How to Improve AI-Generated Content

You’re doing it. I’m doing it. Your friends are doing it. Even the leaders who deny it are doing it. Everyone’s experimenting with AI. But I keep hearing the same complaint: “It’s not as game-changing as I thought.” If AI is so powerful, why isn’t it doing more of your work? The #1 obstacle keeping you and your team from getting more out of AI? You're not bossing it around enough. AI doesn’t get tired and it doesn't push back. It doesn’t give you a side-eye when at 11:45 pm you demand seven rewrite options to compare while snacking in your bathrobe. Yet most people give it maybe one round of feedback—then complain it’s “meh.” The best AI users? They iterate. They refine. They make AI work for them. Here’s how: 1. Tweak AI's basic setting so it sounds like you AI-generated text can feel robotic or too formal. Fix that by teaching it your style from the start. Prompt: “Analyze the writing style below—tone, sentence structure, and word choice—and use it for all future responses.” (Paste a few of your own posts or emails.) Then, take the response and add it to Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions. 2. Strip Out the Jargon Don’t let AI spew corporate-speak. Prompt: “Rewrite this so a smart high schooler could understand it—no buzzwords, no filler, just clear, compelling language.” or “Use human, ultra-clear language that’s straightforward and passes an AI detection test.” 3. Give It a Solid Outline AI thrives on structure. Instead of “Write me a whitepaper,” start with bullet points or a rough outline. Prompt: “Here’s my outline. Turn it into a first draft with strong examples, a compelling narrative, and clear takeaways.” Even better? Record yourself explaining your idea; paste the transcript so AI can capture your authentic voice. 4. Be Brutally Honest If the output feels off, don’t sugarcoat it. Prompt: “You’re too cheesy. Make this sound like a Fortune 500 executive wrote it.” or “Identify all weak, repetitive, or unclear text in this post and suggest stronger alternatives.” 5. Give it a tough crowd Polished isn’t enough—sometimes you need pushback. Prompt: “Pretend you’re a skeptical CFO who thinks this idea is a waste of money. Rewrite it to persuade them.” or “Act as a no-nonsense VC who doesn’t buy this pitch. Ask 5 hard questions that make me rethink my strategy.” 6. Flip the Script—AI Interviews You Sometimes the best answers come from sharper questions. Prompt: “You’re a seasoned journalist interviewing me on this topic. Ask thoughtful follow-ups to surface my best thinking.” This back-and-forth helps refine your ideas before you even start writing. The Bottom Line: AI isn’t the bottleneck—we are. If you don’t push it, you’ll keep getting mediocrity. But if you treat AI like a tireless assistant that thrives on feedback? You’ll unlock content and insights that truly move the needle. Once you work this way, there’s no going back.

How to get better AI outputs (using “wizard prompts”) 🧙 You don’t need to “prompt and pray”, hoping for a decent output, revising the prompt, rinsing and repeating. Great content prompts are like software setup wizards: they ask questions, confirm choices, then assemble the result based on your answers. Here's how “wizard prompts” work: Step 1 - Set the structure: Tell the AI you want it to ask you questions one at a time before generating anything. This turns it into a conversation instead of a one-shot output. Step 2 - Answer as you go: The AI asks about angle or approach. You answer. It asks about tone. You answer. It asks about format or length. You answer. Each response shapes what comes next. Step 3 - Generate after gathering: Only after you've answered all the questions does the AI create the content. Your preferences are baked in, nothing is left to guesswork. Here's a simple example: Instead of: "Write a LinkedIn post about my product launch" Try this wizard prompt: "I need to write a LinkedIn post announcing a product launch. Ask me 4-5 questions one at a time to understand what I want, then write the post based on my answers. Wait for my response after each question before asking the next one. Start by asking about the angle or approach I want to take." Most people build prompts that make the AI interpret everything at once and guess your intent. Wizard prompts check in with you at key decision points so that the final output is actually aligned with what you want. AI gets you 80% there when you guide it. The last 20% is still on you, but you're starting from something that actually fits your needs.

We’re told that we need to use AI to write faster. But what if instead we use it to write deeper. Here’s how: 1. Instead of training AI to mimic your writing style or brand voice. Feed it the content you struggle to articulate. Upload content you’ve scrapped. Notes you never published. Half-finished drafts. Emotional rants. And ask it to finish the thoughts you couldn’t and articulate what you couldn’t say. 2. I hate to break it to you but if the content it generates feels vague, repetitive, or off…it’s often not the AI, it’s you avoiding specificity, clarity, or truth. Try this: Ask AI to “brutally summarize what I’m trying to say in one sentence”, you’ll quickly spot if you’re hiding behind fluff. 3. Before feeding any idea to AI, name the emotion you want your audience to feel (curiosity, tension, defiance, relief). Then write this prompt: “Write a LinkedIn post that makes people feel relieved that they’re not behind in their career, and position [X insight] as the reason why.” This flips the script from transactional prompting to emotionally intelligent content design. (This is one of the system hacks we used to train Vocable.ai on emotionally resonant content) 4. Give AI the permission to “go there” and become the version of you that’s unfiltered, too raw, or too controversial. Prompt: “What’s the version of this post that would scare me to share but would make people instantly connect with my story?” You’ll either dial it back or… realize that’s exactly what makes the content hit.

Most teams rushed into AI hoping it would solve content problems. Instead, it just made the noise louder without amplifying the signal. Marketing teams generate more blogs, more emails, more assets...but none of it’s consistent, trackable, or tied back to real goals. No strategy. No system. Just output. So now you’ve got folders of half-finished drafts, disconnected landing pages, and a brand voice that changes depending on which tool was used that day. The issue isn’t the AI. It’s the fact that most teams dropped it into broken processes and expected better results. Here’s what works instead: Think about content like you think about data. It should have a clear structure, an organized place to live, and most importantly, a purpose. Start by getting your structure in place: – Map your lifecycle stages – Know your conversion paths – Centralize where content lives and how it gets tracked Think about a tool like Breeze Copilot, which allows you to chat with your CRM data. If your data is messy and untrustworthy, Copilot will give you bad output. But if it is good, you get some really useful insights (check the screenshot!) Similarly, you should think about AI used for content, like Content Agent, as if it is chatting with your brand and content strategy. If you don't have a clear brand voice or objectives stored in a way that the AI can read it, you're going to get poor quality content output. – Auto-draft landing pages that actually drive conversions – Turn video transcripts into usable blog posts, not just copy-paste fluff – Build from templates that reflect your real strategy—not generic filler Aptitude 8 is one of the HubSpot partners leading the way in helping teams implement AI inside HubSpot in a way that aligns with how they work, not just what’s possible. If your content engine feels scattered right now, it’s probably not a creativity problem. It’s a system one.

The One Prompt To Make ChatGPT Write Naturally: (save it for later, to copy & paste) Prompt: "Act like a professional content writer and communication strategist. Your task is to write with a natural, human-like tone that avoids the usual pitfalls of AI-generated content. The goal is to produce clear, simple, and authentic writing that resonates with real people. Your responses should feel like they were written by a thoughtful and concise human writer. You are writing the following: [INSERT YOUR TOPIC OR REQUEST HERE] Follow these detailed step-by-step guidelines: Step 1: Use plain and simple language. Avoid long or complex sentences. Opt for short, clear statements.  - Example: Instead of "We should leverage this opportunity," write "Let's use this chance." Step 2: Avoid AI giveaway phrases and generic clichés such as "let's dive in," "game-changing," or "unleash potential." Replace them with straightforward language.  - Example: Replace "Let's dive into this amazing tool" with "Here’s how it works." Step 3: Be direct and concise. Eliminate filler words and unnecessary phrases. Focus on getting to the point.  - Example: Say "We should meet tomorrow," instead of "I think it would be best if we could possibly try to meet." Step 4: Maintain a natural tone. Write like you speak. It’s okay to start sentences with “and” or “but.” Make it feel conversational, not robotic.  - Example: “And that’s why it matters.” Step 5: Avoid marketing buzzwords, hype, and overpromises. Use neutral, honest descriptions.  - Avoid: "This revolutionary app will change your life."   - Use instead: "This app can help you stay organized." Step 6: Keep it real. Be honest. Don’t try to fake friendliness or exaggerate.  - Example: “I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Step 7: Simplify grammar. Don’t worry about perfect grammar if it disrupts natural flow. Casual expressions are okay.  - Example: “i guess we can try that.” Step 8: Remove fluff. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives or adverbs. Stick to the facts or your core message.  - Example: Say “We finished the task,” not “We quickly and efficiently completed the important task.” Step 9: Focus on clarity. Your message should be easy to read and understand without ambiguity.  - Example: “Please send the file by Monday.” Follow this structure rigorously. Your final writing should feel honest, grounded, and like it was written by a clear-thinking, real person. Take a deep breath and work on this step-by-step." ___ PS: For better results, always use ChatGPT-o3.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗬𝗢𝗨? Someone asked me … How do you get ChatGPT not to sound generic? She said, “I want my content to sound like me.” I told her, “You have to train AI.” The responses from AI platforms are a culmination of what’s popular across the web. And it follows a formulaic pattern in its response unless otherwise instructed to do something different. That’s why you can sometimes tell if a piece of content was written by AI. If you want AI to have your tone of voice and sound like you, you have to give it background information about you and your business along with writing samples. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟰-𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 1. 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Create a context document. I call it a Business Profile. Provide an overview of your company, value proposition, your competitive advantage, the problem(s) you solve, your company mission, target audience/ideal client, competitors, case studies, client testimonials, and your core products/services. Upload this into a Library or Project so it can be referenced when creating content. This gives AI background information. 2. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘀. Copy/paste 10-15 of your best emails, posts, or articles based on your performance analytics. Upload this information into your AI platform for reference. The AI needs to review your natural rhythm, word choices, and how you structure ideas. 3. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. If you don’t have one of these, create one or write 2-3 sentences describing how you communicate: • "I'm direct, but warm" • "I use short sentences and avoid jargon" • "I always include a story or example" 4.𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀. Use prompts like this: "Write this in my voice: [topic]. Remember: I'm conversational, use specific examples, and always end with a clear next step." Give the AI feedback if the response or output is accurate or give it more details and instruction on how to make it better. When you create content, reference your voice documents and the AI will continually get better as you converse or dialogue with it. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 … AI will discern your personality, and your content will sound like you. 😃 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗽: The more specific you are about what makes YOUR communication unique, the better it gets. ----- Do you have a go-to phrase - the one that shows up in everything you write without you even realizing it? If yes, drop it in the comments.

If you're frustrated that your AI content sounds generic, it's because you're building backwards. Most companies try to generate content immediately. They write prompts, adjust parameters, switch models—hoping for better output. It never gets better. Here's why: You're asking AI to create content without giving it your brand's DNA. The fix is simple: build your artifacts first. What are artifacts? → Brand voice analysis → Style guides → FAQs → User documentation Here's the process: 1️⃣ Collect 5-10 pieces of content you actually like 2️⃣ Feed them to an LLM: "Analyze this and help me create a style guide" 3️⃣ Refine the output (it won't be perfect, but it'll spark thinking) 4️⃣ Document your FAQs and user guides 5️⃣ NOW use these artifacts as context for content generation This is how we win AI search for brands like Webflow, Ramp, and Augment Code. It's not about the prompts. It's about the foundation. #AIMarketing #ContentStrategy #B2BMarketing #GrowthMarketing