How I use AI to boost my workflow

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This week we’re talking about that dirty word. Yes, you know the one. AI.

Joking aside, it does seem like the use of artificial intelligence in journalism is still viewed very dimly. The other day I spotted someone on a freelance group who was distraught because a client had accused her of using AI (which she had not). My initial reaction was - why does it matter? If her copy was original and accurate then why would it matter if she had used AI?

At the end of the day AI relies on human input, particularly in more complex pieces of writing. In my view it doesn’t lessen the quality of the piece of work anymore than using a Word processor does. We all accept that a computer corrects our spelling and grammar, so why do we get so upset at the thought of using AI to help us create content?

Firstly, we are worried about our jobs. And secondly AI does make stuff up. But when used correctly I believe it’s as useful a tool as a keyboard, online thesaurus or a transcription service (which is another form of AI most people are onboard with). Shying away from it reminds me of the time in the late noughties when my editor refused to let me tweet on Twitter. He was afraid of it, and didn’t think it had a place in journalism.

Recently I attended an excellent Journo Resources workshop on How to use AI to your advantage as a journalist. What Vivienne Dovi expressed so well was that AI is a tool rather than a replacement. At the moment it is not good enough to create quality journalism content on its own but it is really handy for helping with brainstorming, rewording phrases, and writing up notes. I don’t trust its research skills but I do acknowledge that it can be quite good at rewriting or summarising the content that you feed it.

FFJ co-director Emma Wilkinson is yet to be convinced but I am slowly working on her. When we were stuck on a clunky phrase in our new book, it was AI that came to the rescue with a great alternative.

I have been playing around with ChatGPT for the past couple of months and now use it several times a week. I can see a point in the future where I may use it everyday in the same way I use Word or Otter.ai regularly.

Admittedly I was not always a fan. Six months ago I though ChatGPT was useless in the same way I used to think Otter.ai was terrible. But I have come to realise this was due to user error. It was about how I was using the tools and the expectations I had. This is where Vivienne’s workshop was really useful as she showed how to get the best out of AI.

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash

So while it is still a work in progress, I am slowly learning what AI is very good at and how it can make my work as a freelance journalist much easier.

Here are some of my top uses of ChatGPT:

Editing copy

This is probably one of my top uses. When I was editing the book Emma and I have been writing (we will announce the topic very soon!) there were certain paragraphs or sentences that weren’t as smooth as I would have liked. I copied and pasted them into ChatGPT and asked it to rewrite the passage to make it more coherent. It always produced something great. I didn’t necessarily use what it generated verbatim but it helped me think about alternative sentence structure and wording.

I also feed notes into ChatGPT and ask it to write them up into full sentences with a particular audience in mind. This can help to form the basis of copy for a running product review, which I can then add to.

It’s also very handy if you have to update a story for SEO purposes. Rather than rewrite an intro yourself you can pop it into ChatGPT and ask it to rewrite it into original copy. You can give it prompts on what you would like to include or an example of another story that you want it to mimic the style of.

Writing social media posts

I am a very practical writer and can find it difficult to write hyperbolic, enthusiastic content. It’s just not in my cynical nature. But sometimes this is just what is needed on social media. So I tell ChatGPT what the information is and the style I want it conveyed in, and hey presto it does a much better job than me. I also don’t have to worry about grammar or perfect spelling as it is very good at understanding crude writing.

Here is an example from this week. I told ChatGPT:

Write a linkedin post saying the Freelancing for Journalists newsletter is looking for a sponsor for 2025. It's a great opportunity to reach our niche audience of freelancers. mention that we have thousands of readers who are very engaged. Say drop me a message for more information or email freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com

This is what it produced (I used all of it apart from the final sentence which was just a step too cheesy for me):

🚨 Sponsorship Opportunity for 2025! 🚨

The Freelancing for Journalists newsletter is on the lookout for a sponsor for 2025! This is an excellent opportunity for brands looking to connect with a niche, highly engaged audience of freelancers and industry professionals.

With thousands of dedicated readers who trust and engage with our content, partnering with us is a fantastic way to increase visibility and build valuable relationships within the freelancing community.

Interested? Drop me a message for more information or email us at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com.

Let's make 2025 a standout year together! ✨

Generating alternative phrases

I have used thesaurus.com for years when trying to come up with an alternative word, particularly as I tend to use the same vocabularly over and over. But it’s less useful for phrases. This is where ChatGPT can be very helpful. For example I could ask it to come up with five alternatives to the phrase ‘saved my bacon’:

1. Saved my skin

2. Came to my rescue

3. Saved the day

4. Pulled me out of a jam

5. Bailed me out

Writing diplomatic emails

ChatGPT has bailed me out on this one in recent weeks. As I said earlier I am rather too pragmatic and tend to just cut to the chase. This means my emails can sometimes be quite abrupt and may at times, lack diplomacy. So if I have something a little more delicate to write, I can defer to ChatGPT. I tell it what information the message needs to contain but also the tone it needs to be written in. I must admit it can be a little over effusive but a quick edit from me and I have the perfect wording.

Generating headline ideas

The key to a strong pitch is a great headline. If like me, you’re not brilliant at coming up with catchy headlines then AI can do this for you. Or it can at least give you some ideas to kickstart your own. I asked it to give me three ideas for a ‘how to’ headline about how I use AI as a freelance journalist. I told it the audience was other freelance journalists and the headline needed to be in the first person. This is what it generated:

1. How I Use AI to Boost My Workflow as a Freelance Journalist

2. My Guide to Leveraging AI for Productivity as a Freelance Journalist

3. How I Integrated AI Into My Reporting Process to Enhance My Freelance Work

As you can see I didn’t use any of these verbatim but I did use an edited version.

As Vivienne demonstrated in her workshop, you can also use AI to generate specific story ideas. But again, it’s only as good as the prompts you give it, so you need to be as detailed as possible.

For now, I am going to carry on experimenting. I’d like to learn how to use other tools like Claude.ai and also AI image generation, which so far has been pretty disappointing (but very amusing). As journalists we should always be curious so no matter how cynical, I recommend you give it a go!

Let me know how you use AI in your writing or if you refuse to use it altogether!

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Triumph of the week

Getting two pitches accepted straight away

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That feeling when

Editors randomly come back with queries/edits at the worst possible time

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Bye for now!