Don’t let AI take away your sparkle

Comms writers face challenges on multiple fronts. In addition to capturing human attention, they’re tasked with ensuring their work can get through AI summaries and algorithm changes.

Karen Freberg, professor of strategic communication at The University of Louisville, said during Ragan’s Writing Certificate Course last month that writers who maintain a clean structure and a distinct voice will have an advantage with both reaching human audiences and cutting through AI-powered environments.

“Yes, we may be busy, but we’re never too busy for writing,” Freberg said. “Every day, there’s a new AI tool, a new feature, a new capability that can help us create content faster. But we don’t want to lose what makes us human. AI should be a companion and collaborator, not a replacement. It can help create content, but it can’t replace your experiences, your stories, your perspective or your voice.”

She added that one of the biggest risks surrounding the rise of AI-assisted writing is that every message runs the risk of sounding the same if communicators don’t use careful oversight.