About a year ago, I started using AI for work. I would admit that it wasn’t such a pleasant experience at first. I stared at that Ask anything box with a blank face and a blank mind too. I didn’t know how to start. The possibilities were endless. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s just a meme machine, a teacher’s enemy (much more sinister than plagiarism), so what can it do for me?

But lo and behold, many of my freelance writing jobs needed it. In fact, it went from being an option to a requirement. It churned out copy in a matter of seconds. Even I was amazed. I breezed through several types of projects in an hour–copy, taglines, headers, even an entire website page. As I accomplished these projects like I’m an octopus of a writer, I noticed something chipping away as if it’s my own version of wear. I’m finding it more challenging to write copy on my own, without AI.

And so I told myself, holy schmidt. This has got to stop. So I am making this post about AI without using AI.

AI is here to stay. It’s now a matter of pushing previous boundaries, leveling up, upskilling, or any other word that is synonymous with upgrade to still make space for yourself as a legitimate writer alongside AI. I can no longer be the same writer I was in the last two decades. Old me is no longer that special. BUT there is a golden opportunity in here somewhere. There is a pot of gold, a buried treasure, a grand surprise to be discovered like Yamashita’s chest, only in this case, the treasure is real.

So, how does one make friends with the enemy AI tool? Well…

Tip #1: Learn how to make prompts.

I remember in one of my projects, I was given a prompt template to use. I read it and thought it was a bunch of bull. It was so detailed, so specific, filled with parameters that were so robotic I couldn’t imagine it producing the kind of article I’ll be satisfied to publish. I thought it was unnecessarily complicated, so I created my own prompts and eventually learned why that decision sucked. Experience teaching me things like the teacher it is.

I learned that the quality of your prompts has a big effect on your output. If you treat AI like a traditional search engine, it will overcompensate and think on its own. The results could be appalling. It gave me hardsell copy that I wouldn’t dare use even on a draft page. I hated the output. I’d rather use lorem ipsum. It’s so cringey it’s gross, and I wish I was exaggerating but I wasn’t. It could also use the wrong data, which could be dangerously overlooked if you simply copy-paste and fail to read it entirely. Prompts are the lifeblood of an AI job. Which brings me to…

Tip #2: The AI is an assistant; you are its master.

This isn’t exactly a tip but rather a good reminder when using AI. Its work is to assist. Much of the thinking would still rest in your hands. Literally and figuratively.

I find that approaching AI already knowing what I want to write helps me chart the course of its work. I have come to appreciate its research capabilities the most, I now use ChatGPT more often than Google. I’m impressed with its ability to come up with answers that are sometimes tied to my previous searches. For example, when I was searching for the best hosting site to use for this blog it gave me not just results but insights as to the best possible choices for me. It considered the content creation questions I have asked before. I saw this from both Claude and ChatGPT. I welcome its unsolicited insights.

I like that it has this kind of autonomy, this initiative. It reminds me that I am in charge of an assistant that can take care of the logistics for me, so I can focus on making my instructions clear and producing tasks based on foresight. In a sense, it teaches me to lead and to manage it well.

Tip #3: Spot the AI patterns and use them to your advantage.

One underrated thing about using AI is that it teaches you exactly how it works. It wouldn’t give you a crash course on machine learning, but it will show you how it uses algorithm. In fact, AI output is tangible, observable algorithm. While using ChatGPT as a copy assistant, I learned how to spot predictable AI copy versus human copy. The grammar used by AI may be correct, but its creativity is boring. It is cookie-cutter, which was good because it gave me foundational ideas on taglines and clever openings. When I had themes that I wasn’t sure how to start, I had AI draft a copy for me to give me rough ideas. Case in point: a restaurant menu in need of clever food names and descriptions. It might have taken me two weeks to complete it, but thanks to AI, it was delivered in 3 days and I was able to actively collaborate with the client while drafting it. That was one of my favorite projects done with AI as a tool.

AI is predictable. It will give you what you asked for, but the level to which it will satisfy you is still entirely up to you. Remember, tip #2.

Tip #4: Take up free courses about machine learning or AI.

Sure if you want a certificate, go ahead and purchase a paid class. Whatever floats your boat. But honestly, at the pace AI is developing and growing I think foundational knowledge combined with actual experience is the best way to learn for now. There are plenty of free courses you can take online, and I particularly like the ones from Coursera since some of them are created in partnership with Google and IBM. Some AI courses also include data analysis and beginner’s Python, which are good additional foundations for getting into machine learning.

However, I would agree that AI seems to be rather questionable for other creative endeavors like graphic design and music. I guess with writing, it can be unquestionably useful because professional writing is broad. I could understand the pushback from a creative standpoint, such as copywriting or authoring books, but in technical writing, AI is an assistant worth maximizing. I am using it to help me produce OEM manuals that are hundreds of pages long. I use it to do sanity checks to keep my own sanity. A technical tool for technical work, I guess that’s why it makes sense for me.

As I come towards the end of this post, I feel rather happy to know that I still have it in me, without AI. The purist in me is still there and can be coaxed out of relaxing when wanted. AI convenience is addictive, but that’s exactly why it’s worth learning and making friends with. If you know how something works, you will know how you can make it work for you.

P.S.: As a technical writer surviving in the age of AI, I feel like this would be the best first post I can make as I rebirth this blog. So that answers your question of why I wrote this. Just in case you ask. Even if you don’t, well, I guess AI taught me to unsolicitedly answer.