Why I Stopped Creating Content with AI (and You Should too)

I've stopped using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other AI tool out there when creating my content. And as a coach, expert, or consultant yourself trying to build an online business or personal brand, you probably should too. AI is taking the world by storm, especially when it comes to content creation, because it saves time, it's easier to come up with ideas, and it just takes less brainpower. But is it really helping your business grow, or is it just making everybody sound like a bunch of robots saying the same things? Today I'm going to share my honest thoughts about AI when it comes to content creation and what I am doing today to grow my online business. So let's start with the problem with AI. AI is a helpful tool, but people are relying on it way too much. When AI first went mainstream, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was able to write full-blown blog posts, emails for my list, script my YouTube videos instantly with a simple prompt. And I did that for years. But after using it more and more, I've noticed that everybody else is using it too. And I'm sure you've noticed this as well. You see the em dash, the overuse of emojis, not because blank, but because blank, or the classic, but here's the kicker. After using these tools so long myself, I've just realized that I was starting to sound more and more like everybody else rather than truly sharing my actual ideas, insights, and voice. I'd get in these traps with AI where it was contradicting its advice for me, and I was honestly just looking to it for too much advice, or I was spending so much time going back and forth just to try and say something that I want to say. There are many times where I'd put something in and it would be like, oh, this is a genius idea, or this is, oh, this is so good. And it would encourage me to pursue it. And then I'd go do it and then come back to get feedback. And it's like, well, why did you write that? And I'm like, because you told me to. And this is just one of the main issues that I had when it came to creating content and products with AI. And it was causing me to second guess myself and what I believe to be true. And that's really what my audience wants. They want to learn from me, not from AI, because they can just message AI and ask it whatever question they want. But the thing about being a content creator and using AI is that we use it because it makes things so much easier, or at least it just feels that way. But imagine your best man or your maid of honor writes their speech for you and they used ChatGPT to do it rather than sharing their own memories and experiences with you and writing it by hand. Even if it sounded awesome, it might be a little too polished to where you're like, there's no way you wrote that. But if you found out that they did use AI to write something important like that, it would dilute the meaning behind it. And this is just what I've been seeing in the last few years with AI being as accessible as it has been the last few years. Another big problem that I have with AI and using it is that I was using it a lot unnecessarily to the point where like, bro, you don't really need to use AI for something like that. Like asking it a simple question that I could just Google or just use common sense to think about. And this leads to the environmental toll that it has on our planet. Data centers consume millions of gallons of water every single year just to keep these servers cool and companies are buying out land to put in more data centers. And it's just like this bad cycle of you overusing a ton of energy. So in my personal decision of realizing that I was using AI just unnecessarily, I still use it, but not as much as I was using it, um, because I do want to save our planet. And quite frankly, side tangent, I just think that they shouldn't even be able to legally have data centers unless they have some environmental kind of scapegoats around it to make sure that things don't happen like that. But that's a conversation for another day. The bottom line here and what I'm getting at is that with everybody using AI nowadays, the power of the message is getting diluted and it's getting lost into a sea of sameness because everybody else is using the same tools and people notice. So here's why I am quitting AI, kind of. Earl Nightingale said, if you want to be successful, find out what everyone else is doing and do the opposite. Everybody is using AI to write their content, to brainstorm ideas, et cetera. And it's starting to show, especially when you get more savvy with using AI yourself. You notice the inconsistencies, or I guess the consistencies of AI language, the way things are written, the certain words that people use, and people just being lazy when it comes to creating content. The goal of our content is really simple. It's to get discovered by and build trust with our target audience. And then move them into some kind of offer that we have so we can really help them. And as a coach, consultant, or an expert online, trust is your most valuable asset. But the thing is that people trust people more than robots. If ChatGPT had every solution in the world and could fulfill all those needs that you have to connect with people, then you wouldn't be listening to this right now. AI is a great tool, but it doesn't replace your personality, your confidence, your expertise, the knowledge you have on this topic, the experiences you have around whatever it is that you to talk about. That's what makes us human, and AI cannot replace that. People are investing in you as a coach, a consultant, or an expert online. You're trying to build your business, and trust is the foundational piece of that. We are in a trust recession. Everybody's talking about it because it's true. And I just feel that AI and the use of AI when it comes to creating content, which is a very important piece of your business, is really taking away from that connection that you could be having with your audience. They don't want some fake manufactured version of you. They want the real you. And if you think about it, it is very similar to dating. We have to spend time with someone to get to know them before we're ready to commit to that next level. This might be your first encounter with me, and that's great. And I hope that I'm doing my job of building the relationship with you because that is my goal here. And that needs to be your goal with your content as well. I want to share my ideas as they are and show my personality without AI's contradicting advice or making me second guess what I believe is true. Now, don't get me wrong, I still do use AI for feedback, for research, for spell checking, or coming up with some ideas. But I have taken more of the ownership on me, and I've like done that in the past. I mean, even when I was transitioning, instead of just being like, hey, write me an email, I would actually record a voice note on my phone and then take that voice note, plug it into ChatGPT, and it would spit out something that was a bit more put together instead of a random voice note. But even with that, what ChatGPT would spit out just wouldn't be as good as if I had just written it or just shared the story myself. But the biggest thing here is that when you're creating content, it's the relationship building that's the most important thing, and it should be coming from you, not from repurposed AI content that these servers are pulling. That being said, like when it comes to research or ideas, you can get a lot of really good ideas to help you in knowing what to execute on or doing customer research from there instead of doing a bunch of conversations. But you still have to double, triple check at all times. Is this actually true? Is this what I know to be true about my audience? And then use it to kind of test it with your audience rather than just taking whatever AI gives you and just running with it. And that's the problem that so many people are facing right now. So here's how I am creating content now. The biggest separator between you and AI is lived experience. AI can summarize information, but only you can tell the story of actually living it. AI doesn't know your story or the way that you were experiencing a divorce or being overweight and then your journey going into being in a fit body. It didn't struggle through your failures. It didn't have to figure out things the hard way that you did in the way that you've had to figure them out. And it definitely didn't get the results that you've been able to get for yourself and other people. But those are the very things that are gonna make people connect with you and trust you and ultimately wanna buy from you. AI will make you sound polished, but it will never replace your lived experience. And I believe that experts really do speak from experience. You can use AI to come up with cool tips and tricks to get through something or to figure out how to do something. But what's really gonna make people actually wanna buy from you aren't tips and tricks. It's people sharing their opinions, their ideas, the way that they think about problems and how they create solutions. Your shared experience together, that's what connects us as humans. And that's the disconnect that I'm seeing from AI to actually just making a video that you think is gonna serve your audience. So after thinking about all this myself and now voicing it to you, I am writing my emails and my YouTube scripts completely by hand now. Yeah, it takes a bit longer, but I know with confidence that what I'm putting out into the world is purely me. It's my expertise, my stories, my voice, my viewpoints, not some manufactured pattern that AI is seeing. While AI is surging, I'm going down the path of authenticity, and I'd recommend that you try it out yourself. Now, I will say that I've been creating content for years. I know a good flow when it comes to content creation. I have templates that I've memorized. I also have been developing my skills as a writer, over the last 6+ years. So there may be a skill gap there for you. Maybe not. Maybe you're a better writer than I am. I'm not the best writer in the world, but if you want to get better at writing without the use of AI, watch this video next and I'll give you 20 of my best copywriting tips in just 6 minutes. If this video is insightful or helpful in any way, please give it a like. That really helps boost the channel. Share it with someone that you think would benefit from it and let me know your thoughts down in the comments below. What was the takeaway you got or your idea or input when it comes to content creation with AI. As always, take what you learned here, get out there, make something happen. I'll see you in the next one.