In recent years, there has been much discussion on how artificial intelligence will impact the role of writers. While some nations and writers’ guilds push for increased AI regulations to safeguard the industry, proponents of AI espouse the belief that the technology offers a myriad of benefits to empower the writing process. We’ve shared some of these benefits in this guide.
AI: The Reliable Writer’s Assistant
One of the best ways to look at AI as a writer is its usefulness as a writer’s assistant. Many working writers understand that there is much more work involved in producing content than simply sitting down to write. Often, work involves hours of research, brainstorming, and planning before a single word is typed.
AI tools can conveniently streamline these early procedures, as well as late-stage procedures such as revisions and summaries. This ultimately is reflected in the final product, resulting in work that is more satisfying for readers. It’s no wonder so many companies have embraced AI to refine their customer-facing products.
One example is the best bingo app Buzz Bingo, which has recently partnered with an AI firm to create games and personalize content to produce more exciting bingo experiences for players. Similar to writers, the site’s developers have understood that to keep audiences entertained, content must be fresh, authentic, and appeal to their niche demographics.
We’ve presented this guide to cover each stage of the writing process to demonstrate just how effective it can be at every step of the way.
Ideation and Brainstorming
Whether a writer has a clear understanding of what their project is about or is completely at square one, AI can be an important tool to get a project started. In the case where there is no brief or idea, writers can prompt the AI assistant to formulate a string of ideas related to a topic and interact with it to refine the topic to a niche.
Alternatively, if an idea is already formed, writers can pose the topic to the tool and question whether it is relevant to a brief, unique, or if there are related subject areas that could be explored during the planning stages. This will then impact the research stages.
Long gone are the days when researchers had to spend hours, days, or even weeks compiling research on a topic. With clever prompts, AI tools can deliver up-to-date information on almost any subject. This information can then be refined to organize the research based on key data, whether it’s a timeline of specific dates or contrasting opinions on an issue.
Another important element for writers to consider is the audience. AI tools can reveal helpful insights about audience expectations, demographics, or similar works that can help inform the approach to the work. Ultimately, this will lead to work that is more engaging, valuable, and authentic.
Whether a writer is working on a professional document or a work of fiction, voice is an essential ingredient in a work’s success. For example, while an industry-specific white paper may require a succinct and authoritative voice, an article for a fashion site’s blog could benefit from a more casual and playful tone.
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AI tools can be used to formulate and refine the writer’s voice at all stages of the writing process. The technology could suggest common jargon for particular industries or sub-cultures, or warn if the content feels inauthentic to the targeted audience. This is especially important when writing for different regions too, with varying spellings, grammatical rules, and phrases between American and British English essential to consider.
Proofreading, Revisions, and Summaries
Editing is an essential part of the writing process. Through careful revisions, writers reshape the work to remove any extraneous sentences, fix spelling and grammatical errors, and refine the structure. This work can be long and grating, which is why AI revision is so exceptional. Within seconds, writers can receive detailed feedback on their work and suggestions on how to improve it.
Rather than have the AI make the edits, it’s wise to prompt it to highlight the errors. It can then offer detailed notes on what works, what doesn’t, and whether there are any confusing elements in the piece. It may also identify areas that could be expanded upon to better link arguments or themes.
Another useful tool is AI’s ability to summarize the work. For example, the writer may input the content and ask for a 200-word summary or extract. These are especially important in some academic works or professional papers, as well as fictional submissions that may require blurbs for marketing purposes.
If used effectively, AI provides countless opportunities to help streamline the writing process from ideation to revision. Instead of resisting the technology, writers can embrace its potential to create more authentic, engaging, and impactful works that appeal to their specific target audience.
