5 min read
Have you ever read an AI draft of your own newsletter and thought, “Nobody I know talks like this”? The sentences are tidy, the tone is upbeat, and it is full of words like “elevate,” “seamless” and “unlock.” It is not wrong, exactly. It just is not you, and your customers can tell.
The good news is that getting AI to write in your own voice does not need special software or a long course. It mostly needs better raw material and a few habits. Here are nine quick wins, each of which takes between two and twenty minutes to set up. Do one a day and by next week your drafts will sound far more like the person your customers know.
1. Feed it three real samples before you ask for anything
The fastest improvement comes from showing, not describing. Paste in three pieces you wrote yourself and are happy with: a customer email, a social post, a paragraph from your website. Then say: “Study the tone, sentence length and word choice in these three samples. Write the next piece the same way.”
Pick samples that match the job. A warm thank-you email will not teach the AI how to write a firm late-payment reminder.
Time needed: 5 minutes.
2. Save your voice so you never paste it again
Once you have samples that work, store them. ChatGPT has custom instructions that apply to every chat, Claude lets you create a custom writing style from your own samples, and both offer project spaces for longer reference files. If you are unsure which home to use, our comparison of Custom GPTs, Claude Projects and Gemini Gems walks through the trade-offs.
Time needed: 10 minutes, once.
3. Write a “words I never use” list
Every business owner has words that make them wince. Make a list of ten and add it to your saved instructions: “Never use these words: elevate, seamless, unlock, game-changer, delve, journey, leverage, robust, cutting-edge, tapestry.” Add your own pet hates, and for each one note the plain word you would use instead, the same approach the US government’s plain language guidelines recommend. This single list removes a surprising amount of the generic AI feel.
Time needed: 3 minutes.
4. Describe your reader, not just your tone
“Friendly and professional” tells the AI almost nothing. Describing the person you are writing to tells it a lot. Try: “My readers are busy parents in their 40s who book me for family photo sessions. They read email on their phones between school pickups. They like short paragraphs and a little humor, and they hate pressure.” The AI will adjust length, vocabulary and pace on its own.
Time needed: 5 minutes.
5. Ask for a rough draft, then talk it through
Instead of asking for a finished piece, ask for a rough draft and then react to it the way you would with a human assistant: “Too formal. Cut the first paragraph. I would never say ‘valued customer,’ I would say their name.” Two or three rounds of plain feedback usually beat one perfect prompt.
Even better, dictate your ideas first. Talk for two minutes into your phone about what you want to say, paste the transcript, and ask the AI to tidy it without changing your phrasing. Your natural speech is the best voice sample you have. Our beginner’s guide to speech to text explains how to set this up.
Time needed: 2 minutes per round.
6. Give it your stories, because it cannot invent them
The parts of your writing that customers love most (the time a delivery went wrong and you drove it over yourself, the regular who orders the same thing every Friday) are the parts AI cannot know. Keep a simple note of short stories and examples from your business, and paste one or two in when you ask for a draft. A single real anecdote does more for authenticity than any tone instruction.
Time needed: 15 minutes to start the list, then add as things happen.
7. Set the length in numbers
AI tends to over-write, and online readers mostly scan rather than read word by word, as usability research from Nielsen Norman Group has shown for decades. “Short” means different things to different tools. Be exact: “Under 120 words.” “Three sentences.” “Subject line under 7 words.” You will spend far less time cutting.
Time needed: none. Just add the number.
8. Run a “read it aloud” check
Before anything goes out, read the draft aloud, or ask your phone to read it to you. Anything you stumble over or would never say in conversation gets rewritten. This catches the stiff, over-polished sentences that eyes skim past. It is also how our earlier how-to on answering Google reviews without sounding like a template keeps replies human.
Time needed: 1 minute per piece.
9. Keep a “before and after” file
Each time you heavily edit an AI draft, save both versions in one document. After a month, paste a few pairs into a chat and ask: “Here is what you wrote and what I changed it to. What patterns do you see in my edits? Turn them into instructions.” Add the result to your saved instructions. Your voice guide now improves itself from your real corrections.
Time needed: 20 minutes, once a month.
Where to start this week
If you only do three things, do these: paste three samples (win 1), add your banned-words list (win 3), and read every draft aloud (win 8). Together they take less than ten minutes and fix most of what makes AI writing sound generic.
Remember that the goal is not to hide that you use AI. It is to make sure every message still sounds like it came from the person your customers chose to buy from. And if AI is creating more editing work than it saves, our list of quick wins to make AI actually save time is a good next read.
What is the one word you always delete from AI drafts? Share it in the comments; we are building a community list.
Related reading
- Custom GPTs vs Claude Projects vs Gemini Gems: Where a Solo Business Should Keep Its AI Instructions
- Is AI Creating More Work for You? 8 Quick Wins to Make It Actually Save Time
- How to Answer Every Google Review With AI in 15 Minutes a Week (Without Sounding Like a Template)
- What Is Speech to Text? A Beginner’s Guide to Turning Voice Memos and Calls Into Work You Can Use
