Discovering What You Want to Say With AI
AI can produce an article, proposal, or presentation in seconds. The result may look polished even when the ideas are poorly developed, the arguments are weak, or the writing doesn’t quite say what we intended.
One way to avoid this is to do more of the thinking before asking for a draft. But we don’t have to do that thinking alone. We can work through our ideas with an assistant, questioning assumptions along the way.
And we don’t necessarily have to have well-formed thoughts or opinions when we begin. Sometimes I start with an observation I can’t quite explain, or several ideas that seem connected without knowing why. Through conversation, I begin to understand what I want to say.
We often hear that AI should help us express our own ideas rather than supply them. But I don’t think the distinction is so simple. Some of my ideas have emerged through those conversations, and that doesn’t make them feel any less mine.
And sometimes, when I finally put those ideas into writing, I find that the words express my thoughts better than I knew how to express them myself. When that happens, it’s a wonderful, almost magical feeling.
Start before you know what you want to say
Sometimes I begin with a clear argument. More often, I have a collection of observations, questions, and half-formed opinions. Instead of asking an assistant to turn them into an article, I start talking.
I might describe something that bothers me, share an experience, or explore a connection I can’t quite explain. I don’t worry about organization or phrasing.
Sometimes I write whatever comes into my head and see where the conversation goes. Other times, I ask my assistant to interview me.
If you’re not sure what you want to say, start talking to your AI assistant about what’s on your mind. Ask it to interview you, one question at a time, to help you understand your own thinking. See where the conversation takes you. When you feel you’ve explored enough, ask for a draft based on what you’ve discussed.
Let the conversation surprise you
I don’t believe I need to supply every idea while my assistant merely arranges the words. When we discuss something with another person, we don’t expect to emerge with exactly the same thoughts we had going in. We listen and reconsider, sometimes arriving somewhere neither of us anticipated.
I approach these conversations much the same way. If it suggests something interesting, I’ll explore it. If something sounds wrong, I’ll challenge it. Sometimes I’m not sure what I think, and that’s when the conversation can get particularly interesting.
These systems can be terribly agreeable. Sometimes I have to push back and ask them to challenge my thinking rather than simply validate it.
But asking for criticism doesn’t guarantee useful criticism. An assistant can be just as eager to find problems as it is to agree with you.
Consider suggestions on their merits, not their origin. Ask for explanations and evidence. And don’t be afraid to follow an unexpected idea.
Keep an eye on where you’re going
Exploratory conversations can wander. That’s part of their appeal, but it can also become a problem. I used this approach to develop this article, and the conversation took quite a few unexpected turns.
When a discussion becomes substantial, ask yourself what you’ve discovered and where you want to go next. Which ideas still interest you? Has your thinking changed? What no longer belongs?
Before drafting, an outline or short editorial brief can help establish the audience, purpose, and central argument. But don’t treat it as a contract. Sometimes a better idea comes along.
And don’t blindly trust your assistant’s account of what you’ve agreed on. Its recollection may be incomplete or mistaken.
Make the ideas your own
An idea suggested by an assistant isn’t automatically worth adopting. But neither is it disqualified because you didn’t think of it first. What matters to me is whether I’ve thought it through and decided it’s something I genuinely believe. That feeling of recognition can be misleading: a beautifully phrased idea may sound right even when it subtly changes what I meant. I need to examine the claim, not just enjoy the way it sounds.
Once there’s a draft, read it for meaning before worrying about style. Has the argument changed? Are there claims you can’t support? Does the writing make you sound more certain, enthusiastic, or confrontational than you intended?
Ask your assistant to review it critically. A different AI model can offer another perspective. But I look for criticism that identifies a real problem and explains why it matters to the reader. A different stylistic preference isn’t necessarily an improvement.
Think about the reader, too. What will they find interesting? What do they need to understand? What details might distract from what you’re trying to say? Verify important factual claims against original sources. A beautifully expressed mistake is still a mistake.
The work behind the words
AI makes it extraordinarily easy to produce the appearance of completed work without doing the thinking that makes the work valuable.
I’m susceptible to that temptation myself. Sometimes I’m rushed and share something without giving it enough thought. I don’t always have the time or energy to give every piece of writing the attention it deserves.
But when I do take the time to explore an idea, I’ve found that the thinking itself can be one of the most rewarding parts of writing.
I’ve always loved good writing, and I’ve sometimes loved what I’ve written myself. But getting there was often a struggle. Having someone to explore ideas with and help me find the words has changed that experience.
Sometimes I discover an idea I hadn’t considered when we began, but that now feels entirely my own. The writing may still need work. But there’s real pleasure in finally finding the words for what you’ve been trying to say. And sometimes, the conversation reveals that you have more to say than you realized.
Sometimes I read a draft and think,
Yes. That’s exactly what I was trying to say.
I developed this article with an AI assistant through conversation, interviews, drafting, and revision. AI contributed ideas as well as prose. The opinions and final editorial decisions are mine.