As many of my network will know, I've been doing content for over 21 years now. So you would have thought it would have come of age.
But the honest confession I want to make to you today is that I've actually been a little bit embarrassed about some of the content I've done in the last 12 to 18 months, as AI has had its impact on the world.
Now, I know there's this tension, because as business owners and content creators as well, we want to be using these AI tools to help get better, faster and more productive. Yet at the same time, we don't want to lose our voice and what makes us authentic.
Why does your writing get washed out when you use AI?
And so the tension here is that in order to learn these new skills, there's trial and error. And you do have to go through that process yourself to get out the other side. But what that has meant for me personally is that at times my writing in my voice has kind of been a little bit washed out due to the AI vanilla.
So I've wanted to learn how to use these tools so that I can then share that with you and my clients. But oftentimes, like I'm sure many of you can relate to, sometimes you lose that voice and that authenticity of what really makes you you. So that's what I've grappled with. And if you have too, you're not alone.
I've been doing content for 21 years, and maybe people could tell, maybe they couldn't. I feel like people could tell sometimes. Particularly using ChatGPT.
I've still been showing up, but it hasn't been 10 out of 10, Adam. I feel it's probably been six or seven out of 10 if I'm being generous.
And the whole thing here is that you don't want to be inauthentic. You're not abdicating to the AI tools. You're trying to use them to make you better, and that is absolutely achievable. But the other thing is, you don't want to give up hope because it doesn't quite get it right. You need to adapt and change, because I do 100% believe that AI is a bandwagon you need to get on. Just doing it properly, so you don't end up with that personal guilt or embarrassment like me, and equally so you don't sort of abandon it.
Is AI actually a bad writer?
So what I have discovered is that AI isn't actually a bad writer. It just doesn't know you yet.
So as much as I've advocated to clients and YouTube subscribers and people who follow my work, I've advocated to train the AI, and it is getting a lot better. Claude is light years ahead of ChatGPT in terms of how much it can remember about you and apply that.
So I never want to see people abdicating to AI entirely and saying "hey, write me this article". It should still come from your input as the starting point. It might give you topics, but I still believe you need to have your own personal input, and then AI can help massage that. If your outputs feel like they could have come from anyone, that's the same problem I unpacked in why AI gives you generic answers.
How do you actually teach AI your voice?
What makes AI better in terms of knowing more about you is to actually share with it some of your stories. Your actual human life stories and business stories.
Now, if you can spend 20 to 30 minutes and share that with your AI, and load that into your AI's knowledge, then it's going to be able to draw from real experiences from your life. I've written about giving AI that much context in the complex documents you'd normally never delegate.
What got my voice back?
Now, for me personally, being back on the speaking circuit with the Better Business Summit this month and last month has really reinvigorated me to be sharing my authentic content. I built a keynote from scratch about AI, and it's really energised me. I found my voice.
I'm sharing it every week on this speaking tour, and it's inspired me to take my own medicine and bring that same energy back to my content here on LinkedIn, and also on YouTube and my email newsletter.
So my commitment moving forward is to own it. I'm not going to be cautious. I'm not going to try and keep things in their separate lanes. I do all sorts of stuff with my speaking, my coaching, my volunteer work, and I'm happy to share all of that, because they're all just different parts of me showing up.
Let me know your thoughts on your experience with AI. Has it made you more authentic, or less authentic? Has it deterred you from doing content, or made it easier? I want to hear, because it has not necessarily been an easy road.
I feel as though I'm back. I'm excited to be back, and I hope that inspires you to do the same.
Want AI that actually sounds like you? That's a big part of my private program. Take a look at Leverage Yourself, or if you'd like this for your conference, here are the keynote topics and formats.
Frequently asked questions
Why does AI make your writing sound generic?
Because it doesn't know you yet. AI isn't actually a bad writer, but without your stories and your context it reaches for a vanilla version of your voice, and over time your own writing gets washed out by it.
How do you train AI to write in your voice?
Share your stories with it. Your actual human life stories and business stories. Spend 20 to 30 minutes on that and load it into your AI's knowledge, and it can then draw from real experiences from your life.
Should you let AI write the whole article?
No. It should still come from your input as the starting point. AI might give you topics, but you need your own personal input first, and then AI can help massage it. You're not abdicating to the AI tools, you're using them to make you better.
Is Claude better than ChatGPT for keeping your voice?
In my experience Claude is light years ahead of ChatGPT in terms of how much it can remember about you and apply that. It is getting a lot better.
What if AI has already made your content feel inauthentic?
You're not alone, and it's worth adapting rather than abandoning it. I've been doing content for 21 years and I've been a bit embarrassed by some of what I published in the last 12 to 18 months. Train it properly.
How do you get your writing voice back?
Getting back on the speaking circuit did it for me. I built an AI keynote from scratch and delivered it every week on the Better Business Summit tour, and it really energised me. That energy came straight back into the writing.
