We’ve all read copy that “smells” like AI: smooth, generic, and instantly forgettable. If you’re using AI to help you write, here’s how to keep your personality intact and avoid the robotic sheen.
Define your voice up front
Collect 3–5 samples of your best writing and ask AI to extract patterns: sentence length, formality, humour, favourite phrases, and banned words. Save these as a short style card you can paste into any prompt. You’re not asking the AI to invent your voice — you’re asking it to mirror what already exists.
Prompt like an editor, not a ghostwriter
- Give intent (“convince cautious freelancers to try this tool”).
- Give constraints (“max 900 words, UK English, no clichés”).
- Give structure (“intro, three sections with subheads, CTA”).
- Give texture (“include one personal example and one statistic”).
Inject specifics only you would know
Name the client industry, the meeting objection, or the metric that changed. AI can draft around it, but the texture comes from you: the detail that proves you were there.
Cut the giveaways
- Overuse of hedging (“on the other hand…”, “it’s important to note…”).
- Vague verbs (deliver, leverage, drive) instead of concrete ones.
- Endless balance without a stake. Pick a side.
- Paragraphs that all look the same length.
Finish with a human pass
- Read aloud and mark where you’d naturally pause.
- Shorten every third sentence.
- Add a story beat or image that makes it unmistakably yours.
- Replace a neat conclusion with a next step.
AI can be a brilliant assistant, but your readers and your clients show up for a point of view. Keep yours.