Freelance Content Writer, SEO Blogger, Ghostwriter – squareONE

The way we use AI in writing limits the potential it has for freelance writers in the creative space

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

So I will be honest. I was on the fence last year regarding AI tools and writing, wondering how big a role it would play in the way we write. I am sick of the entire debate of whether writers should use AI to write, for two reasons:

1. Most of the time, if the text is long enough, we can tell if it is AI-written or not, simply by the lack of emotion, originality, or tone. Having said that, I know AI tools that create text are getting better at mimicking human tone, but your legitimacy as a writer will quickly disappear once it’s established that you didn’t write the text in your own words.
   
   
2. I truly believe if your sole task at work is to create text as a form of employment, whether you are a copywriter, a blog writer, a journalist, an author, etc., then using AI to create words is probably the laziest thing you could do with a tool that can offer you so much more.

Why?

If you are tasked with these activities, you can likely write well, which makes using AI to write mind-boggling to me. Why not use AI tools to make the entire writing process faster, more efficient, and easier, so you can keep doing it better and faster in your own tone and voice?

If I were skeptical of AI tools before, I quickly learned that I’m not anymore. I have already used multiple AI tools for various clients and can’t imagine completing those tasks without them.

The fact is this: and I now truly believe this. You can do the same thing without AI that you can do with it if you are a competent, skilled writer. You can edit for grammar, rephrase for clarity, brainstorm for good ideas, and optimize articles to improve their search engine visibility. However, you can’t do these tasks faster than an AI tool, which means you can’t do them at scale.

That is the important takeaway.

Efficiently producing at scale is what will differentiate between those who enter into the next era of freelance writing and those who are left behind. And you might say that Tolstoy didn’t write his masterpiece in a day, and I agree. This does not apply to novel writers or even fiction writers, although AI can help enhance their writing process and possibly help them write faster. However, I will let the creative writers offer their input on that.

What I do know is that being able to do a task faster and more efficiently with less room for error is what will differentiate me from my competitors. If my competitor is using tools to enhance and quicken their writing process, why shouldn’t I?

So, here are five simple ways AI tools have already changed the writing process:

1. Brainstorming

In the old days, writers would think of something to write about and quickly chalk out an outline. I still find this process relevant and useful, having used it many times.

However, if you are tasked with writing 10 different articles on a single topic from 10 different angles, it can be challenging to come up with these angles. That’s where AI can actually help. It might not even provide you with an exact topic to write on, but a bunch of different relevant ones that can serve as a starting point. What are the most commonly used tools among writers: Perplexity, Jasper, and WriteSonic?

2. Polishing

Editing is time-consuming, and having a tool on hand that makes it effortless not only saves a lot of time but also helps writers dedicate their headspace towards more important things like writing. Grammarly is probably the most commonly used, but it can result in a more mechanical writing tone if not used properly.

Wordtune, on the other hand, focuses not so much on grammar and spelling but on rephrasing sentences to make them more succinct. Alternative phrasing, sentence structure choices, and a tone shift from casual to formal are a breeze with Wordtune. In short, Grammarly helps you write more technically correct, while Wordtune transforms your writing to make it clearer. What are the most commonly used tools among writers: Grammarly, Wordtune, Ginger, Quillbot, and ProWritingAid?

3. Optimization

Automating keyword research and competitor analysis saves writers valuable time that they can spend creating content and writing. Having AI tools that help optimize content to compete with similar content on the World Wide Web not only enables writers to create more relevant information but also gives them an edge over other writers. It helps to make your content more visible and rank higher. What are the tools writers are using the most: Surfer, Frase, and Clearscope.

4. Personalization

Writing for different kinds of audiences can be hard, especially when working for multiple clients at one time. Having AI tools that can quickly help writers pivot from a promotional tone to one that is more informal and casual, and this can be tailored to specific requirements.

Rytr, for example, can transform short text to achieve specific objectives, such as sounding more convincing when pitching to a client or using different language when writing for a younger demographic. These kinds of tools make connecting to the audience you are writing for pain-free. What are the most commonly used tools among writers: Rytr, Jasper, and Voilà AI Tone Rewriter?

5. Automation

Every writer aims to make the writing process less time-consuming and less tedious. Having AI tools that help with that can greatly change the way we create drafts and publish content.

For example, hyperWriteAI can do literally everything under the sun and provide writers a head start on any task they have been assigned. Their tools are divided into writing, educational, marketing, business, and other categories. My favorite hyperWrite AI tool is the simplification AI tool called “explain it like I’m five,” and the AI writing reviewer that provides feedback on the content you have created.

What are you guys using?

At the end of the day, as AI tools advance and the way we create content changes, what will eventually separate the unique from the mundane is human expression, emotion, and wit. So far, that’s something AI can’t compete with. But what it does offer us is a more efficient and streamlined way of doing things.

Originally published for New Writers Welcome on Medium on September 9, 2025