What Happened Next Changed Everything.
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Mr. Locke logged into our call with a stack of documents visible behind him.
“I just retired and I want to complete my manuscripts and legal proofs,” he said. “This will take me months, but I keep seeing Copilot pop up when I am writing. I wanted to know what it is about.”
Most people his age would have ignored that pop-up. (honestly most find that little pen with the stars very annoying and ask me how to get rid of it.)But Mr. Locke had spent decades as an Information Officer for a state government in the Northwest. He was tech-comfortable. He just did not know AI yet.
And he had urgent work: documenting land rights violations against his own people, a tribal Nation that had been fighting for recognition and land for generations.
So we began the journey of discovering how to use Copilot (AI).
Six weeks later, he had two publishers interested in his book and a 15-page legislative brief being used in tribal council hearings. His documentation was helping his Nation fight for recognition and land they had been denied since the mid-twentieth century.
The method is surprisingly simple. And almost nobody is teaching it to people over 60.
Let me show you what he learned.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Most tribal historical documents are lost within one generation.
Mr. Locke’s father and aunties were from an American Indian tribe (“His Nation”)that had lost descendants, rights and were about to lose their identity. His aunt first brought him into tribal work. He became a tribal officer, a former lobbyist who spent decades building legal arguments for state-level land claim cases.
He had three nearly-complete book manuscripts. Hundreds of pages of interviews with elders. Legal documents. Historical records. Treaty violations dating back to the 1940s.
His target audience: legislators, attorneys, publishers who could actually change policy.
But 400 pages of complex legal material? Even with his love of reading and his tech skills, organizing it felt like months of manual work.
That knowledge was too urgent to delay. Courts needed it. His Nation needed it. Future generations needed it.
Every week he waited was another week his people could not use this documentation in hearings.
That is when he asked me about the Copilot pop-up. I teach adults over 60 how to use AI for serious work, not just fun prompts, so we started there.
What Actually Happened (Session by Session)
Week 1: The 15-Second Breakthrough
Mr. Locke opened his first 400-page manuscript documenting land rights violations against his Nation.
“I have been seeing this Copilot button in Word,” he said. “What can it actually do?”
“Click it,” I said. “Type: ‘Summarize this document focusing on key legal arguments, treaty violations, and historical timeline.’”
He typed. Hit Enter.
Fifteen seconds later: clean summary. Legal arguments organized. Treaty violations cited with dates. Historical context laid out.
The happiness, awe and wonder could not all fit on his face. He was smiling from ear to ear.
“That would have taken me three hours,” he said quietly.
We worked a few other documents, and tried different prompts, and he looked very happy. I then suggested the inevitable.
“Now let us see what ChatGPT does with the same text.”
Week 2: The Error That Changed His Approach
I showed him ChatGPT. Same section. Same request. Different result.
ChatGPT emphasized human impact, displacement stories, community consequences. Copilot emphasized legal precision, statutory language, procedural violations.
“Which one should I use?” he asked.
“Both. Copilot for legislators who need legal precision. ChatGPT for publishers who need narrative. You need both. Read through both and merge them if needed”
Then Copilot summarized a land claim filed in the mid-1970s.
Mr. Locke stopped. “That is wrong. That claim was filed a year later. I have the documents.”
We checked ChatGPT. It gave the later year.
“ChatGPT got it right this time,” he said. “But what if both were wrong?”
“Then you check your sources. Which you just did. That is the system working.”
That moment changed everything.
For legal work going to tribal councils and courts, one wrong date destroys credibility. One fabricated case citation ends your case.
Mr. Locke started keeping a detailed log. Every disagreement between tools. Every verification. Every error caught. I reminded him the most important part about using AI. The disclaimer at the bottom, “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info”
📌 THE TWO-TOOL RULE (Non-Negotiable for Legal and all types of Work)
Never use just one AI tool for documents that matter.
Always compare:
- ChatGPT + Copilot
- ChatGPT + Google Gemini
- Copilot + Claude
- Gemini + Perplexity?
When they agree → probably safe
When they disagree → verify your sourcesThis one habit will save you from career-ending mistakes.
And don’t forget, EVEN IF they both agree, they can still be wrong.
Week 3: The Timeline That Took 15 Seconds
Mr. Locke brought in testimony from an elder. It jumped between the 1940s and the 1990s, mixing personal memory with tribal history.
“This will take me days to organize chronologically,” he said.
“Ask Copilot to create a timeline instead of a summary.”
He typed: This section covers multiple decades non-chronologically. Create a timeline organizing events by date.
Fifteen seconds:
- Late 1940s: families from his Nation relocated
- Early 1960s: federal recognition terminated
- Mid-1970s: first restoration petition filed
- Late 1980s: petition denied
- Early 1990s: appeal filed with new evidence
He cross-referenced carefully. Each date and event was checked against his documents.
“I have been evaluating legal arguments my whole career,” he said. “This is just another source I need to verify. Sometimes it is right. Sometimes it is wrong. My job has not changed.”
That is when I realized: someone with legal training is actually better equipped to use AI than most people. He already knew when something looked wrong.
Week 6: The Brief That Went to Court
Six weeks after our first session, Mr. Locke sent me an update.
He had organized all 400 pages. Created a 15-page legislative brief. Written a 2-page publisher query letter.
And then: “The tribal council is using my brief in hearings this month. Two publishers want to see the full manuscript. This would have taken me six months without these tools.”
But here is what he said next:
“I caught multiple errors along the way. Three of them were major, invented citations, fabricated quotes from elders, wrong treaty references. If I had trusted just one tool, those errors would have gone to court.”
One fabricated citation could have destroyed years of credibility. It could have undermined his Nation’s case.
The two-tool rule saved him.
The Results (What He Actually Built)
From: 400-page manuscript that felt overwhelming
To:
✅ 15-page legislative brief (in use at tribal hearings)
✅ 2-page query letter (2 publisher inquiries)
✅ Complete timeline: from the 1940s to the present
✅ Organized legal arguments with verified citations
✅ Thematic index: land loss, recognition battles, restoration efforts
Target audiences got exactly what they needed:
- Legislators: clear legal arguments
- Attorneys: proper citations
- Publishers: compelling narrative
- Tribal council: court-ready documentation
Timeline: 6 weeks instead of 6 months.
Critical detail: every fact verified. Every date checked. Every citation accurate.
The Method (Copy/ Try This for Legal or Important Work)
Step 1: Safe Working Copy
Never touch your original. Copy the file and rename it with WORKING[date] — remove any identifiable information.
Step 2: First Pass, Copilot
In Word, click Copilot on the right sidebar. Ask: “Summarize focusing on [specific elements].”
Step 3: Second Pass, ChatGPT/Perplexity/Gemini
Go to:
Paste the same section. Use the same request.
Step 4: Compare and Log
When they agree → likely accurate
When they disagree → CHECK YOUR SOURCES
Keep a notebook. Write down:
- What each tool said
- Which was wrong
- Why it mattered
Step 5: Use Each Tool’s Strengths
Copilot: legal language, technical accuracy, formal documents
ChatGPT: narrative flow, publisher materials, human impact
Step 6: Verify Everything Critical
Dates, citations, names, treaty or case references, check all of them against source documents.
⏱️ STOP AND DO THIS NOW (2 Minutes)
Open chat.openai.com in another tab.
If are not sure how to open another tab, or open another website come and find me: Ndungu Consulting
If thats’ too much, check out the instructions in this beginner guide I created: Basic Computer Skills Guide for Absolute Beginners
Leave it open. Come back here.
By the end of this article, you will know exactly what to do with it.
The 3 Problems Everyone Hits
1. “I do not have Copilot in Word.”
You need Microsoft 365 with Copilot. If you do not have it, use copilot.microsoft.com and upload your document there. The core functionality is similar. If you do not want to purchase Microsoft products use Gemini/Google Docs
2. “The AI contradicted my documents.”
Perfect. That is your verification signal. Check your sources, log which tool was wrong, learn the pattern.
3. “Which tool should I trust?”
Neither. Trust your source documents. Use AI to organize and summarize. Verify anything important.
What Makes This Different from Generic AI Advice
Most AI tutorials show you how to write blog posts or summarize emails.
This is different.
Mr. Locke was not writing blog posts. He was preparing legal documentation that would go to:
- Tribal council hearings
- State courts
- Federal recognition or restoration petitions
- Publishers evaluating credibility
One error could destroy decades of work.
That is why the two-tool rule is not optional. Verification is not suggested; it is required.
The stakes matter. The accuracy matters. The method matters.
What Nobody Tells You About AI for Serious Work
Here is what changed for Mr. Locke.
What did not change:
- His knowledge (still irreplaceable)
- His judgment (still essential)
- His verification process (still required)
- His responsibility (still his work)
What did change:
- Organizing 400 pages: 6 months → 6 weeks
- Creating summaries: 3 hours → 15 seconds
- Reformatting for different audiences: days → minutes
- Finding inconsistencies: manual checks → automated comparison plus human review
AI did not replace his expertise. It amplified his productivity.
Because he had legal training, he was actually better at using AI than most people. He knew what to verify. He knew when something sounded wrong. He knew what stakes were involved.
Your professional judgment is the most important part of this system.
Why His Nation Needed This
Federal recognition for his tribal Nation was terminated in the early 1960s.
For decades, tribal members fought for restoration. They filed petitions. Gathered evidence. Documented violations.
Mr. Locke’s father lived through it. His aunties remembered the displacement. His aunt brought him into tribal work.
Every day those 400 pages sat unorganized was another day the Nation could not use them.
Now his 15-page brief distills decades of research into clear legal arguments attorneys can cite, legislators can reference, and courts can evaluate.
That is not just productivity. That is justice documentation.
AI did not write his arguments. It did not create his research. It did not tell his people’s story.
Mr. Locke did that over decades.
AI simply helped him organize it fast enough to matter.
If You Are Sitting on Important Work
Maybe you are not documenting land rights. But if you have:
- Legal research that needs organizing
- Historical documentation that matters
- Professional expertise stuck in overwhelming files
- Work that is too important to trust to one tool
You can do this.
You do not need to be a tech expert. Mr. Locke was comfortable with computers but had never touched AI before our first session.
What you need:
- Critical thinking (you have this)
- Attention to detail (you have this)
- Verification discipline (you already do this)
The AI is just a tool. Your judgment is still what matters most.
Start Here (Today, Not Tomorrow)
Pick one document. One section. One project.
Open two tools:
- chat.openai.com (free)
- copilot.microsoft.com (or Copilot in Word)
Paste the same text into both. Ask: “Summarize this focusing on [what you need].”
Compare the results. Note where they differ.
Check your sources. See which was accurate.
That is it. That is day one.
Tomorrow, try another document. By week six, you will have a system that works.
The Series: What Is Coming Next
This is Part 1 of “AI for Professional Documentation.”
Follow me for Part 2:
Follow me on Medium for each article as it publishes.
Your Turn
I respond to every comment within 24 hours. Answer ONE:
1. What important documentation are you sitting on because organizing it feels overwhelming?
(Legal research? Historical records? Professional work? Tell me what is stuck.)
2. What is your biggest concern about using AI for work that actually matters?
(Accuracy? Credibility? Not knowing what to verify? Let me address it directly.)
3. If you opened ChatGPT while reading this, what happened?
(Did you try a summary? Get stuck? Share your experience, even if it did not work perfectly.)
4. Do you know someone working on critical documentation who needs this?
(A colleague with legal work? A researcher overwhelmed by sources? Share this with them.)
The Real Question
Mr. Locke almost let those manuscripts sit unfinished. He almost let decades of tribal documentation stay buried in files. He almost let six months of work stop him from helping his people.
But he asked one question: “What is this Copilot pop-up about?”
That question led to organized documentation, publisher interest, a brief being used in court hearings, and a Nation getting the legal arguments they need.
What is your “Copilot pop-up” question?
The tools exist. They are free. They work.
The only question is: what are you waiting for?
Let us do this together.
Disclaimer
• Mr. Locke is a lawyer and tribal officer. He developed his manuscripts and legal research before using AI tools.
• AI tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT can be inaccurate. You must check key facts, dates and citations against your own records.
• This article is general information about using AI for legal work. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer client relationship.
• For any filings or court documents, ask a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction to review them. Mr Locke did not disclose which courts or bodies are reviewing his material.
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