6 min readcraft · copywriting · ai-workflow

Copywriting with AI — making text sell without sounding like AI

AI writes fast but mediocre. A good copywriter uses AI as a drafting tool, not as the final writer. A practical guide to producing human-sounding text.

Copywriting is the craft of writing text that moves the reader to action — to click, buy, share, be convinced. It's the art of a few words. A great page is worth millions. A bad page exposes the reader instantly.

AI's mediocre output is recognizable and poison for selling: too many adjectives, generic promises, "elevate", "catalyze", "innovative solutions". Reader closes the tab in seconds.

Good copywriting with AI doesn't mean letting AI write. It means using AI as a drafting tool, after which you finish it.

What copywriting actually is

Three layers in every good copy:

  1. User understanding: who you're talking to, what they're thinking right now
  2. Clear message: one thing at a time, sharply
  3. Human voice: not ad-speak, not robot-speak — sounds like a real person saying it

AI is good at #1 and #2, bad at #3 by default. Your job is to bring the voice.

Good prompt vs. bad

Bad: "Write a homepage headline for an AI tool." Output: "Innovative AI solution that revolutionizes your workflow"

Good: "I'm a founder writing the homepage of a fail-fast tool. My audience is first-time technical founders, 25–35. They read Hacker News and are allergic to ad-speak. Give me 10 different headlines, each under 8 words. Don't use innovative, revolutionary, catalyze, solution, platform. Use concrete verbs."

Output: much better. And you pick.

Practical workflow

1. Drafting with AI

Give AI lots of context: audience, voice, tone, forbidden words, and a concrete example of the style you're aiming for (e.g., link to Stripe's homepage or 37signals' blog).

Ask for many options (10–20), not one. A single response is always mediocre — you pick from variation.

2. Selection + cutting

Pick 2–3 most promising. Then cut half. Most good copywriters remove more than they add.

3. Voice pass

Read it out loud. If you sound weird saying it, the reader hears it too. Fix rhythm, shorten sentences, add concreteness.

4. Concreteness pass

Replace abstract promises with concrete ones. "Save time" → "An hour of work done in 5 minutes." "Easier" → "One click, not five."

5. Social pass

Show the copy to 2–3 people before publishing. Ask: "What do you think this offers?" If they can't tell immediately → copy doesn't work. Fix it.

Ten words AI loves and customers hate

Build your own banned list. Give it to AI in every prompt. Output: authentic language.

Innovaidor and Copywriting

In Innovaidor, Copywriting is a craft skill you can activate at any work stage. You're sparring a concept and need a landing headline → switch to Copywriting → AI helps draft headlines for your audience. One click, back to the main thread.

Closing

Good copy is always human-finished. AI produces drafts, you select, cut, sharpen. Don't publish AI text as-is — the reader recognizes it and loses trust in seconds.

Start: take your own homepage headline. Generate 20 alternatives with AI. Cut 18. Read what's left out loud. Pick one. Publish over the weekend. Measure click-through.