When I Realized AI Could Slip Under the Radar—and What We Can Do About It
I’ve started picking up a certain cadence in copy that sets off alarms. Stiff rhythm. Phrases nobody says out loud… “leverage synergies,” “optimize workflows,” “streamline operations.” It reads like buzzword Jeopardy.
AI slop.
It’s everywhere… LinkedIn feeds, inboxes, product pages. Too many of us treat AI like a magic “make content appear” button. The tool’s powerful, but a hammer doesn’t swing itself; you still have to aim and hit the nail.
What the Numbers Actually Tell Us
Squarespace surveyed 1,200+ entrepreneurs across six countries and the picture is… complicated (in a useful way).
The upside:
66% say AI will be very or extremely important over the next five years. 70% estimate it saves up to 10 hours a week. Nearly half (48%) feel less stress. And 42% say customers are more engaged with AI-created content—when it sounds professional and on-brand.
The friction:
50% worry about generic output. 39% say AI copy often needs heavy editing. 90% use AI for copy generation, but far fewer use it for things like financials (27%) or inventory forecasting (25%). 65% think AI helps them compete with bigger brands; 53% think it will make starting a business easier. In other words: huge potential… if we stop shipping mush.
The Human Part Is Everything
Here’s what I keep seeing with clients: AI gets blamed for mediocre output that started with a mediocre brief. We expect the model to intuit brand voice, audience nuance, positioning, and what we actually mean… without telling it any of that.
Treat AI like a new hire and you’ll get a new-hire draft. Treat it like a power tool (fed with your expertise, examples, and constraints) and it amplifies what you already know.
A small cleaning-products brand can absolutely use AI to speed product descriptions—but only if they feed it the good stuff: plant-based surfactants vs. solvents, child-safe caps with lock ratings, third-party lab results, why their lemon oil is cold-pressed, and which allergens they’ve excluded. Without those details, you’ll get “premium quality” mush that reads like everyone else.
Why It All Feels Like Slop
Good writing is judgment + context + specificity. If you treat AI like a vending machine—generic prompt in, generic content out—you’ll get slop every time. The businesses actually winning with AI aren’t outsourcing the thinking; they’re using AI as a sounding board, a research buddy, a rough-draft machine… and then they do the human work that makes it theirs.
Match the Tool to the Job
“AI” isn’t one thing, and that matters.
Visual ideation: image models (e.g., Midjourney) to explore directions… then a designer finishes it.
Structure & logic: chat models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, & Gemini) to outline, sequence, and stress-test ideas before you write.
Long-form nuance: advanced chat models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) guided by your brand kit and example paragraphs.
Tedious technicals: task-specific tools in Canva, or Nano Banana for repeatable edits that saves time.
No “set it and forget it.” You’re in the driver’s seat; the tools just make the car faster.
The 5-Minute
Anti-Slop
Checklist (Before You Hit Publish)
Kill the clichés. Replace leverage/robust/cutting-edge with specifics a customer could repeat.
Add one concrete detail per paragraph. A metric, ingredient, name, step, or price.
Read it out loud. If you wouldn’t say it, rewrite it.
Vary the rhythm. Mix short punches with longer lines; avoid stacked abstracts.
Fact + voice pass. Links, names, stats… and one line that unmistakably sounds like you.
How to Make This Work for You
If you’re a small team, AI levels the playing field by giving you back time—time you can reinvest in the things big brands can’t fake: real conversations, quick pivots, personal service, and content that actually sounds like a person.
Use AI for the grunt work—scheduling, first drafts, data-wrangling. Spend your reclaimed hours on the human stuff:
Talking to customers and (politely) stealing their language for your copy
Making products that actually solve what you’ve seen
Building relationships that last longer than a campaign
Publishing with clarity and personality
Start Here (Right Now)
Pick one tedious task this week. Not your core creative work. Not your customer relationships. The repetitive thing.
Choose a tool that fits that task.
Feed it real inputs (voice notes, examples, brand rules).
Treat its output as a springboard, not a finish line.
Add your expertise… add your voice… ship something that sounds like you.
Because the data’s clear: AI can save hours, lower stress, and help you compete. But only if you wield the tool—don’t let it wield you.
What's driving you nuts about AI tools right now? Getting generic garbage, or have you cracked the code? Let me know in the comments. I want to hear what you're dealing with.
