***Updated 26th October 2026 ***

When is it okay to use AI copy for business writing? A copywriter‘s (somewhat predictable) answer would be ‘never’, but in reality, it’s here to stay, and who’s not tempted by a shortcut? 

No matter what profession you’re in, everybody writes: emails, social media posts, reporting, and so on. And many are using AI to help.

Used well, GenAI can bring many benefits, particularly for those who are not confident in their writing skills. It’s a great equaliser; for example, it can help people with dyslexia, those writing in a non-native language or those battling brain fog.

But unedited AI copy can fail to land and resonate, and dilute your own voice and expertise. There’s also an increasing risk of being accused of the dreaded ‘AI slop‘, and the backlash can dismantle a brand’s reputation in seconds. And you must follow your company’s policy on AI use, which most have now.

If you’re using AI to help you write, I’ve summarised the advice I’ve been offering clients and shared my golden rule below.

But first, the context

I’m not talking about the many wider use cases for AI in business; this is specifically about using it for when you’re writing for work.

There’s a narrative that copywriters hate GenAI, but it’s more nuanced than that. I’m a copywriter, so I don’t need to use it for writing. But if I wasn’t a strong writer, then of course I would use it. I have the same existential dread about AI as most, but as a tool to help me run my business, it’s very useful. I can get on board with anything that helps me do things I hate (looking at you, tax return) more quickly.

Most people are now using AI in some capacity or another. In general, my approach is to be fully transparent about how and where I use it (see my Ts and Cs), and use it as ethically and responsibly as possible.

The risk factors of using AI copy

If you use AI copy at work, there are a few things worth knowing:

• You may not sound very ‘human’

Trust is one of the most valuable business commodities. Building trust starts with trusting yourself, your experience and your voice. Human writing, no matter how flawed, delivers meaning, resonance and connection in spades.

Every written word is an expression of your voice – who you are and what you stand for. People still buy from people, and an authentic voice helps to build trust and connection and show your personality. If you’re not sure how to write something, think about how you’d say it out loud. The closer your writing gets to how you actually sound, the more authentic it’ll be.

Josh Blyskal, associate marketing technical manager at HubSpot, says, “Now, more than ever, the value of content hinges on the authenticity of its creator and the underlying value, meaning, story, and perspective of the content they’re creating.”

Someone (and I can’t remember who, sorry – please let me know if it was you) recently said: “Can’t be bothered to write it = can’t be bothered to read it”.

• There’s a risk of backlash

Copywriters with a trained eye have been able to spot AI copy a mile off for years. I’ve been going on about AI copy since 2022, and I’ve even written a sonnet about it.

But now everyone’s on the lookout for it. Backlash can be instant, and in some cases, viral.

You can now be falsely accused of using GenAI to write, too. AI detectors are unreliable, and one innocent (and correctly used) em dash can lead to someone assuming the whole piece is 100% robot. This is a new risk that has emerged for professional writers and other creators (as an insurance policy, I use software that documents my process).

• It might affect your SEO and AI search results

It’s not just people who need to trust you; the algorithms are looking for trust signals, too. There’s a lot of noise about how to be found in AI search, but best-practice SEO advice remains to focus on demonstrating your experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT).  

The impact on rankings when using AI copy is still unclear. Things are changing at pace, and the best we can do is keep an eye on Google’s advice on the use of AI copy, which is to “create helpful, reliable, people-first content”.

• Use your brain or lose it

When we delegate our thinking to AI, we’re missing an opportunity to flex our mental muscles. A 2026 systematic review of AI in higher education says that AI can be useful to ‘scaffold thinking’. Used well, it can help you get feedback, reflect on your work and clarify your ideas. But accepting its output without question is often linked to cognitive offloading, over-trusting the machine, shallower processing and weaker judgement.

The golden rule for using AI copy at work

Use AI to improve your writing, not to do your thinking.

GenAI as a work tool can be helpful, but it is far from perfect, and can even hallucinate. Put robust fact-checking in place, and remove names, places and commercially sensitive information first. We don’t know where this info ends up.

With that in mind, here are some ways AI can help you improve your writing at work:

Brainstorming:

• Help getting off the ‘blank page’. Producing a first draft with AI and then ‘humanising it’ is an option, but it often takes longer than writing the whole thing yourself and quickly becomes a false economy.
• Coming up with ideas/topics for an article.
• As a critical friend – ask it to appraise your writing and suggest improvements (but never take feedback as gospel).
• Suggesting potential pain points/objections so you can address them.

Structuring:

• Distilling and collating pages of meeting notes into emerging themes, key points, etc.
• Headline writing (it rarely gets you all the way there, but it can help you think in different ways).
• Structuring reports, articles and proposals, etc., for logic and flow.
• Optimising for SEO (e.g., using it to correct H tags, and suggesting metadata and excerpts).

Polishing:

• Basic proofreading and editing (always use a professional if the stakes are high).
• Revising and tightening for clarity (but then edit it back into your own voice).
• Checking for flaws, inconsistencies, repeated points or words.
• Shifting tone (e.g., “make this friendlier”).

Words are your superpower

There has arguably never been a better time to showcase your humanity and personality while your competitors drown in a sea of beige.

If you use AI, treat it as a tool to make your writing better, not to think for you.

If you’d like to discuss your concerns, challenges and opportunities around using AI in your business writing, give me a shout. I’m always happy to have a no-obligation chat and offer free advice where I can.

Disclaimer: I have made every effort to ensure that all advice provided is factually accurate, in good faith, and up to date, but the world of AI is evolving at speed and I can’t take any responsibility for any inaccuracies.