- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Don’t use AI as a writer. Use it as a reviewer
By Marie El Daghl, Communication Coach, Trainer and Consultant, Chasing Albert
A few months ago, after the torture of getting my daughter ready for school photos, I discovered that her class photo – wasn’t going to be a photo at all. It was going to be an AI-generated composite of their individual photos.
I published an opinion piece, My daughter didn’t have a class photo in the Sydney Morning Herald if you’d like to read about the madness of it all. But it had me reflecting on the use of AI in content generation in general.
As a professional communicator who has written for brands and leaders – everything from speeches to articles for almost 30 years, I can tell you in all honesty – AI-generated class photos can’t be a substitute for reality anymore than AI-generated content can be a substitute for authentic thinking.
Just like a photo, writing is personal, often emotional and tells a story that simply can’t be fabricated. At least, not yet. Meaningful stories are real. No one cares if you used AI for writing in a review capacity. But they do care if AI wrote your speech about the future of your company, email to employees regarding redundancies or social post celebrating your 30th year in business.
Let it be known that I am not anti AI. It has its place and I’ve both tested and used it extensively over the last few years. I used it in JotForm to build a survey recently and it took literally 5 minutes to build. Comms Lab, Chasing Albert’s custom built portal for training and coaching participants, was built on an AI-native platform without writing any code. In these cases, it saved time and delivered a product as good as if a human had spent the time doing it manually.
On the content side, I tested Sintra for social media content and found its ideas and video scripts to be strong but its content writing to be weak. I tested Prospecting AI beta in Hubspot. While its ability to spot buying signals wasn’t terrible, its prospecting emails were off. I wouldn’t send them. And obviously I’ve tested ChatGPT and Claude for blogs or speeches and much more. It’s clear as day to me and it’s certainly how I use AI for writing – it takes on the role of a reviewer. But I run, and write, the show.
But AI for writing is so mainstream – everyone uses it.
Yes. That and search. And I can see why so many people have flocked to AI for writing. Most people aren’t good writers. And AI can make a bad writer sound decent. Empty, but decent. But it makes good writers, sound decent too.
For the sake of this blog, I’m talking about writing articles, speeches, blogs, important memos, social media posts – on behalf of a human or brand. There are some use cases where I would use AI differently than the way I describe here, but that’s a blog for another day.
But the crux of great storytelling, is personality. Injecting personality is a core communication skill that when used intentionally creates authenticity. It’s what differentiates the memorable from the banal. So core to communication, it’s a pillar of the Chasing Albert effective communication LUUP5 framework and we spend a lot of time on it in all our communication training and coaching programs. It is the deeply personal insight, experience, stories – the colour you add to your communication that makes it so memorable and so you.
AI doesn’t have this or know this. It doesn’t know your values or your goals or your history. And so when it writes for you, it is generic and based on other people’s writing it has learnt from but then taken the road most travelled so that it is just banal.
The longer the writing, the more banal it becomes and the more off-brand it goes.
How can I use AI without it becoming banal or inauthentic?
Personally, I write faster without the use of AI than with it. I am constantly correcting it, bringing it back to brief, questioning its decisions. My honest view is that you’re better off writing without it at all. Especially if you love writing like I do, it just feels like you’re working with an editor that is a stickler for grammar with no eye for creative or regard for your brand.
But if you’re genuinely someone who is intimidated by writing, or like me, all your friends or colleagues are too busy to read your work and give you their opinion, here’s how you can use it well as a reviewer, rather than a writer. It’s not necessarily quicker, but it is certainly useful.
Step 1: The goal, the message you want to get across, the angle, the view, the insight, the experience – it has to be yours.
You know the key to good writing? Specificity. You know – show don’t tell? That can only come from you. Write it all down clearly.
Step 2: Write the first draft yourself.
I know some people say let AI pump out a first draft. I think this is a massive mistake. Write the first draft yourself always. Editing will take you longer than writing something unique, even if it’s not perfect.
Step 3: Read it and edit the first draft yourself
Read through your work and compare it to what you listed in step 1. Is it meeting the goal? Have you been specific? Is your opinion coming through clearly and compellingly.
Step 4: Ask AI for opinions, not edits
I’ve tested AI writing tools like Claude and ChatGPT – I wasn’t overly impressed with either but you know who has been surprising me? Gemini. But my go to is ChatGPT Pro. Not because it’s better. Just because I’ve been using it for a while and can’t be bothered exporting all my projects.
Start by telling it your goals and your audience. Tell it that you are not looking for a rewrite. And you don’t want pages of summaries and you don’t want praise or reassurance. What you want is for it to, through the audience lens, share any areas that could improve your writing as a whole.
Step 5: Use your own judgement
Don’t think that everything it tells you is right. If you ask it to do something, it will want to please you and give you what you’re asking for. You need to be critical in your assessment. Only take on what you think is best.
ChatGPT is convincing. It will try to give you all the reasons you should follow its advice. But you don’t have to. You also have to read it critically – do the recommendations really get you closer to your goals? Or make a difference? Does it sound like you? Is it even accurate? Has it rewritten a sentence in a way that has changed the meaning or the facts? It does have a tendency to do that. Don’t bother calling it out. You’ll end up in an exhausting debate. Just ignore it and use your own judgement and make the edits directly.
That’s why I never get it to edit anything for me.
Step 6: Use AI to Check for grammar and punctuation
When I’m at my final and I’m happy with it, I run a check for grammar, punctuation, flow and if it’s a blog, for SEO. But again - I never ask for it to make the edits. I ask for it to list what it suggests. Then I use my own judgement on what to take on board and make changes myself, directly.
There you have it. If the writing needs to be shared online or on socials, I might use AI to write meta descriptions or copy for a google profile post or brand social media – but that’s a post in and of itself! But long and short of it is – use AI for writing sparingly and with sharp judgement.
Just like the school photo. I don’t care if you use AI for touch ups or student names or packaging. But the photo itself should be the real deal in all its blinking kids, uneven socks and stunned mullet glory.
Frequently Asked Questions About AI for Writing
Here are some of the most common questions I hear from leaders, marketers and business owners about using AI for writing.
Should leaders use AI to write speeches or employee communications?
Leaders can use AI to review and refine communication, but important messages should be written by the leader or someone who deeply understands their perspective. Authenticity, judgement and personal experience are critical in high-stakes communication.
Can AI improve my writing?
AI can help improve clarity, grammar, punctuation and readability. It can also provide feedback from the perspective of your intended audience. However, writers should critically assess any recommendations before implementing them.
What is the best way to use AI for writing?
The best approach is to write the first draft yourself, then use AI to review the content against your goals and audience. AI can identify areas for improvement, but final decisions about messaging, tone and structure should remain with the writer.
Can AI write blogs and articles?
AI can generate blogs and articles, but the results are often generic because AI doesn't have personal experiences, values, opinions or original insights. Strong writing typically combines expertise, personality and lived experience, which AI cannot replicate.
About the Author, Marie El Daghl
Marie El Daghl is the founder of Chasing Albert, a communication training and consulting business based in Sydney. With almost 30 years' experience in organisational communication, she has written for media outlets, brands and senior leaders, and helps organisations improve communication through training, coaching and consulting.
