A Guide to Utilizing AI Effectively for Writing Projects

A Guide to Utilizing AI Effectively for Writing Projects

By Lars Guo

Published: May 8, 2025

Opening Message

Hi folks! I hope you’re all doing well. In this blog, I want to talk about when it makes sense to incorporate AI into writing—and when it doesn’t. As a writer, I’ve found that there are moments when AI can be a helpful part of the process, and there are other times when it really has no business being involved.

To be clear, I don’t and won’t endorse using AI to write entire pieces from start to finish. Doing so removes the beauty of the human touch—the subtle character, emotion, and nuance that only a real person can provide. While AI is a great tool, it’s not a replacement for the unique perspective each of us brings to our writing. I hope you enjoy reading this post, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the use of AI in writing by the end.

Picture taken by me

Time to Use AI as a Tool

In my experience, AI works best when it’s used as an editing assistant. If you’re working on content that doesn’t carry emotional weight—like fixing grammar, restructuring sentences, or clarifying your message—then AI can be very helpful. When writing pieces that are more straightforward, such as promotional letters, informational blog posts, or other materials that are meant to be mass-produced and fact-based, AI can save time and polish your work.

However, even in these cases, it’s crucial to review everything AI changes. While it's capable, it’s not flawless. AI can make subtle mistakes or unintentionally strip your writing of the tone and voice that make it yours. So, think of it as a helpful assistant, not the final author.

Times to Avoid AI

There are definitely situations where AI should be left out of the writing process. School assignments, for one, should be written by the student. Writing is about demonstrating understanding, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate ideas clearly—skills that are developed through personal effort, not automation. Unless your school explicitly allows AI assistance, it should stay out of your essays, projects, and written assessments.

Beyond academics, I also strongly believe that anything involving human emotion, quotes, or storytelling should be written by a person. AI often strips out quotes or alters them in ways that lose their impact. For example, when I once ran a blog post on stress through ChatGPT, it removed a meaningful quote that was central to the message. The result sounded cold and generic, like something written to promote a product—not to connect with people.

This is even more critical when writing messages intended to be heartfelt. When I wrote letters to veterans, I refused to use AI because I wanted every word to come from a real person. I wanted them to know that someone took the time to express appreciation from the heart—not just generate something with a click. Those messages matter. They could be the difference between someone feeling seen and valued or feeling invisible. And no, I’m not exaggerating—words can carry that much weight, especially when written down.

If your goal is to touch someone emotionally or express sincere human empathy, then it should come from you—not from a machine.

Closing Message

What are your thoughts on using AI in writing? Do you agree with the points I’ve made, or do you have a different perspective? I’d love to hear from you. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing more in the next blog. Have a great day!

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