Ops Insights #077 - Why I Decided to Treat AI as a Partner
November 17, 2025 | Read Time: 3 minutes | Written by Jenny Kleintop
Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions about AI.
Where do I even start? Do I have to be technical? Am I already behind?
If you have wondered about any of those, I want to share a bit of my own AI story.
I started learning about AI in 2017, when it still felt like a black box that required engineers, data scientists, and technical trainers just to ship one model. When tools like ChatGPT arrived in 2022, non-coders finally had a way in, but the noise grew. New tools every week, experts to follow, prompts to perfect, “custom” everything. I often felt the same thing my clients feel now. Overwhelmed, behind, and burnt out before really getting started.
In 2025, AI shifted from “nice to have” to “must know.” That is when I decided to treat AI as a partner instead of just another tool. My philosophy is to stay one step ahead of non-technical fundraisers and ops teams. To sort through the noise, test what actually works, and bring back simple, practical ways to use AI that match how real fundraising teams work. Because AI is no longer only for technical people.
Recently, I put that commitment into practice in a very real way.
I joined a 4-week course to learn how to build an AI Clone for myself. For the first class, it was two hours of feeling uncomfortable while trying to keep up and learn. I scratched my head, questioned the process, got lost, then caught up, and got lost again.
I pushed through the uncomfortable, and I did it! I took the first step in the course. I paused, leaned back, and said, "Incredible.”
I was looking at my AI Clone, and I started asking it questions. The answers, shockingly, were spot on and so much better than what I get from a general chat.
“Incredible,” I kept saying. Incredible.
Here are 3 things I learned that you can use right away, especially if AI makes you uncomfortable:
1️⃣ Context is everything
For ChatGPT or any AI tool, give it context.
Tell it where you were in life or work. Where you are today. Where you want to go.
Context lets it get to know you, your role, and your nonprofit.
Without that, it will sound generic. With it, it can become a real thought partner.
2️⃣ Markdown beats PDF for AI work
Humans love PDFs. Computers love Markdown.
Yes, a computer can translate a PDF into something it can read, but things can get lost in translation. If you are building a knowledge base for AI, or feeding it your playbooks and procedures, Markdown is cleaner and easier for the system to understand.
3️⃣ The difference between an AI Clone and an AI Agent
This distinction really matters for leaders and ops teams.
An AI Clone is a thought partner. It is built to think with you, in your voice, using your context and experience.
An AI Agent is a doer. It is built to take actions and complete tasks on your behalf.
This is simply scratching the surface of what’s possible.
Over the next few emails, I will keep sharing what I am learning so you can learn too, one step at a time.
Take Action
It’s your turn. Take the following 2 steps to thoughtfully move toward AI ready.
1 ➡ Embrace that AI shifted from “nice to have” to “must know,” by reading 2 articles on AI.
2 ➡ Open ChatGPT and look at your most recent chats. How much context did you give it? Did you go back and forth asking to revise something, provide more options, or dig in deeper with you?
You’ve got this!
👋 See you next time,
Jenny
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