A simple tip for writing with AI

Hey everyone – it’s been a while and a lot has been happening, so I want to give you a quick update before diving into the topic:

Last month at Alto Studios, we launched AI Content Copilots for executives and employees. The early response has been terrific. A few quick stats:

• 15 Content Copilots shipped so far – all completely personalized to the executive and their company (no generic AI!)

• < 30 days – time currently to configure, QC and ship a personalized Copilot to most executives

• ~70% – average time savings so far for content created with a personalized Copilot vs. without

We’re also starting to see material cost savings for teams using our Copilots.

If AI is an organizational priority for you this year, I’d love for you to check out what we’re building.

Secondly, and more importantly, we added a third kid to our family!

Our son was born on March 28. He and mom are doing great, and his big sisters love him.

Okay, now onto the topic: a simple tip for writing with AI.

Most people treat AI like a vending machine.

Drop in a prompt. Expect magic.

But the best outputs don’t come from a one-way transaction – they come from a two-way conversation.

Think of it like this:

If you hired a junior content marketer and gave them a vague assignment — “write me something good” — you’d never expect excellence right away. You’d expect follow-up questions. Clarifying details. A back-and-forth to refine the idea.

AI is no different. You have to interact with it.

A great place to start is simply asking the AI questions. 

Let’s say you want AI to help write a LinkedIn post, an investor update or something else.

Present your idea, but before having it get to work, ask it some questions.

• “What’s unclear about this idea?”

• “What else do you need to write this?”

• “Is there any missing context that would help?”

• “Do you have any suggestions before we begin?” 

So few people do this.

But it’s one of the easiest ways to drastically improve the AI’s output (we’ll save more sophisticated ideas like custom configuration for another time).

Treat AI like a teammate, not a tool.

Have a conversation. Ask questions. Guide it like you would an employee.

It will change the game for you.

Teddy is Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Alto Studios. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his wife and kids.