Dipping your toes into AI-assisted writing
--> 3 steps to get started (without drowning)
It’s struck me that I’ve written a lot recently about how useful AI can be to speed up and enhance your writing. And I’ve shared some tips on how to use it for a variety of relatively advanced tasks.
But what I haven’t done is talked about how to get started.
A bit of an oversight really given that most people have probably had a little try, but haven’t really got going or had much success using AI to help their writing.
Maybe that’s where you’re at. Or maybe you’re still in the “thinking about it, but it all seems a bit complicated” phase.
If so, here are my top 3 tips for getting started with AI-assisted writing without getting overwhelmed:
Start small with brainstorming
Your first step shouldn't be asking AI to write your magnum opus. Instead, use it as a brainstorming buddy.
Next time you're stuck for ideas, try asking an AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude to suggest some topics or angles on your chosen subject. For example:
"Give me 10 ideas for blog posts about productivity for small business owners"
You'll likely get a mix of decent ideas, rubbish ones, and a few gems you hadn't considered. The key is to treat it as a jumping-off point, not the final word.
Bonus tip: after generating an initial list, say:
“Great. Come up with some additional topics which are a bit left field, weird or unusual - ones that small business owners would want to read even just out of curiosity” (obviously replace “small business owners” with your particular client types.
Use AI for research, not regurgitation
Once you've got your topic, AI can be brilliant for quickly gathering information and examples.
Let's say you're writing about time management techniques. You could ask:
"What are 5 popular time management techniques, and what are the pros and cons of each? Please tailor your answer to the perspective of a [your client type]"
This gives you a solid foundation of knowledge to work from. But - and this is crucial - don't just copy and paste the AI's response. Use it as a starting point for your own research and thinking.
Remember: your readers didn’t sign up for regurgitated AI content. They signed up for your unique insights and experience.
Edit ruthlessly (and add your own flavour)
If you do use AI to generate any actual content, treat it as a first draft.
AI writing often lacks personality and can be a bit... well, boring. So your job is to inject your own voice, add relevant examples from your experience, and make sure it actually makes sense.
Read it aloud. Does it sound like you? If not, rewrite until it does.
You can use the prompts I recently shared to get the first draft written in a style close to your own. But even then it’ll never be perfect - you’ll need to tweak it to get it to sound right.
And make sure you fact-check. Especially references and quotes.
Don’t get complacent. We wrote a couple of dozen articles for students recently with a lot of references in them using Claude. It did the first 23 flawlessly - every reference was correct. But on number 24 it made most of them up.
I’m still not 100% sure why, but I’m sure glad we double-checked and fixed them.
The bottom line? AI writing tools can be useful allies in your writing process. But they're not magic wands, and they're certainly not replacements for your expertise and personality.
Use them wisely, and they can help you beat “blank page syndrome” and write much faster. Use them badly, and you'll end up with bland, generic content that does nothing for your business.
Start small, experiment, and try to keep your own voice front and centre. That way, you'll harness the power of AI without losing what makes your writing uniquely valuable.
- Ian