How to Redefine Writing for AI

AI content feels generic for three reasons: weak inputs, vague prompts, and zero human editing. Fix those three things and AI becomes useful instead of another content churner. Here's the 5-step process that works: 1. Give AI something original to work with. If you just say "write an article about SEO," you'll get the same recycled information that's already everywhere. Feed it your opinion, your data, your case studies, your thesis. AI can only amplify what you give it. 2. Write detailed prompts with constraints. Vague prompts like "write about X". Let AI fill in blanks with arguments you don't agree with or facts that aren't even true. Build guardrails. Tell it the structure, the angle, the tone, what to include and what to avoid. 3. Research your outline first. Use Surfer or similar tools to see what competitors cover. Steal the good angles, skip the irrelevant stuff, add your unique perspective. Don't just hand AI a topic and hope for the best. 4. Define your voice clearly. Take an article you love, paste it into ChatGPT, and ask it to analyze the tone of voice. Copy those bullet points into your AI tool as a custom voice. Now every piece sounds consistent instead of generic. 5. Edit ruthlessly. AI's first draft should never be the final version. Run a line edit to replace vague terms with specifics, convert passive voice to active, strip out cliches like "in today's fast-paced world," and tighten bloated sentences. Better yet, let AI handle the first pass of editing, then have a human polish it. According to Surfer, nearly 74% of new web pages already include AI-generated content. The shift happened. Everyone's using it now, including your competitors. The difference between content that gets ignored and content people actually remember? Original input, clear direction, and human refinement. Use AI to scale your expertise, not replace it.

There's a clear difference between writers who occasionally use AI and writers who've built AI into their knowledge operations. The occasional users treat each AI session as a standalone interaction. They re-explain context, start from scratch, hope for the best. The systematic users have evolved beyond this. They've built workflows where their past writing amplifies every future AI collaboration. Here's the framework that's working: ‣ Create (with AI): Use AI for rapid ideation and initial drafts. ‣ Capture insights as they emerge, but don't just let them disappear into chat history. ‣ Structure (with AI): Transform stream-of-consciousness outputs into organized microcontent blocks. One focused idea per piece, clearly labeled and stored. ‣ Systematize (for AI): Build a searchable library of these blocks. Tag them by topic, format, audience—whatever system matches your workflow. ‣ Scale (through AI): Reference specific pieces in new prompts. "Combine my framework on content hierarchy with my insight about user empathy, adapted for a technical audience." The payoff is immediate: your past thinking becomes an amplifier for all future AI collaboration. Instead of starting every session from zero, you're building on your best ideas. Instead of re-explaining context every time, you're referencing proven insights. Instead of hoping AI guesses what you mean, you're providing precise, reusable microcontent. Your ideas don't need to die in digital chaos. The solution isn't better prompts—it's better knowledge operations.

At this point, we can all spot AI copy a mile away. It starts with grand declarations (“In today’s digital landscape”) and ends with clunky signposts like “In conclusion.” Readers tune out the second they see those tells. If you want your writing to sound like it came from a human mind (like yours), you need to know the AI junk to avoid and what to use instead. 1. Skip the “big sweeping” intros. AI loves to start with grand statements like “In today’s digital landscape” or “Since the dawn of the internet.” But people don’t talk like that. Instead, drop readers right into the problem or question they care about. (That's good practice in general! Get to the good stuff immediately.) 2. Avoid fake urgency and clichés. Phrases like “Technology is advancing at a rapid pace” or “In this age of digital transformation” are meaningless filler. If the pace of evolution really matters, demonstrate it with data or a concrete example. 3. Skip the warm-up. Phrases like “This article will explore…” or “Here are some tips” just delay the real value. Junior writers (and AI) often fall into this "narration trap." Cut the intro. Start with the point. A clear first sentence is stronger (and more respectful of your reader’s time). 4. Stop saying “Let’s dive in." People rarely say that outside of AI copy. If you need a transition, be specific: “Now let's set this up in AWS.” 5. Watch out for formulaic comparisons. Phrases like “AI is not just a tool, it’s a revolution” or “X is not just Y, it’s Z” scream template. Reframe in plain language: “AI helps with grunt work, but you can also use it to help shape your strategy.” 6. Don’t list your entire audience. AI defaults to “Whether you’re a junior developer or a CTO…” Skip the roll call. Write to one clear audience, their challenges and experiences, and trust they’ll recognize themselves. 7. Quit being Captain Obvious. “It’s no secret that cybersecurity is important.” No kidding! No one thinks that's a secret. Instead, get specific: “Most breaches still start with stolen passwords.” 8. Anchor big ideas in real-world detail. Instead of saying “Cloud computing has fascinated businesses for decades,” show the shift: “Netflix used to mail DVDs. Now it runs on AWS.” The choice is simple: write bilge, or write helpful content that gets read. "Let's dive in!" 😁

Many leaders on LinkedIn sound the same. AI made it worse. If you're just blending in, you're probably losing trust. I know because I made this mistake. 8 months ago, I started using ChatGPT for LinkedIn posts. The output was fast. It was also lifeless. No engagement. I rebuilt my entire approach. I stopped treating AI like a content vending machine and started treating it like a junior writer who needed to learn my voice. Here are 8 ways to leverage AI for LinkedIn content while keeping your voice intact: 1/ Build a Voice Document Before You Write a Single Prompt Most people open ChatGPT and start typing. That's backwards. Before you ask AI to write anything, create a document that captures how you actually communicate: → 10-15 of your best-performing posts (copy the full text) → Your sentence rhythm (short and punchy? Long and flowing?) → How you start posts (questions? Bold statements? Stories?) → How you end posts (CTA style, sign-off patterns) This becomes your "brand bible." 2/ Create Custom AI Tools Trained on Your Voice Generic ChatGPT produces generic content. Custom GPTs, Claude Projects, and Gemini Gems let you bake your voice into the tool itself. Pre-load each one with your voice doc, 20 example posts, and strict instructions on tone (at a minimum). The setup takes 30 minutes. The payoff is permanent. 3/ Feed It Your Actual Writing Don't describe your voice. Demonstrate it. → Upload real emails you've sent → Paste transcripts from talks you've given → Include Slack messages that capture your casual tone AI learns from examples, not instructions. Give it the raw material. 4/ Use the 80/20 Rule: AI Drafts, You Finish AI writes the first 80%. You do the last 20%. Never publish AI output without a human pass. Not because AI is bad but because AI is generic until you make it specific. 5/ Create a "Do Not Use" List Every AI model has favorite words. They're usually the same words everyone else's AI is using. Build a banned list and enforce it. Add this list to your custom GPT instructions. Tell the AI: "Never use these words. If you're tempted to use them, find a more specific alternative." 6/ Read It Out Loud Before You Post Read your AI-assisted post out loud. If it doesn't sound like something you'd say in a conversation, rewrite it. Your voice probably has something AI doesn't: → Incomplete sentences → Casual transitions The out-loud test catches what your eyes miss. 7/ Anchor Every Post in a Specific Experience Generic AI content happens when you give generic prompts. "Write a post about leadership" produces garbage. "Write a post about the time I canceled three 1:1s in a row and lost my best employee" produces something real. The more specific your input, the more specific your output. People don't follow generic advice. They follow specific voices. Train your AI. Protect your voice. Stand out. Get a high-res pdf of the infographic: https://lnkd.in/gCEkWjjg Save this for future reference.

Stop asking AI to write your LinkedIn posts. People wonder why AI posts are easy to identify and hard to connect with. That's because whatever it does for you, it's doing for 20 million people. Before you ask AI to write a post for you, do this first 👇 1. Extract your voice → Send your last 10 posts to AI → Ask: "Extract my tone, sentence patterns, and recurring themes." → Now you have a voice profile for every draft 2. Turn your experiences into content ideas → Paste your stories into AI → Ask: "Generate 10 post ideas from these experiences." → You get endless content from what you've already lived 3. Generate hooks, not full posts → Ask for 10 scroll-stopping hooks on one topic → Keep them specific, curiosity-driven, and under 10 words → Your hook earns you the right to be read 4. Add your proof points → Tell AI: "I want to write about X." → Ask for 3 ways to back it up: a stat, a story, or a contrarian view → Proof turns content into credibility 5. Humanize the output → Remove robotic phrasing → Cut "you're not failing, you're learning" clichés → Delete rhetorical questions from brochures → Teach it how YOU talk 6. Create a reusable system → Tell AI: "Document this workflow as a custom prompt." → Reuse it for every post AI doesn't take away creativity. It magnifies it if you learn to lead. The real magic isn't in what AI writes for you. It's in how well it understands you. What’s one way you’ve made AI sound more like you lately?

My last couple of posts have been heavy on this theme: The website isn’t the marketing hub anymore. AI is rewriting the rules. Now, I've gotten some pushback, and I get it. This idea is still cutting-edge in many industries and will be for a while—think the local remodeling contractor, who will remain dependent on Google map packs for some time, but . . . Shout out to John Andrews and Sam Harding for this idea to help make this point. Remember the Browser Wars of the ’90s? That battle wasn’t about browsers; it was about who controls distribution. The winner decided how users experienced the web. Sound familiar? We’re back in a similar fight. But this time, it’s not about browsers or websites. It’s about AI. And the harsh truth? Your website is no longer the center of your marketing universe. It’s just another client in an AI-driven ecosystem. If you're still building everything around your website, you’re missing where the customer journey actually starts today. AI is the new gatekeeper. Large language models are the new homepage. What to do: ~ Structure your content for clarity: headers, bullets, short paragraphs. ~ Feed your own materials into tools like ChatGPT custom GPTs. ~ Submit links to AI-friendly aggregators like Perplexity or Bing. Prompt-ready content is the new SEO. Search engines indexed keywords. AI indexes answers. You’re not writing for spiders anymore, you’re writing for synthetic assistants. What to do: ~ Write in question/answer format. ~ Use schema markup and structured data to help AI extract the right info. ~ Test your content through ChatGPT—does it summarize your message well? AI-native collateral is the new lead magnet. PDFs and landing pages are fine, but imagine giving your audience a branded GPT or app that solves their exact problem. What to do: ~ Create AI-guided chat tools (ManyChat, Intercom, GPT bots). ~ Turn key insights into prompt libraries for your audience. ~ Train a micro-assistant that delivers value in your voice and framework. The ecosystem is greater than the standalone domain. Your website is part of the story, not the whole book. You need to meet your audience inside other platforms, other feeds, other tools. What to do: ~ Cross-publish with intent: blogs become emails, videos, Shorts, GPT inputs. ~ Format content for syndication: highlights, quote blocks, stat cards. ~ Embed value inside tools—calculators, diagnostics, AI-guided quizzes. ~ Ask better questions: Can this be summarized by AI in under 60 words? Would AI recommend this if asked? Are we surfacing this in multiple ecosystems? Is this referenceable—not just linkable? We’re not in a web-first world anymore. We’re in an AI-first marketing environment. The tools have changed, but the principle hasn’t: Be where your customers are, and make it ridiculously easy for them to know, like, and trust you. Don’t just optimize your website. Optimize your ecosystem.

AI Overviews are changing how content gets discovered. Here’s how to help AI find and surface your content. We still write for humans first. That hasn’t changed, nor will it. But now there’s a new layer to consider, which is making sure your human-centered content can actually be found by AI. Think of it like this: you can be the most eloquent storyteller in the room, but if you're speaking a language the translator doesn't understand, your message never reaches the audience. The shift is subtle but significant. When you say, "Our shoes are comfortable for hiking long distances," you're connecting with human experience. When you say, "Pressure mapping shows 27% less forefoot compression than competitors," you're giving AI something concrete to work with. The best content does both. How to Make Your Content Do Both: 1) Specificity beats superlatives "Industry-leading performance" tells AI nothing. "Recognized as the most energy-efficient cloud provider by independent testing (2025)" gives it something to reference and cite. 2) Structure for scanning Both humans and AI value clear organization. Use headings that summarize what's coming. Break complex ideas into digestible pieces. Answer implied questions directly within your content. 3) Context through comparison Instead of "lightweight and fast," try "At 250MB, our app is 30% smaller than the industry average, reducing load times by 40%." AI looks for relationships and comparisons, not vague descriptors. 4) Define your terms When introducing a new concept, explain it in a way AI can recognize. Instead of "adaptive learning technology," say "AI-driven personalization that adjusts difficulty based on user performance." This improves clarity for both audiences. The goal isn't ever to write for robots instead of humans. It’s about making sure your human-first content is organized in a way AI can actually work with. We need to become bilingual, i.e., fluent in both human storytelling and machine logic. This evolution asks us to be more precise, more accountable, and more clear about our value propositions. Which, when you think about it, makes our content better for everyone. #AI #ContentStrategy #SEO #hicm

The biggest AI writing mistake you make: Asking it to type instead of asking it to think. Most people prompt AI with "Write a LinkedIn post about productivity" or "Create an email sequence." They're treating AI like a faster typist. This produces generic content because AI has no context about your audience, doesn't understand your strategic goals, and can't identify the real problem you're solving. Instead, ask AI to think first: "What are the top 3 reasons freelancers fail to reach $100K? What psychological barriers hold them back?" AI analyzes the problem before generating content. AI's best use isn't replacing your writing. It's sharpening your thinking.

AI has made it easier than ever to “look good on paper.” Need a resume tailored to a specific role? An AI tool can do that in 30 seconds. Need a perfect LinkedIn summary? You can generate ten in the time it takes to make coffee. The problem is… so can everyone else. That means we’re entering an era where looking “AI-polished” will be the default – and standing out will come down to sounding genuinely human. Here’s how to get it right: Use AI for structure, grammar, and keyword alignment – but rewrite the parts where your personality, voice, and career story shine through. Add specific anecdotes, lessons learned, or moments of resilience that AI could never guess about you. When sending outreach messages, avoid the “perfectly professional” generic tone – let your personality bleed into your writing. I’ve spoken with recruiters who say they can spot an untouched AI resume instantly. It’s not that it’s bad – it’s just soulless. The sentences are too smooth, the accomplishments too evenly spaced, the voice too neutral. Efficiency is great – but connection is what gets people hired. AI can open the door, but authenticity is what gets you invited in.

AI won’t make you a better creator. But it will make a great one unstoppable. Most people use AI the wrong way: They want it to write for them. To do the thinking. To replace their voice. But the real power? It’s in using AI to elevate your thinking — not replace it. Here’s how the pros use it: ✅ Start with your raw draft ↳ Your words, your insight, your experience ✅ Then ask AI to refine, not reinvent ↳ Clarify ideas ↳ Sharpen the structure ↳ Add punch where it matters ✅ Keep full control ↳ Don’t let it guess your voice — train it with your truth The most powerful AI content starts human. And ends polished. It’s not about outsourcing your message. It’s about upgrading your delivery. So stop asking AI to “write something for you.” Start showing up with something worth enhancing. That’s how you create content that connects. With speed — and soul.