Why this matters in 2026

Most teams spend too much time explaining work. Modern AI reduces that drag: it summarises channels and meetings, drafts updates, answers questions from across your tools, and even acts as an “AI teammate” that owns pieces of process. The result is fewer status calls, faster handoffs, and clearer decisions—provided you choose tools that fit your stack and data policies.

Our selection criteria

1. Collaboration coverage (chat, meetings, docs/whiteboards), 2) Work management depth (tasks, projects, dependencies), 3) AI capabilities that actually save time (summaries, Q&A, task creation, agentic follow‑through), 4) Security/governance in the enterprise, and 5) Fit for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

The shortlist: best‑in‑class picks

We work hands‑on with Asana, Miro, Glean and Notion. To maximise value (and support), we’ve spotlighted practical plays for those platforms first, then summarised the rest of the market for context.

Asana AI Teammates — partner pick for autonomous task flow

Asana’s AI Teammates are collaborative agents that live in your projects and Work Graph™. They use context to progress work with checkpoints and traceability—so updates, reminders, and escalations happen without chasing.

Quick‑win plays

• Weekly status without the meeting: AI summarises inputs → drafts exec‑ready updates → assigns follow‑ups.

• Intake to delivery: forms → triage rules → AI Teammate nudges → stakeholder comms.

• Risk & dependency hygiene: automatic detection + owner prompts.

When it fits: cross‑functional delivery with clear owners/dates; need for auditability beyond chat.

Implementation notes: start with one real process; use templates; connect Slack/Teams for notifications; enable SSO and granular permissions.

Why Generation Digital: certified deployment, workflow design, and change enablement—including reporting packs for leadership.

Miro AI — partner pick for visual collaboration & discovery

Miro’s AI accelerates workshops and planning: it clusters sticky notes, proposes structures, and turns messy walls into action.

Quick‑win plays

• Discovery to decisions: workshop in Miro → AI summary → action items pushed to Asana/Jira.

• Portfolio planning: instant clustering + prioritisation → export to roadmap.

• Diagram to delivery: generate system/flow diagrams → assign tasks to owners.

When it fits: product/UX, strategy, and cross‑functional planning where visuals matter.

Implementation notes: standardise board templates; integrate with Jira/Asana; capture workshop outcomes as tasks.

Why Generation Digital: facilitation kits, template libraries, and Miro‑to‑Asana/Jira flows.

Glean (Work AI) — partner pick for permission‑aware answers across tools

Glean connects to your core apps to deliver secure enterprise search, an AI Assistant, and agents that answer questions and automate routine steps.

Quick‑win plays

• “What’s the latest?”: permission‑aware briefings across Docs, Slides, Jira, Asana, Slack and more.

• New‑joiner ramp: AI answers common questions from your own knowledge.

• Exec Q&A: fast, auditable answers that link back to source.

When it fits: knowledge sprawl across many tools; need for trustworthy answers with source links.

Implementation notes: start with your top 5 systems; align retention/permissions; promote the Q&A pattern in Slack/Teams.

Why Generation Digital: connector strategy, governance setup, and adoption campaigns.

Notion AI — partner pick for connected docs, wiki, and lightweight projects

Notion AI drafts, summarises, and answers questions across your workspace. It’s ideal when teams want docs/wiki/projects together.

Quick‑win plays

• Project hub in a page: requirements, tasks, and updates together; AI drafts status.

• Team wiki you’ll actually use: AI Q&A over policies, runbooks, and guides.

• Sales/CS packs: auto‑summaries of calls and notes into shareable briefs.

When it fits: knowledge‑heavy teams that want fewer tools and faster documentation.

Implementation notes: define page types; standardise properties; add AI prompts into templates.

Why Generation Digital: workspace architecture, page design systems, and governance.

Microsoft 365 Copilot — best for Microsoft‑centric organisations

Copilot is woven through Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and more. It generates meeting recaps, drafts, and insights with enterprise‑grade controls.

Google Workspace Gemini — best for Google‑centric teams

Gemini is available across Gmail, Chat, Docs, Drive, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Vids via Google AI plans.

Slack AI — best for staying on top of busy channels

Channel/thread summaries, “recap what you missed,” and AI answers reduce scroll.

Zoom AI Companion — best for meeting‑to‑action

Live summaries, follow‑up prompts that draft emails and tasks, and retrieval across Zoom artefacts plus connected drives.

Atlassian Rovo (with Jira & Confluence) — best for engineering & knowledge search

Rovo adds AI search, chat, and agents across Atlassian tools and connected sources, helping teams find answers and act.

ClickUp Brain — best all‑in‑one work hub with AI

AI writing, summaries, and automation inside a configurable work hub.

Smartsheet AI — best for PMO‑style portfolios & spreadsheets

Generate formulas/descriptions, summarise, and analyse data to speed up PMO workflows.

Coda AI — best for doc‑as‑app workflows

AI chat, table auto‑fill, summaries, and action items tied to doc tables.

Quick comparison table

Note: We’ll help you validate licensing, security posture and admin controls before enabling AI features.

How to choose (fast)

1. Start in‑suite: If you’re already on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, start with Copilot or Gemini to get safe wins in email, docs, meetings, and chat.

2. Layer collaboration: Add Slack AI or Zoom AI Companion where your teams actually communicate.

3. Add work management depth: Choose Asana, monday.com, Jira/Confluence (+Rovo), ClickUp, or Smartsheet depending on how structured your delivery needs to be.

4. Tackle knowledge sprawl: Use Glean to answer cross‑tool questions and reduce duplicate work.

5. Pilot with a real process: E.g., weekly status → AI summaries → task generation → automatic follow‑ups.

Summary

If you’re a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace shop, we’ll secure quick wins there—then unlock outsized value with our partner stack:

• Asana AI Teammates to make plans executable with accountable agents.

• Miro AI to turn discovery and planning into structured action.

• Glean for permission‑aware answers across your tools.

• Notion AI for a connected wiki/docs/projects hub where knowledge and tasks live together.

Next step: Book a 30‑minute advisory with Generation Digital. We’ll map a pragmatic rollout (licensing, governance, templates, change plan) and run a 4–6 week pilot targeting one high‑impact process.

FAQ

Q1. What’s the difference between collaboration AI and work‑management AI?
Collaboration AI (Slack, Teams, Zoom) summarises and answers questions in chats/meetings. Work‑management AI (Asana, Jira, monday, ClickUp, Smartsheet) turns plans into trackable tasks, nudges progress, and automates reporting.

Q2. Is our data safe with these AI features?
Yes—when configured correctly. Major vendors keep enterprise data governed within your tenant and audit how AI features access content. Work with IT to review admin controls, retention, and model‑training policies.

Q3. Which tool saves the most time fastest?
Usually the AI built into your core suite (Microsoft 365 Copilot or Google Workspace Gemini), because it instantly improves email, docs, meetings, and chat—then add conversation‑ and project‑specific tools.

Q4. Do we still need a PM tool if chat and meetings have AI?
Yes. Summaries are helpful, but you still need a system of record for tasks, owners, dates, and dependencies.