Monday Morning Crisis: When AI Becomes Your Writing Buddy
It’s Monday morning. You open your inbox, and boom! There’s an email from your product manager.
“Hey, can we get the new API documentation by Wednesday? Can you also draft an internal guide for the support team?”
You blink. Twice. Wednesday? That’s 48 hours away! You sip your now lukewarm coffee and stare at your documentation backlog.
This is where AI should step in like a trusty sidekick. But here’s the question: Can it help you, or will it add to the chaos?
How AI Fits into the Technical Writer’s Life
AI isn’t some futuristic robot ready to steal your job (yet). It’s more like an eager intern, helpful, but only if you supervise it properly. The key is knowing when to use AI and when to roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself.
Let’s look at seven scenarios from a technical writer’s life when you might want to use AI.
1. When You Have a Blank Page Staring at You (And Panic Sets In)
Scenario: You need to write a complex guide, but your brain refuses to cooperate.
AI to the Rescue: Tools like ChatGPT and Jasper can generate an outline based on your topic. You prompt:
“Create an outline for a Getting Started Guide on integrating our API with a third-party platform.”
AI generates a rough structure with sections like Authentication Setup, Making Your First API Call, and Handling Errors. Great start, but it’s too generic.
Reality Check: AI can jumpstart the process, but it doesn’t know the quirks of your product. You’ll still need to refine the outline, insert company-specific details, and ensure the instructions actually make sense for your audience.
2. When You Need to Sound Like a Professional, But You’re Running on Three Hours of Sleep
Scenario: You’ve written a first draft, but it reads like a chaotic mix of legal jargon and tech speak.
AI to the Rescue: Grammarly and Hemingway can smooth things out. Grammarly fixes grammar, while Hemingway makes your writing clearer.
You run your draft through Grammarly, and it flags 57 issues. After accepting a few corrections, your content is cleaner, but then Hemingway jumps in and tells you that half your sentences are too complex.
For example, your original sentence:
“Utilizing API authentication mechanisms requires a profound understanding of security principles to ensure robust implementation.”
AI suggests:
“Understanding API authentication mechanisms is essential for secure implementation.”
Sure, it’s clearer, but did it lose some nuance?
Reality Check: AI is great for grammar and clarity, but technical accuracy is still on you. Accept the helpful fixes, but don’t let AI strip away essential details.
3. When You Have to Write Yet Another FAQ Section (And You’d Rather Do Anything Else)
Scenario: Your manager asks you to summarize a 50-page document into a 10-question FAQ.
AI to the Rescue: AI-powered tools like Perplexity AI can quickly scan a document and pull out key points. You prompt:
“Summarize the top pain points customers face when integrating our software.”
AI spits out a list of frequently asked questions, some of them spot on, others completely random.
You review the AI-generated FAQ:
✅ “How do I authenticate API requests?” Perfect.
✅ “What permissions are required for user roles?” Relevant.
❌ “Can I use this API to order pizza?” Wait, what?
Reality Check: AI can help speed up research, but it doesn’t understand context. You’ll need to refine and fact-check its output before hitting publish.
4. When You Need to Translate a Guide, But You Don’t Speak Japanese
Scenario: Your company is expanding, and your documentation needs to be available in multiple languages.
AI to the Rescue: DeepL and Google Translate can generate first-draft translations.
Except… something feels off. You ask a native speaker to review the AI translation, and they burst out laughing. Turns out, AI translated “containerized applications” as “boxed software”.
Reality Check: AI-powered translation is a great starting point, but it still struggles with technical jargon. Always have a human review the final output.
5. When You Need to Research, But Google Is Giving You Outdated Info
Scenario: You need to write about the latest AI advancements in documentation, but every search result is from 2019.
AI to the Rescue: Research assistants like Elicit and Perplexity AI can summarize recent papers and articles, saving you time.
You ask, “What are the latest advancements in AI-powered translation tools?” and AI compiles a neat summary, complete with references. But then, a closer look reveals that some sources are misquoted, and a few references don’t even exist.
AI can hallucinate (yes, that’s a real term in AI research). If it tells you that “Steve Jobs invented markdown,” you know something is off.
Reality Check: AI research assistants can speed up information gathering, but they sometimes “hallucinate” facts. Always verify sources before including them in your documentation.
6. When You Need to Maintain Consistency Across Docs
Scenario: Your company has strict style guidelines, but multiple writers contribute to the documentation.
AI to the Rescue: Writer and Copyscape help ensure that terminology, tone, and formatting are consistent across docs while flagging any accidental plagiarism.
For example, Writer can be set up with a company’s style guide to flag terms that deviate from approved phrasing (e.g., should it be “Datasets” or “Data Sets”?)
Reality Check: AI can assist with consistency, but it still requires human oversight. A well-trained technical writer is the final gatekeeper.
7. When You Need to Create Engaging Visuals, But You’re Not a Designer
Scenario: Your documentation would be clearer with flowcharts or UI screenshots, but designing them from scratch is time-consuming.
AI to the Rescue: Tools like DALL·E (for AI-generated diagrams), Lucidchart AI, and Visily can create diagrams and UI mockups with minimal input. You describe:
“Generate a sequence diagram showing the authentication flow for our API.”
AI produces a visual with labeled steps:
✅ User requests API access
✅ Server validates credentials
✅ API returns an authentication token
Great! But the arrows are pointing in the wrong direction, and it mislabeled “OAuth” as “OpenAuth” (not a thing).
Reality Check: AI-generated visuals can save time, but they require careful review and edits to ensure accuracy and clarity.
The Hard Truth: What AI Can’t Do (And Why You’re Still Essential)
As much as AI helps, it has limits. Here’s where human expertise wins:
- Context matters: AI doesn’t always understand why a user is struggling with a feature. You do.
- Brand voice consistency: AI-generated content often sounds generic. You ensure your documentation sounds like your company, not a robot.
- Critical thinking: AI can generate words, but it doesn’t know if they make sense in the real world.
The Golden Rule: AI is Your Assistant, Not Your Replacement
The best way to use AI in technical writing is to think of it like a supercharged autocorrect. It can:
- Speed up formatting, proofreading, and summarization.
- Help generate ideas when you’re stuck.
- Assist with research and translations.
But it can’t:
- Understand your users’ needs better than you.
- Ensure that documentation aligns with product changes.
- Replace the judgment and expertise of a technical writer.
Final Thoughts: AI is a Tool, Not a Magic Wand
AI isn’t going to replace good technical writers. Instead, it’s making our work more efficient if we use it wisely. The next time you’re drowning in deadlines, let AI handle the grunt work while you focus on what really matters: crafting clear, user-friendly documentation.
Now, go forth and write, AI at your side, but not in the driver’s seat. 🚀
