UNDERSTANDING AI by Lisa Larson-Kelley 'Chat, now make it sound like me' How to take back the creative reins while still using AI tools like ChatGPT “Make it sound like me” has become one of the mostused prompts in AI-assisted writing. That tells you everything about AI content right now: we’ve handed over the writing, got something polished back, and then realized something was missing. That “something” is YOU. AI has made content creation faster. We can crank out a month of social posts in 20 seconds. It has also made it blander. Spend ten minutes on LinkedIn and you’ll see the same cadence, structure, and words—delve, elevate, landscape—dressed in slightly different clothes. Everything is grammatically correct and devoid of character. When I spot AI-generated writing, it turns me away from the person posting it. There’s nothing there that only they could have said—and that’s what audiences are reading for. Audiences crave lived experience, real opinions, and the weird little ways humans tell stories. AI, as helpful as it is, is sucking the soul out of the art of writing. Here are five ways to take back the creative reins while still making the most of AI tools. 1Own the idea first AI is trained on existing content. This means if you ask broad, generic questions, you’ll be getting broad, generic answers in return—polished repetitions of ideas that already exist online. Too many people start their creative process by asking ChatGPT to “write a post about marketing trends.” There is now endless AI slop on that very topic. Before you get started, know: ■ What you actually believe ■ What patterns you’ve noticed ■ What take you rarely hear people discuss ■ What you would say about this in a real conversation Then bring in AI to sharpen it, not lead it. 2 Use real experiences that AI can’t fake While AI can summarize the internet, it cannot have experiences. If you want AI-assisted writing to feel personal, you need to tell your own stories. If you’re not feeding AI examples of your own work experiences, conversations you’ve overheard, lessons from failures, or personal anecdotes— AI will reach for the generic version every time. 3 Give AI context before asking it to sound like you Many people use AI like a vending machine: prompt in, content out. But if you want it to resemble your voice, you have to share plenty of context. The difference between “Write me a LinkedIn post” and “Write this like a skeptical, conversational e-commerce CEO who hates corporate jargon” is massive. Develop a document covering who you are: your expertise, audience, opinions, brand personality, examples of your writing, and tones you avoid. I fed Claude an entire 300-page book I wrote and had it analyze my writing patterns. Then I asked it to build a style guide trained on my tone, pacing, sentence structure, humor, and common phrases. From there, I gave it a list of things I’d never say. I adjust the rhythm and add edge where needed. It’s about 70 percent there, but has become less “generic AI pretending to be me” and more “assistant trained on my brain.” 4 Use AI like an editor, not a ghostwriter I don’t use AI to write from scratch. I use it to pressure-test what I’ve already written. Instead of prompting it to write me an article, I share my draft and ask what could be tighter or less repetitive. You should always be the writer. Keep AI as your editor or brainstorm partner. Ask: ■What would make this opening stronger for (this audience)? ■ Where do I wander from the main point? ■ Which parts don’t fit Quantious’ (my agency’s) brand tone? ■ Does any part of my argument feel weak? An added bonus: this collaborative step makes me an even better writer. 5 Curate aggressively Anyone can generate content now. The skill is knowing what shouldn’t make the final cut. I recently noticed two separate brands using “From Chaos to Clarity” as a workshop title. Neither team knew the other had done it. That’s what happens when everyone reaches for the same tool and skips the curation step. The tool picks out the most statistically likely phrase. Your job is to be the person who catches that and cuts it. ChatGPT has convinced many that they can be a professional writer with little effort. But AI isn’t developing great writing; it’s exposing how much content was generic to begin with. When everyone has access to the same set of tools, creativity becomes about perspective and taste. It’s about saying something that only you could say. So, while we use AI to sharpen our thinking and move faster, don’t hand over the part that makes the work worth reading. LISA LARSON-KELLEY leads her company, Quantious, and is a member of the Enterprising Women Advisory Board. Connect and learn more at www.quantious.com. 52 enterprising Women VectorManZone / Shutterstock.com
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