The Content Jedi Blog

I’ve heard writers say with such self-congratulatory vim, “I don’t use AI,” as though this proves they’re more authentic. I’m not sure what response they’re expecting. Applause? A cookie? A commemorative fountain pen?

I’m a professional writer, and I use AI every day. It doesn’t diminish my work any more than spellcheck, Google, or a word processor does. Refusing to learn how to use one of the most important technologies to come along in decades isn’t preserving the craft.

It makes you a luddite.

Nobody Brags About Using an Abacus

Imagine an accountant telling you calculators compromise the authenticity of mathematics, so he uses an abacus instead.

You’d probably find another accountant.

Or picture someone whipping out a PalmPilot in 2026 because smartphones have made scheduling too impersonal. Maybe they print MapQuest directions before leaving the house and keep the Yellow Pages nearby in case they need a plumber.

Technology evolves, and professionals adopt tools that help them work better. Writers already embraced word processors, spellcheck, and online research.

Why should AI be the exception?

Using AI Isn’t Handing Over Your Brain

There’s an enormous difference between using AI to strengthen your work and outsourcing your thinking to it.

Typing “Write me a 700-word blog about marketing,” copying the response, and publishing it under your name is lazy. It also produces the kind of generic writing that makes people say, “See? AI writing sucks.”

That’s not how I use it.

I use AI to brainstorm angles, test titles, organize messy thoughts, research topics, identify repetition, poke holes in arguments, and help me see something from another direction.

Sometimes I reject everything it gives me because none of it sounds like me. That’s part of using the tool well.

The Writer Still Has to Write

AI doesn’t share my experiences, sense of humor, opinions, or point-of-view.

It wasn’t in the client meeting that sparked an idea, and it doesn’t know why a sentence makes me cringe.

That’s where writers earn their keep. We decide what’s worth saying, what belongs on the page, what sounds authentic, and what needs another pass.

Strong writers are especially well positioned to use AI because we know how to evaluate the output.

Use the Damn Tools

Refusing to use AI doesn’t make someone a more authentic writer any more than refusing GPS makes someone a better driver.

Learn the technology. Figure out where it helps and where your judgment needs to take over, and then use both to produce something original.

Tell me you don’t use AI, and I’ll wonder why.

Tell me you use it and your writing still sounds unmistakably like you…that’s impressive.

About the Author, David Telisman

I am a Writer and Content Creator, and I work with businesses to inspire their customers to buy from them. I believe that my clients deserve to feel proud of how their content marketing looks and what it says, and I deliver by providing expert copywriting and marketing solutions.

Subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel, and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.