As AI-generated copy becomes the new norm, the art of editing has never been more crucial. Generative AI tools can draft a thousand words in a minute, but the human touch is what turns this raw material into clear, impactful messages. Whether you’re refining an AI-generated report or polishing a key presentation, your editing skills ensure that the final output is coherent and compelling.
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Generative AI quickly transforms productivity and efficiency across industries, revolutionising productivity in ways we’re only beginning to explore. A whopping 52% of business leaders use AI content-generation tools, which opens up a whole world of possibilities if you know how to use it.
But as with every technological leap, there are risks we must keep in mind. Without human oversight, overuse or misuse can leave us blindly following artificial intelligence. 5.5% of Stanford University students admitted to submitting assignments generated by ChatGPT without any personal input.
In this video, Ryan Millar will show you why editing is your key to clear, credible, and captivating communication and how, no matter what you're writing, with proper editing, you can make sure your message hits home every single time.
AI-generated copy often lacks creativity and originality, as it depends on pre-existing data and patterns. This leads to predictable and often uninspiring outputs. It also faces difficulties with context, missing subtle cultural and social cues essential for engaging material. It may unintentionally perpetuate biases embedded in its training data, raising ethical concerns.
Moreover, search engines don't like AI-generated content. For example, in February 2023, Google released an updated set of guidelines that emphasise "helpful content written by people, for people.”
Consider AI content as a block of marble: The tool provides the raw material, but the human touch turns it into a piece of art.
Step 0: Fact-checking
Since AI writing tools don't understand the text they produce, they can't fact-check it either. This could lead to plagiarism and hallucinations, leaving you with potentially inaccurate, inappropriate, or irrelevant content.
It's easy to skim over general claims or statements if you're biased towards them. Be sure they're supported by credible sources and consistent with other information.
Pay extra attention to:
Tip! you can use Google Fact Check Tools to help you with this.
Before diving into edits, defining your copy's purpose and clarifying the core message is crucial.
Ask yourself:
Take the time to review the information to understand its context and the purpose for which it was generated. Every part of your content should reinforce this core message.
The text's voice should match the writer, the message, and the audience. It's all about striking the right emotional chord.
Here's a cautionary tale to show you what can happen if you don't consider tone and context in your communication:
In 2017, Adidas emailed everyone who ran the Boston Marathon with the headline “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!” Now, you may remember that in 2013, just four years earlier, multiple bombs exploded at the finish line, killing three people and injuring 180.
Adidas apologised hours later, but the tone and content were completely different now. It was an embarrassing and public response to something targeted and strategic.
It's no secret that AI-generated copywriting often comes across as monotonous or choppy. It tends to overuse simple words such as ‘it’ and ‘the’ and prefers short sentences that don’t always flow.
Content produced by a machine is not guaranteed to be error-free. CNET found errors in 41 of the 77 AI-written stories it published - that’s more than half.
Some of the most common errors to watch are:
After you've made your edits, read the text out loud. This helps to catch any lingering issues and to ensure the edited content flows naturally.
The editing world wasn't left behind by the wave of newly available AI-based tools.
These tools can suggest edits, correct grammar, and improve clarity when used appropriately.
Play around with them to see what works for you, but don’t forget, “Keep an open mind - but not so open that your brains fall out.”
AI-Assisted editing tools
Grammarly: An AI-powered writing assistant that helps with grammar checks, style, tone, and clarity.
Hemingway: A writing tool that suggests ways to simplify and clarify your sentences so they’re easier to understand
Jasper: While primarily a content creation tool, Jasper also offers features to rephrase and refine existing content.
WordTune: A great AI tool that re-words and restructures sentences for better flow or tone of voice.
Here are some tips for getting the best results from ChatGPT:
Be specific: Tell ChatGPT exactly what you need help with, including the exact sentences or paragraphs.
Ask for alternatives: Instead of just asking for corrections, ask ChatGPT for alternative suggestions. This can help you explore different writing styles and improve your writing.
Test out different prompts: Don't be afraid to try different prompts to tackle different aspects of your writing. You'll get a better critique that way.
Refine the AI’s responses: Take ChatGPT's feedback as a starting point and refine it based on your writing style and preferences.
And most importantly,
Make sure you evaluate suggestions critically: While ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, it’s essential to manually proofread your writing as well. As we said, relying solely on AI may overlook certain nuances or context-specific requirements.
Find the full checklist, the content editing exercise and 30 great prompts for content editing with ChatGPT in the editor’s toolkit we created
Use the provided editor's toolkit to edit a piece of AI-generated content, improving its clarity, coherence, and engagement.
Read through the AI-generated content thoroughly without making any changes. This will give you an overall impression and understanding of the text.
Refer to the editing checklist as you review the content.
Make edits directly to the text, using tracking changes, to ensure all checklist items are addressed.
Use AI tools and ChatGPT prompts to assist with your editing.
Once you’ve made all the necessary changes, compare your edited version with the original to see how the content has improved.
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ChatGPT Creative Writing Coach: Do you have a ChatGPT Plus subscription? As part of the most recent update, OpenAI introduced the "Creative Writing Coach", a specialised version of the ChatGPT model tailored to assist users with their creative writing. It provides practical and motivating feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism to help users refine prose, poetry, or any other form of creative writing.