The best co-pilot uses for AI during a live class are generating on-demand examples, rephrasing explanations that aren’t landing, summarising group discussions, creating quick polls or discussion questions, and answering fringe questions outside your core expertise.
What a Co-Pilot Actually Does
In aviation, a co-pilot does not fly the plane — the captain does. The co-pilot monitors, supports, handles specific tasks on request, and steps in when the captain needs an extra pair of hands. That is exactly the right mental model for using AI during a live class. You are the captain: you are reading the room, deciding the direction, managing the group dynamic. AI is the co-pilot: ready to assist with specific tasks when you call on it, operating in the background otherwise.
The mistake most educators make when they first try this is either ignoring AI entirely out of habit, or leaning on it too heavily and losing their own thread. The sweet spot is intentional use at specific moments.
Five High-Value Co-Pilot Moments
First: on-demand examples. When a student asks for an example specific to their industry or situation, type the request into Claude and paste the result into the chat within 30 seconds. Second: rephrasing stuck concepts. If an explanation is not landing, ask AI for an analogy tuned to your audience and try again. Third: discussion summarisation. After a breakout or open discussion, paste the key points students raised into AI and ask it to synthesise the themes — then share that synthesis back to the group as a mirror of what they collectively produced.
Fourth: live question generation. Mid-session, when you want to check understanding or re-engage the group, ask AI to generate two or three discussion questions on the topic you just covered. Fifth: fringe expertise. When a student asks something at the edge of your knowledge — a specific tool, a technical detail, an edge case — you can use AI to answer accurately without guessing. Acknowledge you are pulling in a resource, just as any professional would.
What This Means for Educators
Live facilitation with an AI co-pilot lets you respond to what your students actually bring to the session rather than only what you planned for. That responsiveness is what separates a great live workshop from a recorded one. You cannot pre-plan every example, every question, every stuck moment — but with AI available, you do not have to.
The Simple Rule
Pick two or three co-pilot moments to try in your next session — do not try to use AI for everything at once. Get comfortable with the rhythm, then expand. The goal is invisible support, not visible dependency.