I need to point out that a human wrote everything you are about to read. If you don’t believe me, please put this entire blog into an AI checker of your choice. However, please don’t assume I am arguing against AI—because I use it heavily. The reason why this blog passes AI detection is not because I am using tricks to fool it. It’s because I use AI to help me with various tasks associated with the writing process instead of relying on it to generate articles for our website.
One of my coworkers described his relationship with AI as a partnership rather than a dictatorship, which is how it should be viewed. He’s right because AI increases the range of possibilities but does not dictate an outcome.
How To Partner with AI
When I first used AI, I dismissed it because I couldn’t figure out how to get it to do my writing. Granted, this was years ago, and my relationship with it has significantly evolved. Maybe you have seen how weak it is (compared to you) when drafting a motion. Whereas that is likely true, don’t dismiss its benefits because of what it can’t do. Rather than writing for me, I have relied on AI to analyze large data sets.
This comes as assessing how effective my email marketing campaigns are. Yes, I have pages of spreadsheets that annotate when I sent something out, who it went to, and how effective it was. Though I put a significant amount of time into documenting the times the emails went out the open and click-through rates, I have discovered how effective AI is at detecting trends I don’t see. I then add that to intuition and critical thinking to enhance the creation process.
It is also an excellent tool for expanding on a single idea. Although I may have originated the idea, AI tools have quickly provided me with different layouts, designs, and headlines. I am not taking any of them as they exist but pushing back against them with my additions and subtractions. AI’s role is to give me a large amount of information at a high speed, while my job is to work on quality and meaning. This is positive because relying on AI could lead to losing both skill sets.
Is AI A Good Research Tool?
Yes, but you have to define “research.” When it comes to gathering basic information to understand a topic, it is unparalleled. You can gain an overview and answer simple questions without investing significant time. For example, if there are lengthy articles I want to read to understand more about marketing, I will ask AI to come up with a bulleted list of all the key points the article makes. There will also be moments when I see a bulleted point and go back to the article because I want to learn more about it.
Regardless of what you are creating, forming the final product may only be a small component of the journey. One of my favorite copywriters, Eugene Schwartz, said 80% of copywriting is research. AI accelerates the time I have to spend on repetitive, time-consuming tasks. It leaves more room for higher-level thinking. Whether you are a writer like me or an attorney, AI enhances ideation, but (for now) it still relies on human judgment to successfully generate a final product. The attorneys I have spoken to see AI as a part of our future. As you move forward, remember it is your partner rather than your boss.
As a side note, I would love to hear how you incorporated it into your legal practice. This isn’t like a YouTube video where I ask you to “hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss out on any future videos.” I want to learn more about how real people use it in the legal community because AI certainly won’t help me with this one. Email me at edward@spotlightbranding.com and let me know your thoughts.
Spotlight Branding
Latest posts by Spotlight Branding (see all)
- If You Master This, Then You Master Marketing - February 12, 2025
- How Giving Away the Right Stuff Creates ROI - February 11, 2025
- The Best Way Small Law Firms Build Community - February 10, 2025
