AI: The Writer’s Perfect Sparring Partner
Source: ChatGPT
It’s a hard time to be a professional copywriter. With AI posing an existential challenge to the business, writers are being forced into two camps: the shameless “slop-lords” who simply churn out AI-generated content for the lowest bidder and the consummate craftsmen who are zeroing in on specific niches, especially in the B2B world, and continuing to get work from those clients who still care that there’s a human being behind the writing.
This latter category, while infinitely more edifying and, if you can make it work, much more lucrative, is now fiercely competitive. I’ve heard from writers who have all but abandoned the profession out of frustration. Others are still in it but have been forced to lower their rates. And everyone in the profession has been forced to work extra hard to get the few gigs out there.
It’s enough to make anyone mad at AI. I know I am.
This begs the following question: how can I channel my anger towards AI in a beneficial direction? It occurred to me recently that the way I use AI these days is akin to how a boxer uses a sparring partner. I don’t simply give ChatGPT a prompt and then edit the results. I prompt it on something and then I get positively combative with the results. I resist. I parry. And then on occasion I admit that the robot has a good idea and I take it on board. But the human doesn’t give up without a fight.
Here’s how I use AI in my writing practice—and why I’ll never fully outsource the work.
1. AI Helps Me Get Over Myself (and the Blank Page)
I can spend 30 minutes trying to write a clever first line, which often leads to doom-scrolling or alphabetizing my spice rack. Sometimes I just need something—anything—to get the wheels turning.
That’s where AI comes in. I’ll type in a prompt like “Please write a rough intro about why perfect writing is offputting,” and let it spit out something. What I get back is usually too cheerful and vague and the AI’s attempt at personalizing it usually falls completely flat. But it’s something. And that’s enough to get me to push back, rewrite, argue with it in my head, and just like that I’m writing again.
It should be said, though, that I rarely like how ChatGPT makes me sound, especially when it comes to introductory sentences. I invariably punch back at these suggestions, but the suggestion alone is generally enough to get me going.
2. It’s a Mirror (That Doesn’t Sugarcoat)
When I’m too close to a draft, I’ll throw it into ChatGPT and ask, “What’s working here?” or “Where is this unclear?” It’s not perfect feedback, but it’s fast, brutally honest, and unafraid to say things like “This paragraph feels redundant” or “The tone shifts halfway through.” Chat gives me straightforward feedback that doesn’t tiptoe around my writer ego, even going so far as to deflate turns of phrase that I really like.
I don’t always do what Chat tells me to do. Sometimes I fight back and win. But often enough I admit that the robot has the right answer and I go with the suggestion. Sometimes your sparring partner lands a solid punch and you have to acknowledge that fact.
3. It’s Fast. I’m Picky. That’s a Good Combo.
Sometimes I’ll write two versions of a sentence and can’t decide which one to keep. AI can offer a third—or blend them into a fourth. I rarely use the suggestion as-is, but it helps me triangulate toward something stronger.
This back-and-forth process actually makes my writing better. Not because the AI knows more than me, but because I’m forced to articulate why I like one version better than another. And when you can explain your taste, you can replicate it.
4. It Doesn’t Care About My Insecurities
AI is wonderfully neutral. It doesn’t get tired of my dithering. It doesn’t mind if I change my mind 15 times or ask it to rewrite the same sentence in the style of an NPR segment crossed with a late-night snack commercial. It just keeps showing up. And sometimes that’s all you need to get out of your own head and back into the work.
5. It Doesn’t Take Anything Personally
While I generally try to be polite with my AI tools (who the hell knows when these things will become sentient entities), I don’t have the patience of a saint and I’m prone to getting frustrated with them and taking that frustration out on them verbally. Like Muhammad Ali or Connor McGregor, I’m not above trash-talking my opponent, and I’ve been in an adversarial mood with AI of late for all the reasons I explained earlier in this piece.
So far, ChatGPT has never taken my F-bombs personally and continues to show up with earnestness and focus, attempting to do better than whatever attempt earned it my opprobrium. In that sense, AI is already better than us humans. We take stuff personally. It doesn’t.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Let the Robot Win
I’m not handing over the keyboard without a fight. I’m not asking a machine to write like me, think like me, or pretend to be me. But I am letting it challenge me. If I have to coexist with AI as a competitor for the precious few jobs out there in this economic client, I’m at least going to take full advantage of its strengths and let it help me become better at what I do.
Because writing isn’t about perfection—it’s about connection. And if a robot can help me get to the real stuff faster, I’ll gladly let it throw a few punches at me. I can handle it—and it makes me stronger. Full disclosure: AI did help me out with this piece. Every single word of it is my own, but it was panel-beaten into its current form through some aggressive back-and-forth with the machine. For this I am grateful. I really am. AI has indeed made me a better word boxer and I have the bruises to prove it.
But I’m still not letting it touch my bio. It still insists I’m a “dynamic thought leader with a passion for synergies.” In a way it’s a relief when I see ChatGPT spit out drivel like this. This tells me that this technology still has a long way to go before it can truly replace the likes of me.
Looking for human-centric content strategy or good old-fashioned human-generated content? Contact me. I’ve got my gloves ready.
