The honest position#
AI writing tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) are excellent for drafting. They're terrible for shipping.
Why? Default AI output has tells: overuse of "exciting," "robust," "leverage." First sentence in passive voice. Multiple adjectives where one would do. Generic openings ("In today's fast-paced world...").
Recipients notice. Engagement drops. Trust erodes over months as readers start to recognize AI-typical phrasing.
The fix: use AI for the 80% draft, then spend the 20% editing time that makes it sound like YOU.
The 4-step workflow#
Step 1: Brief the AI#
Give the AI specific context, not generic prompts:
Bad:
"Write an email promoting our spring sale."
Better:
"Write a 100-word email from Brand to active customers about our spring sale (20% off through March 15). Sound conversational, not corporate. Lead with the benefit. End with one direct CTA. Avoid 'exciting,' 'thrilled,' 'leverage.'"
The brief shapes the output 10×.
Step 2: Generate the draft#
Get 2-3 variations from the AI. Pick the best opening line. Discard the others.
Step 3: Surgical rewrite#
This is where you spend your editing time. The patterns:
| Cut |
Why |
| "We are excited to announce..." |
Always cut. Recipients don't care if you're excited; they care what's in it. |
| "In today's fast-paced world..." |
Bot-tell. Cut entirely. |
| "Robust" / "Leverage" / "Innovative" |
Buzzword saturation. Replace with specifics. |
| Multiple sentences with the same structure |
Vary sentence length. |
| Adverbs ("very," "really," "extremely") |
Usually noise. Cut them. |
| "I hope this email finds you well." |
Cut. Always. |
| Add |
Why |
| First-person specific ("I noticed...") |
Adds humanity that AI never adds |
| Concrete numbers ("47% faster" not "much faster") |
Specific = trustworthy |
| Direct second-person ("You can...") |
AI defaults to "Our platform helps customers...", which is weak |
| Variable sentence length (short + medium + occasional long) |
AI defaults to uniform medium-length |
| Honest acknowledgments ("This is the email I should have sent in February") |
AI never does this; instantly humanizes |
Step 4: Read aloud + Preview#
Read the final draft aloud. If anything sounds off, rewrite.
Then click Preview in AcelleMail to verify formatting + mobile rendering:
Also send a test to yourself for final read.
Before / after rewrites#
Sale email#
AI draft (unmodified):
Subject: Don't miss our exciting spring sale!
Dear valued customer,
We are thrilled to announce that our highly anticipated spring sale is now live!
For a limited time, you can leverage incredible discounts of up to 20% off
on our innovative product line. This is the perfect opportunity to take
advantage of our cutting-edge solutions and revolutionize your daily routine.
Don't miss out on this exclusive offer! Visit our website today to explore
our wide range of premium products and find the perfect fit for your needs.
Best regards,
The Brand Team
Surgically rewritten:
Subject: 20% off through Friday — your size first
Hey {{ subscriber.first_name | default('there') }},
The spring sale is live. 20% off everything through Friday.
If you've been thinking about that jacket from last month — here's your window.
Shipping is free over $50.
Check what's left in your size →
Cuts: "exciting," "thrilled," "leverage," "innovative," "cutting-edge," "revolutionize," "exclusive," "valued customer," "Best regards."
Adds: specific time-bound ("through Friday"), concrete benefit ("Shipping free over $50"), personal acknowledgment ("If you've been thinking..."), direct CTA.
Result: half the length, twice the conversion.
Onboarding email#
AI draft:
Subject: Welcome to Brand — let's get started!
Hi there,
Welcome to Brand! We're so excited to have you join our community. We're
committed to providing you with the best possible experience and helping you
achieve your goals.
To get the most out of our platform, we recommend completing your profile,
exploring our features, and reaching out to our support team if you have any
questions. Our team is here to help you every step of the way.
We're looking forward to seeing the amazing things you'll accomplish!
Best regards,
The Brand Team
Rewritten:
Subject: One quick step to get going
Hey,
Three things you'll get the most out of, fastest:
1. Connect your first list (15 seconds — paste an email).
2. Send a test campaign (use our default template; takes 30 seconds).
3. Watch the first dashboard report (open rates show up in 4 hours).
Stuck on any of these? Reply to this email; a human reads them.
Cheers, Maya
Cuts: "Welcome to Brand," "excited," "amazing things you'll accomplish," every generic phrase.
Adds: 3 numbered concrete actions, time estimates per action, escape hatch ("Reply to this email"), human signature.
AI prompts that produce better drafts#
| Goal |
Prompt addition |
| Conversational tone |
"Sound like Maya texting a friend, not a CEO emailing investors." |
| Cut buzzwords |
"Avoid: exciting, thrilled, leverage, innovative, robust, cutting-edge, revolutionary." |
| Concrete specifics |
"Use specific numbers and timeframes. No generalities." |
| Second person |
"Lead every paragraph with 'You can...' or 'You'll see...'. Never 'We are excited to...'." |
| Sentence variety |
"Vary sentence length. 1 short, 1 medium, 1 long-ish. Then repeat." |
| Honest acknowledgment |
"Open with what's NOT working or what surprised you — not what you're proud of." |
Common AI-output tells (to grep + cut)#
| Phrase |
Replacement |
| "We are excited to" |
(cut entirely) |
| "In today's fast-paced world" |
(cut entirely) |
| "It is worth noting" |
(cut) |
| "Furthermore" / "Moreover" |
"Plus" / "Also" |
| "Thrilled to share" |
(cut; just say what you're sharing) |
| "Best-in-class" / "Cutting-edge" |
(cut; show specific evidence instead) |
| "Game-changing" |
(cut; let the result speak) |
| "Robust solution" |
(cut; describe what it does) |
| "Take a moment to" |
"Click to" / direct action |
| "We hope you enjoy" |
(cut; assumption-language) |
| "Don't hesitate to reach out" |
"Reply to this email" |
| "I hope this email finds you well" |
(cut; never works) |
Common UI signals + fixes#
| Symptom |
Likely cause |
Fix |
| Open rates dropped after switching to AI-drafted subjects |
Subjects sound generic / formulaic |
Hand-write subjects; use AI only for body draft |
| Replies stopped after switching to AI-drafted welcomes |
Tone lost the human signal |
Add personal sign-off; restore second-person |
| AI-edited emails get 2-star NPS responses |
Detection of AI patterns |
Cut the AI-tells; read aloud before sending |
| Long body sections feel like they drone on |
AI default = uniform medium-length sentences |
Vary sentence length manually |
| Mobile rendering looks great, desktop feels off |
AI defaulted to short-mobile-style |
Add 1-2 longer sentences for desktop visual rhythm |
The 80/20 rule#
Use AI for:
- ✅ First-draft of body copy (10× faster than blank page)
- ✅ Multiple subject variations to A/B test
- ✅ Translating tone (formal → conversational)
- ✅ Adapting one email for different segments
- ✅ Generating preheader options
Don't use AI for:
- ❌ Final published copy without editing
- ❌ Personalized 1:1 outreach
- ❌ Crisis or apology emails (humans must write)
- ❌ Transactional emails (consistency matters more than creativity)
Advanced: prompt engineering for email drafts + segment-aware AI prompts + style-guide auto-application
Prompt engineering for email drafts:
Long-form prompts that produce significantly better drafts:
ROLE: You are Maya, the head of growth at Brand, writing to active subscribers.
VOICE: Conversational, direct, occasionally self-deprecating. Sound like
you're typing a quick message to a friend, not delivering a speech.
GOAL: Promote the spring sale (20% off, through March 15).
CONSTRAINTS:
- 80-150 words maximum
- Single direct CTA at the end
- Open with what's specifically happening (not "exciting")
- Avoid: exciting, thrilled, leverage, innovative, robust
- Use second-person ("You can...") not third-person ("Our customers...")
- One concrete number or timeframe in the body
TONE EXAMPLES:
- "If you've been thinking about it, here's your window."
- "We screwed up. Here's how we're fixing it."
- "This is the email I should have sent last month."
OUTPUT: 2 variations.
Compared to "write a sale email," this prompt produces 5-10× better drafts.
Segment-aware AI prompts:
Engaged segment prompt:
"They opened our last 3 emails. Write a high-trust message that assumes context."
At-risk segment prompt:
"They haven't opened in 60 days. Acknowledge the gap honestly. Restate value briefly. Make re-entry easy."
New segment prompt:
"They signed up <14 days ago. They don't know us yet. Welcome warmly without overwhelming."
Same campaign, different copy per segment. AI assists with each.
Style-guide auto-application:
Maintain a style-guide document; feed it to AI as system prompt:
SYSTEM: Apply the Brand Style Guide:
YES use:
- Second-person ("You can...")
- Concrete numbers ("47% faster")
- Direct CTAs ("Get my 20% discount")
- Personal sign-offs ("Cheers, Maya")
NEVER use:
- "Exciting," "Thrilled," "Leverage"
- "I hope this email finds you well"
- Generic "Best regards"
- Excessive adverbs
Sentence length: Vary. 1 short, 1 medium, 1 long-ish, repeat.
The AI applies the rules automatically. Reduces editing time per draft from 20 min to 5 min.
A/B testing AI-drafted vs human-written:
For the analytical mind:
Campaign A: Pure-AI draft (with editing)
Campaign B: Pure-human written
Same list segment, same offer, same schedule.
Compare open rate, click rate, conversion. Most teams find: AI-drafted + edited matches human-written quality at 1/3 the time cost. The edit step is what matters.
Editing rubric:
Before sending AI-drafted copy, run through:
- Cut all "exciting," "thrilled," "leverage"
- Replace generic numbers with specifics
- Add ONE honest acknowledgment if not present
- Vary sentence length manually
- Read aloud — anything awkward?
- Verify Subject + body alignment
5 minutes of disciplined editing. Compounds across thousands of sends.
Multi-language AI drafts:
For multilingual senders:
Generate the same email in:
- English (original)
- Spanish (Latin American variant)
- French (European variant)
- Japanese (business-casual register)
Each variant should sound NATIVE, not translated. Adjust idioms, examples, and sentence structure as needed.
Quality varies per language; English is typically strongest, smaller languages weakest. Spot-check each language before sending.
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