5 Ways AI Agents Can Help You Write Reports

Introduction

AI agents can streamline report writing by automating tedious tasks, improving accuracy, and saving time. Here’s how they help:

1. File Retrieval: Find Relevant Documents 📂

Figure 1: Retrieving files and emails with Microsoft365 Copilot

Traditionally we could only search for files based on their filename. But with AI we search and retrieve documents based on context, reducing manual search time.

“Find me the meeting notes where we discussed AI polic.”

Tools

• Microsoft365 Copilot: Searches within Office documents, teams chats, emails and more.
• Vector Databases: If you develop your own AI applications, you can use vector databases to find similar documents, providing them to other agents as part of a larger pipeline.

2. Deep Research: AI-Powered Information Gathering 🔍

Figure 2: Perplexity AI’s Deep Research

AI searches multiple sources, summarising key findings and compiling structured references.

“Research what percentage of companies in Perth, Western Australia are using AI already.”

Tools

• Perplexity AI: Provides cited answers with an impressive number of sources and a free tier.
• ChatGPT: Finds information directly in ChatGPT.
• Claude (Anthropic): Set to release their own version of Deep Research in the coming weeks.

3. AI Editing: Improve Clarity and Readability ✍️

Figure 3: Editing a report with ChatGPT Canvas

AI refines grammar, enhances tone, and structures content for readability.

“Reword this sentence for me”

Tools

• Microsoft Copilot in Word: Improves text clarity.
• OpenAI’s Canvas: Lets ChatGPT see and edit your document in real time.

4. Data Extraction: Identify Key Insights 📊

Figure 4: Data extraction with Copilot in Microsoft Edge

AI processes large datasets, extracts relevant information, and structures findings.

“Extract the company names, addresses and phone numbers of all AI companies in Perth, Western Australia.”

Tools

• Copilot in Browser: Extracts tables and figures.
• Custom LLM APIs: Processes company-specific data.
• Excel AI Integration: Summarises trends in spreadsheets.

5. Generate Content in Your Style ✨

Figure 5: Create reports from your examples with OpenAI projects

Upload your files to OpenAI projects or custom GPTS and get AI to mimic your writing style by learning from past reports and set instructions.

“Generate a draft proposal based on the style and format of my existing proposals.”

Tools

• ChatGPT Projects: Upload example documents and instructions into a project folder, creating new chats with these files and instructions already avaliable to ChatGPT.
• Custom GPTs: Further customise GPT with additional actions and control.

Conclusion

AI agents handle research, editing, data extraction, and content generation, letting you focus on analysis and insights. Start integrating AI into your workflow today!