Using AI without sounding like everyone else's AI
Generic AI output is a tell. Here's how I use AI drafting tools so my documents still sound like me, only faster.
A buyer forwarded me a competitor's proposal last month. Two paragraphs in I knew it was AI. The em-dashes everywhere. The 'In today's fast-paced landscape.' A bullet point that genuinely said 'Leverage synergies to drive value.' I have receipts.
She didn't hire that competitor. She didn't say why. I think we both know why.
I use AI every day. I'm not anti-AI. I'm anti-bad-AI-output, which is what you get if you treat the tool like a slot machine. Treat it like a junior writer instead — one you'd actually mentor — and the output gets dramatically better.
Give it your voice, not just your topic
The single biggest quality lever is the brief. Boring sentence, true sentence.
Don't say 'write a proposal for a data migration project.' Say: 'write a proposal for a data migration project. Tone: direct, no jargon, short sentences. Audience: a CTO who already knows the technical landscape and doesn't need it explained. Avoid the words leverage, robust, and journey.' The output is a different planet.
Delete the first paragraph
AI warms up. The first paragraph of any draft is almost always disposable filler that exists because the model is finding its footing. Cut it. Start with paragraph two. Your reader doesn't need the warm-up.
Add a callback
Senior writing has callbacks — a phrase or image that appears in the intro and returns at the close. AI rarely does this on its own. It takes you 30 seconds to add one and it lifts the whole document from competent to memorable.
Pick something concrete from the discovery call. The CFO mentioned she hates surprise invoices? Open with 'no surprises' and close with 'and zero surprises.' Done.
Keep a banned-word list
Mine is taped to the side of my monitor. Strip these on every pass: leverage, synergy, robust, cutting-edge, in today's, fast-paced, journey, ecosystem, holistic, unlock, empower, dive deep.
Yours will be different. The point is having one.
"AI writes the draft. You write the document."
PenSow lets me save tone preferences per project so the draft starts closer to my voice. The editing still matters. But I start at the 80% mark instead of the 40%, and I get an extra hour of my evening back.