your needs best? What stories and trends excite you?
Hearing in your words what you want to achieve gives us the colour and the context we need to do exceptional work. We aim to use AI as a thought partner, but we will never rely on AI to 'do work' on its own, even with agent capabilities improving all the time. If you hire us, you hire our brains, our passion and our grit. Even if AI delivers decent work quickly, exceptional quality will always make the biggest difference for your business.
What we don’t believe
Most of the time, using AI gets you OK results very quickly. That's useful for many people, but we don’t think that’s a recipe for exceptional work. When we need to take more time, we will say so. We will never use AI to rush work, or to hit a deadline, when the use of AI would deliver lower quality results.
But, we do not believe that using AI automatically means you’re lazy or sloppy. We do a lot of thinking about choice of language, tone and style, about how data and opinions mesh together, and about the distribution and marketing of the work we do together with our clients. As a resource and a companion in this thinking process, LLMs can expand the range of options we’re able to consider. This is helpful as long as people have the final say on all work, from the title to the very last punctuation mark.
These are our AI ethics – until they aren’t
As with all things, when the facts change, we reserve the right to change our minds. This blog was last updated in May 2026. In a space that’s morphing and expanding so quickly, the most sensible thing to do is to keep close tabs on the tools we use, and our own methods of working, and pull back if there are substantive shifts that may impair our ability to deliver stellar results for you.
