Your team’s AI drafts need a house style, not another round of edits.
Ever asked AI to write a customer update, only to spend more time removing generic phrases than it would’ve taken to write it yourself? You’re not alone. Reports sound polished but interchangeable, emails are grammatically fine but don’t feel like your team wrote them.
Here’s the problem: AI doesn’t know your company’s voice unless you show it. Without clear instructions, every draft starts from scratch, and your team’s style depends on who’s prompting the tool. The result? A lot of editing to make it sound like you.
AI isn’t the problem. The missing style guide is.
Think about it: if your team already makes the same edits every time—shorten the opening, cut the filler, put the decision first—why not write those rules down? A house style isn’t a branding exercise. It’s a practical way to make drafts faster to review and more consistent from the start.
Here’s how to turn your style guide into AI instructions:
- Define the tone: Is it direct, warm, formal, or somewhere in between?
- Set the structure: Lead with the decision, the context, or the request?
- List phrases to avoid: What canned language does your team never use?
- Show how to open and close: Skip the generic pleasantries.
- Include examples: Share a few emails or reports you’d be proud to send again.
The key? Examples beat adjectives. Telling AI to be “clear and direct” is vague. Showing it a strong sample email is actionable.
Don’t start by automating the draft. Start by documenting the edits your team already makes.
A style guide isn’t about restricting creativity. It’s about saving time. When everyone starts from the same instructions, drafts need less rewriting. And consistency doesn’t mean sameness—a good house style leaves room for judgment while keeping the essentials on track.
I’ve seen teams cut review time in half just by giving AI clear rules. But it only works if those rules exist in the first place.