4 Ways AI Can Supercharge Your Content
4 Ways AI Can Supercharge Your Content
Honestly, I’m loathe to outsource too much to AI when it comes to writing. Discovery happens in the struggle, new realizations come to light. Additionally, the act of writing – whether you’re in the flow or limping along – keeps your skills sharp and agile. However, where AI can be especially helpful is at the start and finish. Here are a few smart ways you can get an AI assist:
1. To Multiply Your Options
AI is a powerful brainstorming tool that can generate basically endless lists of ideas based on the prompt you give it.
Looking for a bunch of topic ideas for an article or blog post? Or want to refine a rough idea into something with a killer hook? AI can spit out a high volume of options in literally seconds. Some of them might be fairly obvious, but a few will be things you hadn’t considered yet.
Not totally happy with your headline? You can outsource your brain dump and have AI write a long list of variations on your theme. You might get something you can lift and use as is, or find a bit of inspiration that sparks a fresh take that’s completely new and you.
Need to go variable at scale? AI is your best friend here. I’ve had to do this the manual way, and it’s tedious and tiring. With AI, you can spend your energy creating a carefully curated and crafted core version. Then let AI take over writing 100 or 1000 or ad infinitum subject lines, preheaders and subtly different arrangements of headlines and body copy to resonate with your distinct audiences.
2. To Piece and Parse
When you need to amplify your content by publishing it in multiple channels and permutations, you can leverage AI to make the process quick and efficient.
Ready to repackage a longer piece for 5 different social media channels? Lots of AI options (including free ones!) are calibrated to accomplish this task fluidly, down to adjusting to the subtleties of each channel.
Looking for a summary? This one is really a bookend function that you can use for research purposes on the front end or bring into play at the finish line to create a succinct overview that’s easily shared and consumed by leaders and readers with short attention spans.
3. To Take Notes and Note Next Steps
It’s so freeing to know AI can record a live conversation so you can be engaged in the moment – actively listening and enthusiastically participating without worrying you’ll forget something after you click “Leave.”
Sick of playing secretary? “Sure, I’ll take notes and send a recap,” said nobody ever. AI is a kickass recorder, note taker and next-step capturer. If I never have to write another email making sure everyone remembers what was discussed in a meeting and @ tagging everybody with their next step, it’ll be too soon. I so badly want this capability – it’s excruciating knowing it exists and not being able to use it at work. I regularly spend 30 minutes to an hour organizing meeting notes, emailing the attendees and documenting follow-ups. People, I’ll never get that time back.
Having an unexpectedly amazing conversation? Always invite AI so you can be caught up in the moment, uncovering magical new ideas and connections. That instantly slip from your mind like sands through the hourglass right after you hang up.
Never learned shorthand? Me neither. I am a frantic scribbler during interviews, or else I record it and then spend literally hours hitting play, pause and rewind trying to capture the best sound bites. Sure, you can pay a transcription service to transcribe recordings for you… but why when AI can do it as an embedded service? Yes, please!
4. To Play and Stay Young at Heart
If all work and no play is making you dull, consider AI your wackadoo creative partner. All the fun, minimal effort.
Want to send your friend a birthday poem? AI is great at following the rules that underly classic poem styles like limericks, haikus and sonnets. Commission an original for your bestie and make their day.
Got a wild hair to see what it would sound like if Jane Austen had written your blog post? Copy-paste and see what AI does – what nuggets come out of it? Did you learn something new? Did you get a good laugh?
Looking for a hot take? Maybe you just feel like your article, social post, landing page or email copy is falling a bit flat. You can play around with it in AI without wasting days ruminating on what might be missing. Go funny and silly, take it serious – either way, see what it sparks.
A Writer’s Best Friend, at the Start and The End
A limerick by Jessica Bozsan and ChatGPT
In writing, I cherish the start,
As bright ideas transform into art.
AI joins the fun,
With options by the ton,
So I can pick that which, glowing, stands apart.
No need to take a single note,
AI rows me free of that boat.
From meetings I’ve led,
To drafts put to bed,
It captures each thought, end quote.
With tech lending hand to my quest,
I craft with both laughter and zest.
At both ends, I blend,
Where tech and skill mend,
Creating a process that’s best!
I put my article into ChatGPT and asked it to write me a limerick about it. After a few attempts, it produced the version published here, of which I rewrote about 7 total lines in the first two stanzas. I kept the final stanza as written by ChatGPT. It never gave me a title I liked, so that's pure Jessica-brain.
