In my work as an editor for organisations, I seldom see anyone using generative AI text as is. These days, the best practice in companies is to use AI as an assistant or sounding board. People hybridise its output with their own writing and thinking.
I thought about this today when I read an online conversation about using AI to write job application materials. Opinions were very divided. Some job seekers relied on it heavily, whereas others said that AI makes it difficult for recruiters to distinguish between candidates.
The sameness of much AI-generated output is one of the chief criticisms of it at the moment. It’s why many companies use human editors and copywriters to reshape AI-text.
I completely understand why job seekers are still using AI-generated text without editing it. Looking for work in the current market can be soul destroying, and frankly if your area of expertise is not writing related, you may not recognise that AI has this problem with sounding generic.
Job seekers are better served by AI when they take the same approach to it as companies. This means chatting with AI to develop ideas and get suggestions and then writing in their own words. (Of course, it doesn’t mean avoiding assistive tech such as grammar checkers or speech-to-text.)
Every human writer has their own distinctive voice. Writing is a formalised way of speaking. When people use their own words, aspects of their identity come through on the page. This can include regional turns of phrase, a tendency to be direct or tentative, and knowledge of job-specific terms.
When anyone writes in their own voice, they stand out from the crowd of people who are relying on AI too much. They also show they understand that working with AI means operating it, not being replaced by it.
We’re now in 2026 and the old criticisms of AI-generated language mostly no longer apply. The latest AIs can write in a nice, smooth style that is better than human writing in some circumstances.
But for anything where the writer needs to show that they have a USP and are not like everybody else, AI is too anonymous. This applies to companies as much as it does to job seekers.
Tide & Time Editorial 