AI and Documentarians: Partners in Creating Better Content

Imagine having a writing center at your fingertips, with a tireless assistant ready to help you create better articles. This partnership is no longer a dream—it's here, and it's transforming how documentarians work. Welcome to the AI era of documentation.

If you're concerned about AI overshadowing your expertise or compromising your unique voice, rest assured. A good AI writing tool—like the one I use—enhances your capabilities while keeping your content private and preserving your style.

In my journey as a fellow documentarian, I've found that collaborating with an AI writing assistant has not only improved my documentation but also expanded my skills as a writer. Let me walk you through the transformative impact it had on creating this blog post.

Meet Your New AI Sidekick: A Quick Intro 

First, let's demystify AI, shall we? At its core, an AI writing assistant like the one I use employs generative AI technology. 

Think of it as a super-smart pattern recognizer that's read a ton of material. It uses this knowledge to offer suggestions based on what you're writing about.

For example, when I started writing this post, I wanted to make sure it aligned with KnowledgeOwl's content strategy. So, I shared it with my AI writing assistant.

My handy app comes back with a list of key points from the strategy, insights on how my current draft aligned, and areas where I needed to expand. Armed with AI-powered insights, I roll up my sleeves and successfully dive back into my post.

Three Ways AI Can Empower a Documentarian

As I reflected on my writing process for this blog, I realized there were several key areas where AI truly shone as a partner in documentation.

1. Leveraging Other Content to Enhance Writing

Documentation often requires other content to generate ideas, identify gaps, make edits, or verify accuracy. An AI tool can quickly process large amounts of material, such as knowledge base articles. It summarizes key concepts and serves as a springboard for your writing goals.

For example, an AI tool helps summarize key points for DATAVERSITY articles by scanning conference transcripts and interview notes. This AI-generated output highlights areas to include when writing and helps me check my work.

Additionally, the system also provides relevant quotes and returns suggestions on the areas to keep or improve. Sometimes an error pops up in the AI output, such as misspelling of an expert’s name or another inaccuracy.

This result can happen because the inputs to the AI system are incorrect. Other times the AI needs clearer instructions on its task.

So, after receiving this output, check it for errors. If the issue happens because of faulty inputs, correct the error and give the accurate version to the AI algorithm.

2. Adapting Content for Different Audiences with AI

As documentarians, we often find ourselves writing for various audiences. Oops, I realized the section above was written in more of a DATAVERSITY style. Now I need to switch to the KnowledgeOwl style. 

I find writing in a less formal style can be tricky. So, I turned to my AI sidekick for help. 

Here's what happened:

• I show my AI assistant some examples of KnowledgeOwl's blogs and writing style.
• I ask it to suggest ways to make my content more engaging and less formal.
• We brainstorm together on different subheadings and phrasings.
• I ask for three or four different ways to communicate an idea.
• I review my partner’s output and choose my wording.

The result? A much more reader-friendly post that still conveyed all the important information.

3. Brainstorming: Your Writer's Block Buster

Beyond audience considerations, I find my AI tool invaluable when facing the initial challenge of getting started. Ever stared at a blank screen, unsure of where to start? 

Let me walk you through how used my AI tool for brainstorming in this section:

• Idea Generation: I tapped it for fresh ideas on a section header and organizational scheme. It offered several different ideas from "Rapid Idea Generation to Tailored Inspiration”. 
• Concept Expansion: Based on the output, I chose “Expanding on Seed Ideas.”  The AI system suggests some ways to flesh it out. It suggests examples, such as “Initial Concept: ‘User Authentication’ AI-expanded ideas” to “Starting Point: ‘Mobile App Installation.’ 
• Overcoming Constraints: But, I have hit a roadblock. I have a 200-word maximum for this section. The ideas it had previously suggested would require a great amount of text. So, we refined the previous list together, focusing on the most relevant points for our audience.
• Creative Solutions. I wanted to make sure my post would draw readers and stand out. I asked for a fresh angle and came back with concepts like 'AI-powered interactive tutorials' and 'Personalized documentation paths based on user behavior'.

Then I had a bit of inspiration. I will discuss how I used the AI tool to brainstorm this section. I wrote the section and had AI review it. It comes back reminding me to have an actionable takeaway for this section.

Maintaining the Human Touch

As we've seen, partnering with AI in documentation isn't about letting the machine take over. It's about finding that sweet spot where human expertise and AI capabilities complement each other.

Remember, we're still the captains of this ship! Our job is to steer the AI in the right direction by feeding it accurate information and asking the right questions.

While AI can help us adapt our content for different audiences, we need to put on our editor’s hats: verify the facts, add context, and sprinkle in that human touch that makes our writing uniquely ours. 

The goal? To create content that's not just good, but also resonates with our readers. By leveraging AI thoughtfully, we can boost our efficiency without sacrificing the quality our audience expects. 

Taking the First Steps

Now that we've explored the human-AI partnership in documentation, I hope my fellow documentarians get excited about giving AI a try.

Some ways to get started, include:

• Start Small: Choose a simple use case. For example, use AI to identify outdated content in your knowledge base. Take an existing document, and work with AI to write for a different readership
• Keep Learning: Explore resources like There’s an AI for That. Go to conferences, like Write the Docs, and talk with others who leverage AI. 
• Check Guidelines: Understand your organization's AI policies. What are the approved tools? Are there processes for safe experimentation?
• Advocate If Needed: If AI use isn't allowed, start a conversation about its benefits and how others have used it safely.

The AI-documentarian partnership offers exciting possibilities for enhancing our work. What small step will you take to explore AI's potential in your documentation process?