I’ve written along and with generative AI tools for two years now and helped dozens of professionals and entrepreneurs do the same. What has changed, and can we espace AI in content creation anymore?

It was a little over two years ago that I wrote my first article about – and with! – ChatGPT. 

Back then, ChatGPT was just making its way to broader consciousness and Google’s Gemini was still called Bard. Artificial intelligence in itself was nothing new, but LLMs, large language models, quickly made it available to people who hadn’t been able to access it before. 

While I wouldn’t call myself an early generative AI adopter, I was immediately curious about the phenomenon. I was afraid: Were these tools going to pick me my job? I was annoyed: Did people seriously not see how mediocre the AI-generated prose was?

But I was also intrigued: How could I harness these tools and help others harness them, too, to make an even bigger impact through even higher-quality content?

That first article and its sequel two weeks later, despite being rather concise and superficial dips into the vast topic of generative AI, still reflect many of my opinions today. 

But a lot has changed in two years, and it’s time to re-evaluate: How do I feel about generative AI tools in content creation, what has changed and have my biggest fears come true?

AI Tools in Writing – Not a “Yes” or “No” Question

In those first hectic months of the rise of AI in Europe, some countries and authorities went on the defensive. Italy, as the first Western government, forbade ChatpGPT. They did pivot fast and lifted the ban less than a month later. 

I embarked on a generative AI crash course and had to catch up quickly, as demand for AI-assisted writing training increased. In those first training sessions, there were quite a few people, often close to half of the group or even a majority, who confessed to never having touched a generative AI tool. 

Some went even further by claiming they had very few intentions to. Others were curious to give them a try but ended up abandoning the tools after short trials.

Since then, the demand for AI training has somewhat subsided, but there’s been an even more significant change: Few people confess to not having tried any AI tools, and even fewer claim never wanting to.

AI is already part of many tools we use daily without thinking about it: Email programs suggest how to finish our sentences better than we do, grammar and spelling check apps propose synonyms to avoid repetition and graphic design tools create visuals to complete our social media posts in a matter of seconds.

The question of “Yes or no” has shifted into “Why and how”? Generative AI tools are an integral part of our digital daily lives, but a strategic approach is key: We do need mindful consideration of how we use AI tools, and how we go about selecting ones to use and integrating them into our writing process.

Transparency of AI Writing Tools Has Evolved

In those early days of quickly spreading LLM enthusiasm, the thing that triggered me the most was the lack of transparency and fact-checking. As a former journalist, I felt uneasy when kept from checking and evaluating my sources – simply because they couldn’t be accessed!

In 2025, I’m glad to report that generative AI tools have evolved tremendously when it comes to transparency and credibility of the content. 

For example, Perplexity discloses its sources, and it’s become a standard practice for household names like ChatPGT and Gemini to remind the user of the possibility of errors in the answers. The specialised tools for different industries, like Sourcely and Elicit for academia and TriloDocs for medical writers, bring much-needed transparency and accuracy to the game. 

Yet, in my training and strategy sparring work, I’m regularly dumbfounded by the number of people who use LLM-based text generators for background research and take their answers at face value.

We must not forget that especially un-specialised tools have a high capacity to churn out sensical nonsense: Correctly crafted sentences that sound true, but just as well may not be. Generative AI tools are not at their best as background research tools, and as writers, we must stay vigilant to keep the boundary between checked truths and sensical nonsense from blurring.

Use AI writing tools effectively: Start with the ones you like

For quite a long time, despite exploring AI tools with a curious attitude and training others to make the most of them, I used them relatively little in my content creation work. The results felt depressingly mediocre given that writing with large language models took me almost as much time as crafting the text myself.

All that changed the day Google integrated Gemini into my Google Workspace subscription. Suddenly, the star-like Gemini logo was calling me in every document I wrote and every spreadsheet I opened, promising to polish my sentences and format my tables for me. 

This is not to say you should upgrade to a paid Google Workspace subscription, too, if you’re not using the tools or find them to your liking. The lesson is that the key to an effortless and efficient AI-tools use is to choose the ones you like, that are easy for you to use and can be found close by. 

 A recurring question in my courses is which tools to choose and how to integrate them into a smooth workflow. While answering that question in the space of one article (or one training session, for that matter) is going to be tough, I do have a sound piece of advice:

To build an AI toolkit that speeds up your workflow, start by reviewing the tools you have access to already. Your existing paid subscriptions can include access to AI-driven tools or features. Start by exploring how you can integrate them into your daily routines, and only after you’ve given them a chance, look for other tools and solutions if you still need them.

People spend extraordinary amounts of time and energy trying to find the AI tool that is going to fit into their toolkit seamlessly and make everything easier. That piece of AI gold is unlikely to exist.

Instead, you’re better off looking into the tools that are close to you and easy to start using. The closer the tools are, the more likely you use them. And when you use tools regularly, it’s easier to make the most of them.

The second part of choosing the right tools is choosing the right ways to use them. I still rarely have Gemini write content for me, but it’s become a handy sparring partner and an integral part of my AI routines. 

Not Using AI At All? There’s a Steep Downside To It

As I mentioned, fewer and fewer people ditch AI-powered tools entirely. Even those who say they do are likely to use AI-powered tools without realising it. 

While, in the early days of the rise of generative AI, reluctance to dive in might still have looked cautious, now swearing off AI altogether has a different aura. And that’s the aura of missing out.

AI is here to stay, and the speed of evolution is only likely to get faster. The faster and smarter we can integrate AI into our lives and work, from to-do list management to writing fascinating articles, the better positioned we are to serve our clients and audiences in the future.

On the other hand, those who stubbornly resist familiarising themselves with AI-driven tools, fall further and further behind.  Even two or three months from now, you’ll have much more to catch up on if you don’t start the exploration today. 

And, looking from the positive side: If you start today or have already started, you’ve got a head start as compared to those who are still struggling to get on. 

How to Get Started with AI-Assisted Writing?

There you go: That’s how my approach to AI and strategies for using it have evolved and adjusted over the last two years.

Here’s once more a compilation of support articles I’ve written over the years. Despite the fast evolution of the field, many tips are still valid today:

• Polish your professional brand with the help of AI. Your Ultimate AI Success Checklist includes profile-improvement tips, a curated list of my favourite AI tools and a prompt library for those looking to write better and faster with generative AI.
• Develop your AI toolkit. These tools have helped me and my clients work more efficiently with AI.
• Save time and write better with generative AI tools. While my strategies have evolved in recent years, I still stand behind these five AI-writing strategies.
• Judge for yourself: Does ChatGPT write better than me? Compare the two articles and learn from my early experiences of writing with large language models.

Where are you on your AI writing journey? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below and on LinkedIn.

Download my prompt library and curated AI tool list!