Workflow · Any role

Edit and tighten your own draft with AI

Clearer writing that still says what you meant, in your voice.

Try itA mistake costs little, and you would spot it quickly.

For: Anyone who has written something and wants it clearer

Go to the steps Test it on your own work

What the evidence says

Partly studied. The closest studies look at a narrower or different task.

Writing with AI: may help (evidence strength 2 of 5)

These studies test writing tasks more broadly, not editing a draft you wrote yourself.

This workflow itself is our recommended way of working, not a tested method. Studies searched to 2 November 2026.

Before you start

Finish your own draft first. Your thinking is the part AI can't supply.
Remove anything confidential unless your employer has approved the tool for it.

The steps

Replace the words in square brackets with your own. Stay in the same chat for the next prompt, unless a step says otherwise.

You
Write one line on who will read this and what you want them to do.

Ask for suggestions, not a rewrite, so that you stay the author.

Prompt

Here is my draft. The reader is [who], and I want them to [action].

Do not rewrite it. List up to 10 specific edits, each with the original words, your suggested words and a one-line reason. Focus on sentences that are unclear, too long or in the wrong order. Do not add facts, and do not change any number, name or date. If numbers, names or dates disagree or look wrong, list them as questions. Do not fix them.

Draft:
[paste]

You
Accept only the edits you agree with, one at a time.

In a new chat, ask what a hurried reader would miss.

Prompt

Reading only the edited version below: what is the main point, what would a hurried reader miss, and what would they ask next?

[paste]

You
Fix what it found, and read the result aloud once.

How to catch its mistakes

Compare the numbers, names and dates with your original. They should not have changed, and they should be right in the first place.
Read it aloud. If it no longer sounds like you, undo the last round of edits.
Check that nothing new has been added that you didn't write or can't support.

When not to use this

The wording is legally exact, such as a contract or a regulated notice.
The point of the writing is to show your own thinking, as in an assessment. Follow the rules that apply.

Tools

A general AI assistant, or the one built into your word processor. Examples: ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot. We chose these because they are common in workplace software, not because they are the best. We leave out Claude products as examples, because we draft this site with Claude. AI assistants compared has them all, with dated facts. Use whichever your employer has approved. The steps work with any tool of this type. We take no money from AI companies.

Find out if it works for you

People often misjudge how much AI helps them. Try this on your next 10 similar tasks, letting a coin flip decide which ones use AI. What to measure: Minutes to a version you would send, and whether a colleague finds it clear. Your results stay in your browser. Start the self-test →

If you manage people

Encourage this for anyone writing to customers or senior staff. Don't require it, and don't judge people on style scores.

Written by AI Adoption's editors as our own recommendation, last checked 5 November 2026. It has not been reviewed by an outside practitioner. Before publishing, we ran its prompts once on made-up samples with a second AI model, also from Anthropic. That is a check on the wording, not a test of whether the workflow works for you. Disclosure: AI Adoption uses AI tools in its research and editorial work, including Claude from Anthropic. No company has any say in this page. Reuse under CC BY 4.0. Spotted an error? Tell us.