For many texts I write, the voice and ideas need to be clearly mine. Not just for the credibility aspect, but also because I want to convey my own ideas and thoughts. If I rely too heavily on AI for the actual writing, my voice would be flattened and the impact of my writing would be worse.
So I do most of the actual writing. However, this doesn’t exclude the use of AI assistance. Here are a few different ways of how I use AI in the writing process, and I hope they can help you to keep your
As note-taker
Many of my texts start as a collection of ideas. I know those ideas are all connected, but I’ve not made the connection clear yet. So one of the things I do quite often is talk directly to ChatGPT — I tend to tell it I’m about to “blab” — and ask it to structure my thoughts into bullet points.
For example, I recently wrote feedback about my own performance. For the reasons mentioned above, I need this to be my own voice. But I relied on ChatGPT to help me organise my thoughts. So I first opened all documents that I would want to think about when reviewing myself: my most recent self-evaluation, the expectations for my role, the bigger direction for both our support division, the product line we’re focused on, and our company-wide priorities.
I then started talking through those documents and evaluating out loud — and frankly quite incoherent — how I impacted all of those areas. ChatGPT was listening. Once that recording was done, I stated a general evaluation of how my past year had gone and what some of my near-term goals would be.
ChatGPT then gave me an outline for my self-evaluation. I maybe used about a third of that, but it got me going in the right direction, and the writing was much easier after that.
As thought partner
Sometimes, I get stuck in my writing. AI tools can help with generating or clarifying ideas.
Recently, I was trying to find a good analogy for a complex argument I was trying to make, and I just couldn’t. So, I asked ChatGPT something like this:
I’m trying to explain [description of argument], and I think an analogy would really help to drive the point home. Give me 3-4 analogies that illustrate the point I’m trying to make.
My experience with this type of usage is that I often need to tweak my prompting along the way, but in this step of my writing, the actual process of going back-and-forth with ChatGPT is the more valuable part. The point here isn’t necessarily to have ChatGPT do work for me, but for it to act as a soundboard so I can clarify my own thinking along the way.
As critical reader
A second way I love using my AI tools is as critical reader. After writing a draft, I would share that with ChatGPT and ask it to be critical. Here, I’m mostly interested in making sure that the goal I have with my writing is achieved. It’s a phase to focus a lot on the tightness of the argument and whether it’s specifically catered to the primary audience I have in mind.
Again, when I’m writing a thought piece, I don’t want the AI assistant to rewrite because I don’t want my own voice to get lost. While I want to get feedback on spelling and grammar — I’m not a native English speaker, and my English isn’t perfect — I will rarely ask for rewrites of sections. Even though I’m often impressed by how AI tools can write, those texts rarely feel like my voice.
I would use a prompt like this for a performance review:
I’ll share my draft – I’m pretty happy with the whole of it, but I’d love some feedback. Point out grammar mistakes, but mostly give general tweak suggestions knowing my readers are less familiar with my work than I am and that they need to have a good understanding of my self-evaluation so they can coach me further. Don’t rewrite unless absolutely necessary.
In this particular case, ChatGPT gave me a few grammar suggestions, but mostly focused on where I could tighten up the writing.
Here are a few examples of other prompts I tend to use quite often:
The audience will care more about the actual customer experience than the numbers I throw at them. Help me make sure that the user experience is clearly depicted.
I tend to bury the lede a bit in my writing, and the main reader I’m trying to convince reacts badly to that. Help me to avoid this and get to the point really fast.
I’m trying to [evoke conversation/get approval for xyz/convince them about this idea]. Which parts are helping with that? Which parts aren’t and why?
As editor
If the “critical reader” would be the equivalent to a peer review in academic writing, I then would also use AI as editor of my writing. While most inconsistencies, poor arguments, etc. will already have been picked up in a previous phase, they can slip in again during a later rewrite, and the final edit notes can help with that. So, I’ll sometimes let ChatGPT have a final go at my draft to make sure that it’s a cohesive, sound argument.
Here are some sentences that can help with this final edit.
I’m about to publish this post. Act like editor-in-chief. Is my tone and argument cohesive? Is my writing tight? Do I show my own personality?
Final thought
I’m always the final editor of important pieces I write. AI assistants are extremely helpful in the writing process, but I almost always will still find sentences that do not feel cohesive, or don’t really bear my own voice.
My writing has gotten a lot tighter since using AI as an assistant, but I also want to make sure that it’s better writing, not generic-feeling pieces of text that feel like a waste of time for the reader. AI can sharpen your writing too without flattening your voice if you use it deliberately at different stages of the writing process.
And meta: For the post, I wrote the first draft, and only used AI with this prompt. I barely used any of the feedback it gave.
I’ve written this post. I’d like to encourage readers to use AI tools available as assistance in the writing process: to work efficiently and effectively without losing personality and voice. Give me high-level points for improving the text. (and if you encounter language issuse, point them out):