Transparency note: As of January 2026, I’ve deleted my ChatGPT account and no longer use it in my writing processes. I noticed I was outsourcing my thinking and creativity to AI and I didn’t like that. I don’t think ChatGPT is bad overall or that everyone should do the same—do you. I stand by the advice here as the best way to use AI in your writing, should you choose to do so.
I’m a writer and I use AI—guilty as charged. I find it helpful for brainstorming, outlining, and overcoming writer’s block. I think ChatGPT sometimes writes great stuff, if I’m being totally honest.
And, often, it makes me laugh.
For example, I was using AI to generate some ideas for writing topics to get my creativity flowing. They were pretty generic and stale, so I asked GhatGPT to “make those headlines a little funnier” and it hit me with a Britney Spears reference—”Oops I Did it Again: Common Writing Mistakes You Keep Making (And How to Stop).” I’m sorry, but that is a great headline, a hilarious one.
I think the humour alone is a great reason to use AI as a writer, but we’ll dive a bit deeper than that. Here are 6 reasons all writers should use AI.
6 Reasons Writers Should Use AI
A lot of writers are scared AI is going to take their jobs, or at least fundamentally shift things and make it harder to find work.
And while I have plenty to say on that topic (sneak peek: I do believe it is already replacing lower-quality, mass-produced content, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing), this article is not going to explore it in depth. At the time of writing, AI is simply not good enough to replace human writers and editors. And even if it continues to improve to a point where human writing is obsolete (unlikely), humans will always need to prompt AI.
Humans ain’t going anywhere yet. But many of us are working with AI to improve and elevate our writing… a good thing.
So, with that all out of the way, let’s explore 6 reasons writers should use AI.
1. Because you want to
Yes, this first one is a bit of a throwaway—obviously you should use it if you want to, it’s your choice! But the converse is also true: if you don’t want to use AI or have an issue with it, don’t use it.
There’s a lot of online chitter chatter about how and if and why we use AI, but I think it’s important to recognize there’s no right answer here. AI is a new-ish tool available to all of us—some will jump on board, others not so much, and that’s all okay.
At the end of the day, good writing is the goal. And that can be achieved with and without AI support.
2. Because it helps you brainstorm ideas—quickly
You’re a writer, you’ve got great ideas, and your mind is full of possible headlines and angles… until it isn’t. Brainstorming, ideating, thinking—whatever you call it, ChatGPT can help.
Take my Britney example from earlier. That headline was generated as part of a brainstorming process to determine potential article topics. I wasn’t turning to ChatGPT because I had zero ideas and nothing to say, generally, I just had zero ideas and nothing to say at that moment 😂
ChatGPT can help kick-start my brainstorming to get the creative juices flowing a lot quicker than I can some days.
3. Because writer’s block is real
We’ve all been there—deadline coming up in a few days (or hours!) and not a single word on the page. The brief is there, your notes might even be there, but the words just aren’t flowing.
When this happens, I often take the brief or outline and throw it into ChatGPT to see what it comes up with. It’ll generate an article that’s usually pretty bland, but there may be one or two helpful ideas in it. So, I take what works, throw out the rest, and voila! writer’s block is often overcome. Sometimes you just need a kick-start to get going.
(Or I go for a walk because that, too, helps overcome writer’s block.)
4. Because it can adapt to different tones and styles
Your prompts and input into AI are the key to getting anything good out of it. You need to tell ChatGPT what to write and, if you do it correctly, it can write a lot of different things.
Need something to match a specific brand voice? Feed other writing examples into ChatGPT to mimic the language.
Want to play with tone and style? Ask ChatGPT to write formally, casually, seriously, funnily, poetically, and anything else you can think of.
Confused? Ask it to explain something to you like a 5th grader.
Unsure? Ask for feedback on your content and writing.
Bored? Ask for jokes.
The proof is in the prompts. Put some effort into the input so you’re happy with the output!
5. Because it writes great outlines.
Have a lot of content but don’t know how to organize it? ChatGPT does a great job with outlines. Honestly! Throw everything you have in and get it to come up with all your H2s and H3s, key points, and areas to expand on. This helps you quickly organize your information so you can focus on the writing part.
6. And, because it’s funny
Here are some hilarious examples of AI fails.
We have to find the humour in all this. We’re using robots to help us write and create. That’s wild. And if I am being completely honest, I have concerns about our over-reliance on AI and technology. I’ve seen enough sci-fi movies to know what happens when they get too powerful. So if we can stay lighthearted and keep a sense of humour about it, I think that’s important.
There are lots of reasons why writers should use AI (if they want). It’s a tool at your disposal and there are benefits to your productivity and creativity alike.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are some other reasons writers should (or shouldn’t) use AI?
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