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AI-assisted drafting that still sounds like you

AI can get you from blank page to rough draft in minutes. The trouble is that the draft usually sounds like everyone else's. Here is a simple workflow we use so the AI does the heavy lifting and the final piece still sounds like you.

1. Build a small "voice file"

Pick three to five pieces you've written that you're proud of: emails, posts, client proposals. Paste them into one document. Below them, write a few plain notes about how you write: "short sentences", "I use 'you' a lot", "no corporate words like leverage or synergy", "I explain with local examples". This file is your reference every time you draft.

2. Give the AI your thinking, not just a topic

"Write a post about pricing for freelancers" gets you generic content. Instead, dump your raw notes first: the opinion you hold, a story from your work, the one mistake you see people make. Messy bullet points are fine. The AI's job is to organise your ideas, not invent them.

Here are samples of my writing and notes on my style: [paste voice file]
Here are my rough notes for a new post: [paste bullets]
Write a first draft of about 400 words using only my ideas. Match my style.
Don't add statistics, quotes or claims I didn't give you. Mark any gap with [ADD].

3. Ask for structure before prose

If the topic is bigger, ask for an outline first. Fix the order and cut weak points before any full sentences exist. It's far easier to edit five bullet points than five paragraphs.

4. Edit in three passes

• Truth pass: delete anything you don't believe or can't back up. AI loves confident-sounding filler.
• Voice pass: read it out loud. Wherever you stumble or think "I'd never say that", rewrite it in your own words.
• Cut pass: remove the intro paragraph that says nothing, the "In today's fast-paced world" lines, and the summary that repeats the post.

5. Watch for the usual AI tells

Common giveaways: lists of exactly three adjectives, "delve", "unlock", "game-changer", every paragraph the same length, and a neat moral at the end. Vary sentence length. Add one specific detail only you would know, such as a client situation (anonymised), a number from your own work, or a mistake you made.

6. Feed your edits back

After you finish, paste the final version back into your voice file. Over a few weeks the file gets better, and the drafts need less fixing.

A realistic time budget

For a 500-word post: 10 minutes of notes, 2 minutes generating, 15–20 minutes editing. That's still faster than writing from scratch for most people, and the result is recognisably yours.

The rule that matters most

Never publish something you haven't read fully, out loud, at least once. AI drafting is a speed tool, not a replacement for your judgement. Your readers follow you for your perspective, so keep the perspective human and let the machine handle the typing.