✏️ Let AI Help You Write Docs (But Don’t Let It Lie): Practical prompts, smart habits, and why it still needs a human touch
I use AI tools for technical writing, and I say it shamelessly
AI tools, like ChatGPT or Claude, can be a big help with drafting, editing, and improving technical documentation. They speed up the writing process and improve quality, without replacing the important work technical writers do. I was apprehensive, but now I use it pretty regularly. 🤓
There are starting risks, and you should assess them
Although there are risks for using AI tools, apart from hallucinations and inaccuracies that seem to have the confidence of a full chest, you also have to be aware of what you’re putting in if there’s company secrets or proprietary information, also depending on if you’re using a widely available AI tool, like ChatGPT, or something that’s only for your company, an in-house AI tool, that wouldn’t and couldn’t leak any secrets even if it wanted to.
If you’re not sure, check with your company’s Legal or IT team to see what you can and can’t do with AI tools (this is worth documenting, too, for any new writers that come along!)
Bring in the prompts…
Apart from the risks and doing due diligence, here are a few prompts I regularly use to make my life as a technical writer a bit easier (and hopefully yours!)
As a side note, feel free to modify them and edit them to meet your needs. The angle brackets (<>) are just examples and placeholders where you can enter and tweak them to fit your needs. 💪🏻
Condense long documents into key points
"Use the attached document or pasted text: <paste text here or upload your document (Word only, not PDF)>. Summarise the content into a <bullet list, paragraph, or format of your choice>, following <the Microsoft Style Guide (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/)> for clarity. Keep it as short as possible without losing meaning."
Detect grammar and clarity issues
"Use the pasted text: <paste text here>. Check for <US English> grammar, clarity, and punctuation issues. Explain why any flagged sections are incorrect. Refer to <Grammarly’s website, the Microsoft Style Guide, etc.> to support your decisions."
Check compliance with <the Microsoft Style Guide>
"Here is a draft to review: <paste text here>. Revise it using <the Microsoft Style Guide (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/)>. In a separate section, highlight which elements were adjusted to follow the guide."
Synthesise Jira tickets into a draft
"Here are the Jira tickets for <project name>: <paste all relevant Jira ticket content here>. I’m creating a technical document based on these. Synthesise the information clearly and concisely using <the Microsoft Style Guide (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/)>. Keep the output as short as possible without losing meaning."
Rewrite a colleague’s draft to match <the Microsoft Style Guide>
"This is a document a colleague wrote for <project name>: <paste text here>. Rewrite it using <the Microsoft Style Guide (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/)>. Ensure the tone, structure, and formatting follow the guide. Keep it concise and explain your changes based on the guide’s recommendations."
Summarise an email, message, or slide
"This text is too wordy: <paste text here>. Rewrite it following <the Microsoft Style Guide (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/)>. Use a bulleted list to highlight key points. Make it as short and clear as possible without losing meaning."
Post-risks are a thing, too
While all this speeds up my and thousands of others’ workday, there is a potential risk that can turn into a steep cost.
Limitations to product knowledge, no empathy or contextualisation, short-term memory, and overconfidence are a few of the setbacks with AI tools. Like humans, they are not perfect, and I don’t think they ever will be (1). And at the end of the day, guess who is responsible for the information the AI tools depend on?…
🙋🏻♂️ Me and the other thousands of people who care about and make documents that are reliable, product-specific, niche, and built for the very thing that keeps the lights on and your belly full: users. And unless AI becomes self-aware and surpasses the consciousness of humans (again, doubtful (2)), a blind reliance on sole AI will make sure your docs are filled with garbage, that it will so carefully and curtiously eat and spit it back out as truth, consistently misinforming your teams and users into a big, lovely mess to clean up (3).
Bottom line
I will gladly use AI for my job and encourage other writers to do so, as it’s becoming a growing expectation (check out LinkedIn for new job postings; as of July 2025, a lot are asking for AI tool familiarity). I also enjoy creating prompts to help with my tasks, too; however, it’s arguably not a saviour or second-coming in tech, as I’ve argued in an older post.
The industry of technical writing is here and arguably to stay for a while yet, but with tools to make it faster and easier. Hoorah! 🎉
