Blog

Insights, advice and real-world stories written by assistants and the businesses that support them, covering everything from career growth to life behind the role. All with one goal: to support, empower and champion assistants in their careers.

Career Support

The Hard Work Trap: Why Doing More Won’t Always Get You the Pay Rise

September 14, 2026

Working harder doesn’t always lead to greater recognition. For many Executive Assistants, taking on more, staying later and constantly overdelivering can quietly become the new expectation. Here’s how to break the hard work trap and make sure your growing contribution is recognised.

Career Support

You’re Not “Just an EA”: How to Recognise the Value You Actually Bring

September 14, 2026

Executive Assistants are often brilliant at recognising everyone else’s priorities, strengths and achievements, but recognising their own value can be much harder. From protecting executive time to influencing decisions and preventing problems before they happen, here’s how to recognise and communicate the value you really bring.

AI Insights

Will AI Replace Executive Assistants? What EAs Need to Know About Claude

August 24, 2026

“Will AI take my job?” is the question Chris Colston gets asked most at industry events, and it’s an understandable one. In this piece, we break down why Claude works as an assistant to the assistant rather than a replacement, what actually happens to your data when you use it, and how to get started without connecting a single tool.

AI Insights

How Executive Assistants Can Use Claude AI to Save Hours Every Week

August 24, 2026

If you are an EA, PA, or VA juggling four diaries, a scrappy voice note, and an inbox that never stops refreshing, you already know the real problem is not a lack of effort.

AI Insights

Claude vs Gemini for Executive Assistants: Which AI Should You Connect to Your Inbox?

August 24, 2026

If your company already gives you access to Gemini through Google Workspace, or Claude through a team subscription, the hardest part is often just getting started. Craig Bryson, founder of Admin AI Insights and a 20 year executive assistant, ran a live comparison of both tools in a recent Pally Talk training session, using a fictional executive’s chaotic Monday inbox.

AI Insights

The BRIEF Method: A Simple AI Prompt Framework Every Executive Assistant Should Know

August 24, 2026

Search “AI prompts for assistants” and you will find lists promising 150 ready made prompts. Craig Bryson, founder of Admin AI Insights and a 20 year executive assistant, tried using them.

AI Insights

What Is AI Website Building? A Beginner’s Guide for Assistants

June 8, 2026

For executive assistants, personal assistants, and virtual assistants, the ability to build a professional website used to feel out of reach, a skill reserved for developers or expensive agencies.

AI Insights

AI Isn’t the Change. The Way We Work Is.

June 5, 2026

I have been thinking about this a lot recently. Not the noise around AI. That comes and goes. But what is actually changing in the day-to-day work of assistants. Because something has shifted.

Networking

Alone but Not Isolated: Building Connection in Executive Support

February 22, 2026

When You’re the Only EA in the Room. In executive support, trust often comes with proximity to leadership, and unexpected professional solitude.