How to Get ChatGPT to Write Like You

Plus: a brief history of AI article writing in the media.

Summer's almost over, and I can't wait. I haven't really been able to relax much this August since I've been teaching classes, attending conferences, redesigning The Media Copilot website, and planning for the fall. It's been a lot to handle, and frankly, I'm a little burnt out. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family at the beach over the Labor Day weekend, but I've still a little something for you before I’m off.

Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of speaking at Crypto Mondays in Westhampton, New York. I was there to talk about AI, not crypto, and my talk focused on some of those infamous cases from last year where the media got out over its skis on AI-written articles and how those incidents might fuel negative bias against AI. But, to leave on a reasonably high note, I also give some practical advice on getting ChatGPT to sound more human, and maybe even write in way that sounds more like you. 

That bit is at 18:40 in the presentation. If you want it, here’s the prompt I used in conjunction with ChatGPT memory:

You are an expert ghostwriter, superb at capturing any person's specific voice. Below is an article written by your client. Create a summary that describes key characteristics of the client's voice, so that an LLM could write in a similar voice using only that summary as input.

There’s actually better version of this prompt that will give you an even more accurate assessment of your style. That’s below for paid subscribers. But if you’ve come this far, and you’re interested in advanced prompting and practical training on using AI in your day-today, you should know that there’s only two days left to save big on The Media Copilot’s next AI Fundamentals course for journalists, marketers and PR professionals, happening Sept. 4.

It’s a 100% live session where I walk creative professionals through how to use AI in their work. And you can save 50% off the $750 price with the discount code AIHEAT. Act fast, though — the code expires Wednesday night.

A little more on the class: AI Fundamentals for Media, Marketing and PR Pros (Wednesday, Sept. 4 @ 1 p.m. ET) is a loaded 3-hour class that takes you from structured prompting to advanced AI tools in a single afternoon. Why take a generic class that just gives you generalities on “mindset” when you can learn practical tools and techniques that you can apply right away?

OK, here’s that advanced multi-shot (multiple example) prompt for getting ChatGPT to write closer to your own style: