Over the last couple of years, I have spent much time working with and writing about artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI. Most of the articles I have authored go into some detail about ways AI can help us in the practice of law and our personal lives. They also discuss risks associated with using AI and concerns about the future due to those potential risks. I have taken little time to help you use AI, so I thought I would devote this article to giving you some ideas and guidance in using AI to help your writing.
Since the release of ChatGPT and the birth of generative AI (GenAI), more and more people have started using AI to assist them in their writing. AI tools such as ChatGPT are called “generative” because they generate a product, which can take many forms, including written documents. Attorneys have used GenAI to help them prepare (or sometimes prepare for them) letters, contracts, memoranda, briefs, and more. Whether you are a professional writer, a student, or someone who enjoys writing as a hobby, AI tools can significantly enhance your writing process.
AI writing tools leverage advanced algorithms and machine learning to assist with various aspects of writing. These tools can help with grammar, style, and tone and can even generate content based on given prompts that you provide. Know that you need to school yourself in “prompt generation.” We use prompts to instruct the AI tool about what we want it to do. The better you get at prompt generation, the better the output you will get from the GenAI program. As always, the potential benefits of AI come with a warning: Be careful; you play with fire! If you use AI to help you write a document (or to write it for you), check the facts and citations, as AI has occasionally mis-cited cases or statutes and has even made up authorities that did not exist.
Here are some ways these tools can assist you with your writing.
AI tools such as Grammarly help identify and correct grammatical errors, ensuring your writing is free from mistakes. They also offer style suggestions, helping you maintain a consistent and professional tone throughout your text. These tools can detect complex grammatical issues that the average writer might miss, ensuring your work is polished and professional.
Tools such as the Hemingway Editor focus on improving the readability of your writing. These tools help you communicate your ideas more effectively by highlighting complex sentences and suggesting simpler alternatives. Improving readability is crucial for engaging your audience and ensuring your message is easily understood.
AI models can generate content based on prompts, making them valuable for brainstorming and drafting. Whether you need ideas for a blog post, an article outline, or a story’s dialogue, AI content generators can provide inspiration and save time. These tools can produce high-quality text closely resembling human writing, making them an excellent resource for overcoming writer’s block and generating fresh ideas.
Many AI writing tools offer personalized feedback based on your writing style and preferences. This feedback can help you identify areas for improvement and develop your writing skills. You can refine your writing and learn from your mistakes by receiving tailored suggestions, ultimately becoming a more effective communicator.
Prompts are a crucial aspect of leveraging AI for writing assistance. We use prompts to tell the AI program what we want it to generate. Not all programs use prompts. For example, Grammarly does not take prompts, nor does it generate text for us. It works with the text you generate and suggests improvements. However, Microsoft CoPilot and ChatGPT can generate text. Each requires a prompt to tell it what we want done. A well-crafted prompt can guide the AI tool in developing relevant and high-quality content. A poorly crafted prompt can result in a product that does not give you what you want and leaves you frustrated. Here are some tips for creating effective prompts:
The more specific your prompt, the better the AI tool can understand your requirements. Instead of asking for a general topic, provide clear guidelines and details about what you want. For example, instead of saying, “Write about technology,” you could say, “Write an article about the impact of AI on health care.” Specific prompts help the AI tool generate focused and relevant content that meets your needs.
Define the purpose of the content you want to generate. Do you want an informative article, a persuasive essay, or a creative story? Specifying the purpose will help the AI tool appropriately tailor the content to meet your needs.
Mention the desired tone and style in your prompt. Do you want the content to be formal, informal, conversational, or academic? Providing these details will help the AI tool generate text that aligns with your expectations.
Include relevant context in your prompt to guide the AI tool. If there are specific points you want to cover or avoid, mention them in your prompt. This will help the AI tool generate accurate content that aligns with your goals. Providing context ensures that the generated text is relevant and informative, addressing the key aspects of the topic.
Iterate and refine your prompts based on the output you receive. If the generated content doesn’t meet your expectations, adjust the prompt and try again. Experimentation can help you discover the most effective prompts for your needs. Iterating and refining your prompts allows you to fine-tune the AI’s output, ensuring it aligns with your vision and requirements.
Numerous AI writing assistants have appeared in app stores and other locations in the short time since the release of ChatGPT. Some work better than others. I use several in my writing process and will share them with you, along with how I employ them. In doing that, I make no representation that my programs are better than others. I only represent that I have tried many and chosen these as the ones that work best for me. I invite you to try them out and see how they work for you. You may like them as much as I do or decide others work better for you.
Grammarly is a popular AI-powered writing assistant that helps with grammar, punctuation, and style. It provides real-time suggestions and corrections, making it an excellent tool for ensuring your writing is polished and error-free. Grammarly also offers insights into tone and readability, helping you tailor your text to your intended audience. Additionally, Grammarly can detect plagiarism and suggest vocabulary enhancements, making it a comprehensive tool for academic and professional writing. Grammarly has managed to bore its way into almost everything, and you can find it for use on computers, tablets, and phones. Grammarly will appear out of nowhere to help with writing documents in Word, preparing emails on your cell phone, or even in your browser. It will make suggestions as you type for you to accept or reject. It will review a finished document and list suggestions for you to review. I have let it run free on all my devices and found many of its suggestions helpful.
CoPilot can generate text. If you let it, it will write your entire document for you. Whether you want to do that represents an entirely different question. I think that, generally, CoPilot does a decent job, but I am not a huge fan of its writing style. I have never used it to write a document or an article. I have used it to give me an outline as a starting point. I have occasionally had it give me a draft of a part of the document, but I have almost always rewritten anything it gave me as I am vain enough to believe I write better than it does. I often ask CoPilot to research for me and provide facts or authority to support a particular thought or concept. Important note: In the words of President Ronald Reagan, “Trust, but verify.” Trust that CoPilot does a good job looking up and reporting on the support you ask for, but verify that the output is accurate and legitimate before using it.
ChatGPT is the program that started it all. OpenAI developed ChatGPT and the ChatGPT App, the “official” app for ChatGPT. Many other apps use ChatGPT as the engine that drives them, but I prefer going to the source, as OpenAI will probably release updates and improvements in its app before others do. ChatGPT and CoPilot do substantially the same thing and equally well. Sometimes, I pit one against the other and see which result I like best. Sometimes, I prefer CoPilot’s product to ChatGPT’s, and sometimes, I prefer ChatGPT’s output to CoPilot’s. I use both programs the same way and interchangeably.
WordRake represents a somewhat different animal. I don’t consider it GenAI, and some do not even consider it AI at all, as it does not communicate with the cloud or save any document information, as AI generally does. I consider WordRake automated editing software that uses pre-programmed rules to identify and correct issues in the text instead of relying on machine learning or cloud-based algorithms. From my perspective, it represents a more primitive form of AI, and I have always considered it as such. Rather than get into the semantics of whether it constitutes AI, I will simply tell you it does a decent job of reviewing text and suggesting improvements to correct grammatical errors or writing faults. It will not generate text on its own. I often run something I have written through WordRake to see what suggestions it offers. I do not like them all. I do not accept most. You do need to carefully review what WordRake wants to change, as it can make a mess out of your writing and even significantly and inappropriately alter the meaning of a statement. Nevertheless, I generally finish my work by running it through WordRake to see if it comes up with some useful suggestions.
AI writing tools can enhance your writing process in various ways. By leveraging these tools, you can improve your grammar, enhance readability, generate content, and receive personalized feedback. Understanding how to use prompts effectively will maximize the benefits of AI writing assistance. Embrace these technological advancements, and let AI help you develop into a more efficient and skilled writer.
