AI Writing: What Is It And How Does It Work?

Artificial intelligence has been all the buzz since ChatGPT came into the mainstream in November 2022. The question of how we should ethically use AI in our everyday lives has been asked in academic and professional circles alike. Understanding AI writing software and how it works is an important part of knowing what you can and should be using it for. Our guide will answer some questions you might have, like “What is AI writing?”, “How should I use AI writing software?”, and others.

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What is AI writing?

AI writing involves using artificial intelligence tools to create written content.
You can submit a prompt and have it write a short essay, for example, or draft a screenplay, write a short story, edit your content for grammatical/syntax errors, and beyond.
It completes the task in a matter of minutes, compared to the hours spent research and writing from scratch.
The capabilities depend on the software you use.

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How does AI writing work? Have you ever used the predictive text feature on the keyboard on your smartphone or tablet? The AI of predictive text follows along with what you’re typing and provides “educated” guesses as to what you might say next based on your history of typing in a specific app. For example, if you’re telling a specific person that they’re awesome every day in a text message, your predictive text feature will guess that you’re going to say the same thing again. You’ll notice this in other apps on your phone as well.

Another example might be if you use your phone to upload and post YouTube videos. Your YouTube Studio app and the predictive AI will automatically assume certain words and phrases if you use them often in your titles and video descriptions. AI writing software does this on a much, much larger scale.

Rather than comparing your habits against themselves and making a prediction about what you’ll say next, an AI writing tool will gather information based on what other people have said in response to a similar prompt. The bot will search the internet for information about what you’ve asked it to write, then compile that information into a response. While this used to come back as clunky and robotic, the algorithms and programming for AI writers have become much more advanced and can write human-like responses.

“AI writing is taking the world by storm because it’s an excellent way to work more efficiently. Does it have its limitations? It absolutely does.”

Are there different types of AI writing? There is a ton of AI writing software available to help with efficiency, accuracy, and proficiency in content creation, no matter what type you need. For example:

Bloggers can lean heavily on AI writing programs to help save time when building out a content calendar and editing blog posts.
Small businesses that don’t have the resources to write monthly blogs, for example, or compose marketing emails, or create social media posts can lean heavily on AI writing to create content for them. Of course, it’s recommended that somebody checks the content for accuracy and quality.
YouTubers can prompt an AI program to write a script for their videos. AI writing programs come in all sizes, functions, and price points (yes, you’ll probably have to pay to get the best features) to help anyone who creates content.

How should I use AI writing software? One of the first concerns that arose with the flood of AI writing software was that students would use it to write their term papers, or professionals would skimp on their writing duties and let the AI do it for them, and so on. These things, unfortunately, are going to happen.

However, AI can still be a tool that’s used for good. Anyone can have an AI chatbot do the heavy lifting in research, ideation, and organization. Let AI software get you started with your research, then take over to verify information, put it into coherent thoughts, then add emotion and storytelling.

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Will AI writing replace real writers? No, AI will not replace real writers. However, it can help the cream of the industry rise to the top. AI writers are, so far, limited in their abilities to create emotional and engaging content. Humans, by nature, are storytellers. We have been since the beginning. Robots, however, are not. They are limited by what they’re programmed to do, and AI bots are programmed to gather information and make an educated guess about what you want to hear.

Take the movie Return of the Jedi, for instance. C-3PO was a protocol droid programmed to speak fluently in 6 million languages. Yes, he told a story to the Ewoks about how Luke and his friends got to Endor, but his telling was flat and factual. He couldn’t include the emotion that came with the story’s events.

AI writing is taking the world by storm because it’s an excellent way to work more efficiently. Does it have its limitations? It absolutely does. Because of these limitations, it’s essential to know how to use AI writing so it can be used more effectively.