You’ve heard the argument from both sides. One group says AI is going to take your job, leaving you with nothing. The other tells you AI will free up your time and maximize your online writing.
They can’t both be right, but they can’t both be wrong, either. So what, exactly, is the answer?
Well, if you choose to have ChatGPT write all of your articles for you, then yes, it will take your job. Articles written by AI are dry, inauthentic, and lack creativity. Nobody wants a writer that sounds like a machine. You also have to worry about plagiarism.
However, if you embrace its
benefits, AI can help defend against writer’s block and keep you going strong,
helping you write faster and more efficiently. It can be a valuable tool,
allowing you to focus on letting your creativity flow.
A Few Disadvantages of AI
Using AI isn’t all rainbows and kittens, of course, so before skipping to the six ways to use AI to maximize your writing, let’s take a few moments to consider some of its pitfalls. The last thing you want is to use AI in a manner that destroys your writing—and reputation.
AI can create several issues
for writers when misused. Some of them are:
- Out-of-date
source material (all information retrieval for ChatGPT 3 stopped in September
of 2021)
- Bias toward popular
information (as opposed to what is correct)
But for now, let’s get back to those rainbows and kittens we’re all grasping for.
How to Use AI to Maximize Your Online Writing
Knowing how to use AI to maximize your writing potential sets you apart from the writers who refuse to so much as touch it. You’re trying something new, which naturally sets your creativity and critical thinking skills into motion. But more than that, you’re freeing yourself from some of the more time-consuming drudgery that comes with your craft.
So without further ado, here
are 6 ways to use AI to take your writing to the next level.
1. Generating Topics
You may have a day when you simply don’t know what to write about. No, that’s understating it . . . you will have a day like that.
Let’s pretend that you’re sitting at your desk, staring out the window, waiting for an idea to blow your way in the hot summer wind. Unfortunately, you have writer’s block, so the only thing blowing your way is a bunch of pollen.
This is one of those times when AI is one of your best friends. Completely out of ideas and feeling helpless, you ask ChatGPT, “What are some good topics for dealing with a hot summer day?”
Instantly, your AI buddy spits out ten different ideas ranging from indoor and outdoor activities to summer fashion and tips for beating the heat. Now, you think about how much you wish you could beat the heat. And that ends up being your perfect topic idea: ways to stay cool during the summer.
So how can you use AI to help you with this? I’m glad you asked.
2. Brainstorming
One of the beautiful things
about ChatGPT is that it works perfectly to help you develop ideas about your
next topic. Let’s pretend you wanted to write an article focusing on different
ways to stay cool during the summer. You could ask questions like:
“What are some ways to stay cool during the summer?”
When I asked this question, I got a list of ten ideas. Naturally, they were the same ideas everyone and their mother had already written about. That’s pretty boring, so you could ask something like:
“Any more ideas?”
And on it scrolls with another ten ideas. You see something that catches your eye: DIY air conditioning. Who wouldn’t want to know how to create their own AC? Now you’re onto something that sounds fun.
Unfortunately, the method mentioned isn’t enough to write a full-length article about (putting a wet cloth or some ice in front of a fan), so you’ll need to dig deeper.
And that’s the beauty of it.
You can keep digging and digging until you finally find what you want to write about. ChatGPT keeps track of your conversation with it, so you can keep adding and refining or even ending up with a topic about how to design your home to cool more effectively. The possibilities are endless!
Just be sure to do your own writing once you’ve discovered your perfect idea. AI can only go so far, and having ChatGPT write something for you is an extremely bad idea.
However, there’s another step
you can take once your brainstorming session is complete and before you get
down to writing.
3. Outlining Your Article
Why not outline your article while you’re at it? This will save loads of time and let you concentrate on what you do best: writing. Let’s go back to that DIY air conditioner and see what can be done about it.
You searched for more ideas and found a few air conditioning methods that sounded great to try, but now you need to set up that article.
No problem at all.
You could simply tell ChatGPT to outline an article about the best DIY air conditioning methods. It’ll produce an outline structure for an article, complete with an introduction and conclusion.
It’s done all of the heavy lifting for you.
Now it’s up to you to refine the outline, decide what to keep or remove, and tweak it according to the direction you want it to take.
For many people, topic
generation, brainstorming, and outlining are more than enough, but there are
even more ways you can maximize your writing using AI tools that will give your
article that extra oomph it needs to really shine.
4. Discovering Popular Trends
This concept falls back to the initial idea of topic generation—but with a twist! You can use an AI app like Exploding Topics to find ideas currently trending in your niche. They may even be, as the name suggests, exploding with growth.
While the pro version claims
to spot trends before they even happen, the free version could be enough to
help you find a trending topic within your niche. Pair this with keyword
research, and you’ll have an article that stands out.
5. Translating Languages
And when it comes to research, we all end up finding articles in languages that we don’t speak and may not have even seen before. We can’t understand anything being said, yet we know valuable information could be smiling up at us at that very moment.
But what if we could understand?
AI tools like DeepL can help you get a rough idea of what’s stated in an
article (up to 31 languages translated). And while it isn’t perfect, you can use
the information gleaned to find even more information on the same subject in your
native language.
6. Having Fun!
And don’t forget the importance of just having fun with it. This simple task can force new and exciting ideas to the surface. Writing about DIY air conditioners? Go on a tangent with it and ask a silly question like,
“How can I make an air conditioner start sprouting rainbows?”
Short answer: Use a bunch of prisms and find a light source.
Or
“Can you DIY a cat tree from used air conditioner parts?”
Short answer: Yes, you can use some AC components combined with other materials to make one, but it’s neither advisable nor safe.
Think about
it . . . there may just be another (rather weird) article
waiting somewhere in the chaos you spin with these questions. And if not?
You’ve taken some time to unwind and let your mind rest.
The Takeaway
As you can see, even though AI has some drawbacks that you need to be careful not to get caught up in, there are plenty of ways to use AI to maximize your online writing and come out ahead.
There is no need to worry about losing your job. AI isn’t anywhere near complex enough to replace you.
So get out there and use
these tools to your benefit. Brainstorm, outline, and write without fear of writer’s
block.
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