Earlier this month, we released the first-ever large-scale study examining how the professional writing community is adapting to and adopting artificial intelligence, with the help of Josh Bernoff of Bernoff.com. Based on responses from 1,481 survey participants — including journalists, ghostwriters, and content marketers — the AI and the Writing Profession Study reveals a deep attitudinal divide emerging within the profession about the relative benefits and harms associated with the AI revolution.
Around one in four professional writers use AI every day. A full 74 percent of the AI users said that AI applications make them more productive, but it’s a mistake to assume that these writers are just using AI to crank out text and publish it. They’re far more likely to use it to suggest titles and headings, replace web search, or brainstorm. In fact, only seven percent of writers use AI to generate publishable text.
The study also includes key takeaways for brands and organizations that regularly employ or engage writers. Given the productivity and quality gains of the more advanced writers in our survey, there is an opportunity to upskill staff through meaningful professional development and training. Simply insisting that full-time and contract writers use AI is poor strategy, since there are many potential pitfalls for inexperienced writers, including generating low-quality AI slop, allowing hallucinations to get into published material, and leaking confidential material into AI tools’ training sets. Indeed, enterprise managers would be well advised to tap advanced users to mentor and train colleagues on the best, most productive, and safest uses for large language models.
Why Ghostwriting May Be AI-Proof
It’s clear that AI is challenging the writing profession as a whole. One in four writing professionals have considered giving up their career due to changes brought on by AI. Among freelancers, 45% said that AI has reduced demand for their work, while 40% said it has dented their income. And 73% of writing professionals believe that opportunities will decrease in the next five years.
According to the survey, however, ghostwriters are only half as likely to report reduced demand and reduced income compared with other writers. Of all the segments of the writing profession, ghostwriting may be the most AI-resistant. Authors hiring ghostwriters are seeking a thought partner, a confidant, and a trusted advisor to help tell their story. And book readers want a genuine human experience, not just an efficiently collated and bland collection of well-organized text.
