Good Morning Reader, it's Maria,

I had a conversation recently that felt worth sharing

A consultant I know, experienced and genuinely brilliant at what she does, told me she'd been putting off using AI in her business for months. She'd dabbled a little, tried a bit of ChatGPT, but kept pulling back.

I assumed it was the usual stuff:

• Not knowing where to start
• Too many tools
• Not enough time

But what she actually said is something a lot of people feel, but don't often bring up.

She'd been noticing AI-generated writing everywhere, mainly in e-mails. She could spot it immediately, and it made her cringe.

Her clients know her tone of voice, her standards and her work ethic. The idea that they might one day receive something from her that felt machine-made, and might make them wonder if she still cared enough to write it herself, was enough to make her want nothing to do with any of it.

"I've spent years building that trust," she said. "I'm not going to risk it for the sake of saving a bit of time."

I get it, and she's right about what she's seen.

A lot of AI writing out in the wild right now is bad, really bad. Produced by people who found a shortcut and don't have her work ethic, or who simply don't have any standards.

Here's the thing though, that's a people problem, not an AI problem.

The output is only ever as good as the input. And there's a much more interesting conversation to be had about what happens when you actually learn to use it well.

That's what I want to get into today.

If podcasts are more your speed, I've got you covered; there's a discussion about this topic available now here.

THE BIG IDEA

The problem isn't AI. It's how people are using it.

Let's be honest about what's happening out there right now.

A lot of people discovered AI, got excited, and started using it as a lazy shortcut. There's no real input or judgment applied, just basic prompts, and then they send whatever it spits out. And the results are exactly what you'd expect: bland generic writing.

No wonder the people on the receiving end of that blob, people like my consultant friend, who have built their reputation on quality, are now associating AI with exactly that. I totally understand that.

But it's costing them.

Because the AI they've experienced isn't AI used properly. It's lazy, bad AI, and there's a real difference.

Here's what I know from working with it every day and training others to do the same. When you learn to use AI properly, when you bring your own thinking, your own voice and your own judgment to the process, the output reflects YOUR standards Reader.

Think of it like baking a cake. If you dump ingredients into a bowl without measuring, without any real thought or care, you'll end up with something inedible. But if you follow the recipe properly, add the right things at the right time in the right order, you get something worth eating.

The output is only ever as good as the input.

I think of my AI tools, ChatGPT, Claude, the whole lot of them, like new assistants. Keen, capable, and completely new to my business. ChatGPT has even been named Neo in my world. But on day one, Neo knows nothing about my voice, my clients, my standards, or how I like things done.

I have to:

1. Brief him properly
2. Review his work (because he's eager to please and will make things up)
3. Edit what he produces until it meets my standard

It takes a little effort upfront. But once that relationship is working? He handles the surrounding work, and I get to spend my energy on the parts only I can do and enjoy.

That's the version of AI I teach people about.

So let's name the two fears that are really at play here.

The first is about quality. "I've seen what careless AI use looks like, and I want nothing to do with it." Completely valid. The answer isn't to avoid AI. It's to learn how to use it with the same standards you bring to everything else.

The second is about trust. "My clients come to me for me. I don't want them to feel shortchanged." Also completely valid. And the good news is that AI doesn't have to go anywhere near your client. The place it earns its keep is behind the scenes, in the prep, the admin, the first drafts, the surrounding work that eats up your time without requiring your expertise.

The goal is not for AI to be facing your clients.

It's for AI to give you more space to show up for them properly.

Don't know where to start?

​Book a free consultation and let's chat!

THE ACTION STEP

If you've dabbled and you're not convinced, try this.

Maybe you've tried ChatGPT once or twice, seen what came back, and thought, "Nope, that doesn't sound like me at all."

Fair enough. But I'd ask you one question. How much did you actually give it to work with?

No context. No tone direction. No real brief. That's like handing someone a bag of flour and asking them to bake you a cake. Of course it's going to be a mess.

If you want AI to sound like you, you have to tell it who you are.

Pick one task that's taking up your time but doesn't need your full expertise:

• A follow-up email after a client call
• A first draft proposal
• A meeting agenda
• A summary of your notes

Then use this prompt:

"I'm a [your role] working with [describe your client]. My tone of voice is [warm / direct / personal / straightforward]. Help me draft a [email / proposal / summary] based on the following: [paste your notes, call transcript or context]."

Review what comes back, it won't be perfect, and that's fine. You should never go with the first version. Tell it what you like and don't like, what you'd like to change. Edit it and make it yours, then send it.

AI is here to make us better at what we do. Use it with that in mind, and always, always review what it gives you.

When you learn to use it well, you realise something. Your clients aren't getting less of you. They're actually getting more of you. More of the thinking, the expertise, the care that made them choose you in the first place. Because you're spending less time on the stuff that drains you, and more time on the work you're genuinely good at.

Have you just signed up? See all previous newsletters here.​

AI MADE SIMPLE

Here's something most people don't realise. The popular AI tools, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot, all of them, let you personalise how they communicate with you. Right there in the settings.

It goes by different names depending on the tool: Custom instructions, Memory, Personalisation. But the idea is the same. You tell the AI who you are, how you work, and how you want it to communicate. And from that point on, every answer it gives you is shaped by that context, without you having to repeat yourself every single time.

So instead of getting generic output, you get something that already knows you're a consultant who works with senior leaders. That your tone is warm and direct. That your clients expect a high standard. That you never want anything that sounds like it was written by a corporate bot.

You set the recipe once, and then it follows it every time. (yes, I'm really milking that recipe analogy...)

Here's how to find it:

• ChatGPT: Go to Settings, then Personalisation, then Custom Instructions
• Claude: Go to Settings, then Profile
• Gemini: Go to Settings, then Personal Info
• Copilot: Go to Settings, then Personalisation

Spend ten minutes filling it in properly: Your role, your clients, your tone of voice, your standards. The more specific you are, the better answers you'll get.

That's your shortcut to AI that actually sounds like you.

You can thank me later😉

That's all for today Reader

Have a great weekend!👋🏼

Take Care

Maria

PS: If you want to explore what working together looks like, book a free call

PPS: If you enjoy these emails and want to do something nice, you can buy me a coffee 😉

​​​