The Apprentice winner Harpreet reckons the show needs a shake-up (Image: Getty)
‘s reckons the hit BBC business contest needs a shake up – by introducing artificial intelligence.
Businesswoman Harpreet won the contest in 2022 with her dessert company Oh So Yum! that she shared with her sister Gurvinder Kaur.
And she believes contestants would have even more success if they had more tools at their disposal.
She said: “Everyone in the UK knows The Apprentice. It’s lasted through so many generations. It’s got a massive audience. So I think the show is great.
“But maybe they could update it slightly. The reason I say that is in the real world you have tools and resources that can support you in making decisions.
“Now on the show, you have no access to the Internet or to a phone call.
“So it will be quite nice to see what people could achieve if they had maybe a few more tools available to them. Maybe even AI.”
The Apprentice will return next year for the nineteenth series, and Harpreet admits she feels “protective” over the contestants.
She explained: “Now that I’ve been through the process, I actually realise how tough it is.
The Apprentice is returning for a new series next year (Image: BBC/Naked/Ray Burmiston/Rufina Breskin)
“So I used the Copilot and said: ‘I want to plan a getaway in the UK that isn’t too far from home. We want to stay two nights. Give me some hotel recommendations with a spa’.
“Because you obviously need that over Christmas. And then I asked: ‘Is there anywhere that is serving a vegetarian Christmas lunch?”And it’s done all the research for me. I’ve never spent Christmas away from home before, so I think it’ll be a fun one.”
Harpreet has teamed up with Microsoft and AI tools, including Copilot+, to help time poor Brits get more creative and organised than ever before.
Harpreet thinks the show needs a shake-up (Image: PA)
It comes as new research reveals that over half of Brits (53%) feel overwhelmed and uninspired during the holidays, often having to cut back on the personal touches and traditions that make the holidays magical.
This is Harpreet’s first Christmas as a married woman. She tied the knot with her co-star Akshay Thakrar earlier this year.
And she says they’re having Christmas just the two of them – which she planned using Microsoft’s AI tools.
She said: “This year we are doing something a bit different and we’re going to be spending New Year’s with family and for Christmas, we’re actually going away just the two of us. Only to Sunny Manchester.
“I only planned this about two weeks ago and I used AI to help me.
“I had booked somewhere else, but there were no options for a vegetarian Christmas lunch. Everywhere was booked.
Don’t miss… [ANNOUNCEMENT]
“So I used the Copilot and said: ‘I want to plan a getaway in the UK that isn’t too far from home. We want to stay two nights. Give me some hotel recommendations with a spa’.
“Because you obviously need that over Christmas. And then I asked: ‘Is there anywhere that is serving a vegetarian Christmas lunch?”And it’s done all the research for me. I’ve never spent Christmas away from home before, so I think it’ll be a fun one.”
Huddersfield-born Harpreet parted ways with her successful dessert company ‘Oh So Yum’, two years after she won £250,000 investment from Lord Alan Sugar on the show.
She’s still in touch with Sugar and says “he’s available if I need him”. But she admits she’s not getting him a Christmas present adding: “I think he’s got everything he needs.”
*** Visit Microsoft UK Stories to explore Harpreet’s AI-powered festive tips, and head to Microsoft.com to learn more about Copilot+ PCs***