How to Brief AI Like a Human (and Not Sound Like Beige Paste)

AI doesn’t need more hype or hate. It needs better direction.

People toss it half-baked one-liners like “write copy for a pen” and expect poetry. When it gives them something that sounds like a middle manager in a meeting, they cry that AI has no soul.

Newsflash: it’s echoing yours.

If you treat it like a machine, that’s exactly what it’ll sound like. So here’s how to brief it like a human, and actually get words that breathe.

Start with the heartbeat

Who are you talking to? Not a demographic. A person.

Someone bored on the train, scrolling through chaos, or sipping burnt office coffee.

Write for that person. Tell the model their vibe, not just their title.

“Burnt-out marketers who love good copy but hate buzzwords.”

Now you’ve got tone. Humanity. Pulse.

Give it a vibe, not a checklist

“Make it engaging” is not direction. It’s a cop-out.

Describe energy, texture, chaos, temperature.

“Make it sound like a drunk poet who still bills clients.”

That’s an instruction it can sink its digital teeth into.

Set boundaries that bite

Good writing thrives on constraints. Word count, flow, rhythm, purpose.

Without them, you’ll get a copy salad with all dressing and no crunch.

“Hook under ten words. Eighty words max. No adjectives that could describe soup.”

Boundaries create tension. Tension creates voice.

Show it what you mean

If you’ve written something before that nails your tone, include it.

AI learns patterns. Humans do too. It’s not cheating, it’s clarity.

“Match this tone: sarcastic, smart, oddly kind.”

One sample paragraph can shift everything.

Always demand the rewrite

First drafts are supposed to suck.

Tell it to cut the fluff, tighten the verbs, sharpen the punch.

“Version two. Fewer words. More nerve.”

That’s how you shape personality out of prediction.

AI doesn’t replace writers. It reflects them.

If you bring intent, tone, and emotional precision, it amplifies that.

If you bring noise, it hands it back in high definition.

Stop treating AI like a vending machine.

Treat it like a collaborator with no ego and infinite stamina.

But it still needs you to set the rhythm and to give it a heartbeat worth syncing to.