Credit: Gina Silverstein. AI-generated photo concept.
We’ve all heard the AI jargon that sounds like something’s off. You know, the 67 billion words scraped from planet Earth into super intelligent phrasing well beyond the author’s pay grade on one end, and what comes across as assembly line grift on the other. After writing 40+ bylined articles in print and digital before AI, and at least a thousand more strategy, marketing, and press materials, I auto reach for the buzzer when I see inauthentic communication. (For the record, the written content of this post is without an AI assist but I’m generally not anti-AI when it’s used correctly. I sometimes integrate it into research, marketing, and tech automation projects, guided with human reasoning. In fact, I had no idea the extent of the global scrape until I asked Gemma 4 for a second opinion.)
Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the AI elephant in the room. If you’ve been using AI for personal or business content that shares remarkable similarities to a million other people and businesses, below are a few tips to make it sound like you actually wrote it or is, at least, more authentically yours:
Use detailed prompts with multi-use AI agents like Claude or Google Gemini. First, provide writing rules such as accuracy, specificity, cadence, stance, no vague hedging, etc. Next, add prompts specific to the project: format, topic, audience, length, structure (narrative, how-to, analytical, etc.), and voice (conversational, authoritative, storytelling, etc.)
Before publishing, read it aloud as if an audience is listening. Does it sound like you have an honorary Harvard doctorate (but don’t) or you’re spinning a tall tale at a bar? Then definitely rewrite it as if it actually flowed from your brain.
If self-editing is a challenge, ask for a rewrite that’s on brand and on point. Or try an AI agent specifically programmed for writing. Selfprose, Stylewrite, and HyperWrite are a few examples that can help build a personality or business profile to match your style. The output won’t be a bespoke tuxedo but you’ll at least get a Brooks Brothers rack suit instead of the crumpled polyester one from the discount bin.
Before getting AI involved, beware that when you use these agents there are privacy considerations. What you and everyone else put in the cart is part of the same database. Check the privacy clauses.
Regardless of the AI you use, PLEASE avoid the ever present, and utterly annoying “It’s not this…it’s that” trope.
If I lost you at hello, or you have another communication challenge, you’re not alone. Join me for a one-on-one private discussion on what solutions are out there for you.
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