The Difference Between Editing Human vs AI Writing

How the "author" of a piece changes my role as the editor

Photo created by DALL-E with my prompting

Editing is where ideas come to life. It’s about turning raw drafts into messages that matter. With each pass—whether I’m working with a human writer or AI—the ideas crystallize, the structure solidifies, and the impact amplifies

By the final cut, the writing doesn’t just inform; it resonates.

When a human writer produces content, they do so with a specific intention: to inform, educate, persuade, or entertain their audience. .

Generative AI has no intentions other than to generate text based on its human companion’s prompting.

However, as a human editor, my role is the same: To ensure the piece achieves the human’s goals cleanly and effectively.

How I Review Human Writing

Beyond correcting spelling and grammar mistakes, an editor examines both the big picture and the finer details.

I look at whether the piece flows well, makes sense overall, and achieves its purpose. For example, I check if the ideas build logically or if there’s a section that feels underdeveloped.

Once the structure is solid, I focus on the details—ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment from individual words to full paragraphs.

Whenever possible, I prefer to collaborate directly with the writer during the editing process. Working together often leads to a better outcome because it creates opportunities for real-time feedback and deeper understanding.

For instance, I once worked with a PhD candidate to revise and refine her dissertation. I pointed out where she needed to explain a term she was using and recommended she make her sources clearer. I also made a note about a section that didn’t quite make sense and suggested an alternative.

After she reviewed my notes and made changes based on my questions and suggestions, the piece was much stronger.

As you can see in this screenshot, my initial feedback often includes questions to clarify statements, comments about whether something makes sense or needs beefing up, and suggestions to improve the readability or the flow between paragraphs.

Just as in the example above, I send these to the author, who then revises their content to address the issues I’ve pinpointed.

What’s Different About Editing AI Content

Occasionally, a writer will push back on a suggestion and explain their reasoning. Which is totally fine—if the piece is theirs, they get the final say (of course, this isn’t always the case, if it’s a work for hire).

Working with AI to refine a piece of content is very similar, except that it doesn’t push back and justify; it simply applies my suggestions.

When editing AI-generated content, I treat the process much the same: I assess the output for clarity, logic, flow, and overall effectiveness, just as I would with a human-written piece.

And honestly, there’s always a human involved, whether that’s me or someone else. The generative AI tools don’t create text or images of their own volition. They must be prompted and guided by a human.

So really, the process is extremely similar. The only difference is that if the writer is inexperienced with using AI to help them with their writing, I’m likely to encounter far more AI-isms that I have to weed out or change.

On the other hand, ChatGPT doesn’t make too many spelling or basic grammatical errors. So it’s a trade-off.

A Beautiful Partnership

The collaboration between a human and an AI can bring out the best of both: the AI provides speed and creative suggestions, while the human adds depth, nuance, and a personal touch.

However, it can also introduce challenges, like eliminating AI-isms and ensuring the AI’s contributions align with the writer’s voice and intentions.

The human writer still has the final say.

And my role as editor remains to help humans polish their writing—regardless of who or what wrote it—to meet their goals and connect authentically with their audience.

*Disclaimer: The first draft of this article was written by me, but I used ChatGPT to help me refine it.

Interested in how I used AI to help me refine my first draft of this article? Please click here and consider upgrading your subscription to enjoy my how-to content.