Substack and the Use of AI in Writing
Substack, a platform that allows writers to create and publish newsletters, does not have an official policy governing the use of AI. However, several writers on the platform have spoken out about their use of AI tools to assist with their writing.
Polishing Prose with AI
Several of the Substack authors WIRED spoke to emphasized that they use AI to polish their prose rather than to generate entire posts whole cloth. David Skilling, a sports agency CEO who runs the popular soccer newsletter Original Football (over 630,000 subscribers), told WIRED he sees AI as a substitute editor. “I proudly use modern tools for productivity in my businesses,” says Skilling. “AI-detection tools may detect the use of AI, but there’s a huge difference between AI-generated and AI-assisted.”
Assistive Medium
Subham Panda, one of the writers of Spotlight by Xartup (over 668,000 subscribers), which covers news about startups around the world, said that his team uses AI as an “assistive medium to help us curate high-quality content faster.” He stressed that the newsletter primarily relies on AI to create images and to aggregate information and that writers are responsible for the “details and summary” contained in their posts.
Streamlining the Writing Process
Max Avery, a writer for the financial newsletter Strategic Wealth Briefing With Jake Claver (over 549,000 subscribers), says he uses AI writing software like Hemingway Editor Plus to polish his rough drafts. He says the tools help him “get more work done on the content-creation front.”
Customized AI Solutions
Financial entrepreneur Josh Belanger says he similarly uses ChatGPT to streamline the writing process for his newsletter, Belanger Trading (over 350,000 subscribers), and relies on the chatbot Claude to help him copyedit. “I will write out my thoughts, research, things that I want included, and I will plug it in,” he says. Belanger also creates custom GPTs (versions of ChatGPT tailored for specific tasks) to help polish more technical writing that includes specific jargon, which he says reduces the number of hallucinations the chatbot produces. “For publishing in finance or trading, there are a lot of nuances … AI’s not going to know, so I need to prompt it,” he says.
A Comparison to Other Platforms
Compared to some of its competitors, Substack appears to have a relatively low amount of AI-generated writing. For example, two other AI-detection companies recently found that close to 40 percent of content on the blogging platform Medium was generated using artificial intelligence tools. But a large portion of the suspected AI-generated content on Medium had little engagement or readership, while the AI writing on Substack is being published by powerhouse accounts.
Conclusion
While Substack does not have an official policy governing the use of AI, many of its writers are using AI tools to assist with their writing. These tools are being used to polish prose, streamline the writing process, and create customized solutions for specific tasks. As the use of AI in writing continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Substack and other platforms respond to the changing landscape.
FAQs
Q: Does Substack have an official policy governing the use of AI?
A: No, Substack does not have an official policy governing the use of AI.
Q: How are Substack writers using AI?
A: Substack writers are using AI tools to polish their prose, streamline the writing process, and create customized solutions for specific tasks.
Q: Is AI-generated content being published on Substack?
A: Yes, AI-generated content is being published on Substack, but it appears to be a relatively low amount compared to other platforms.
Q: How does Substack compare to other platforms in terms of AI-generated content?
A: Compared to other platforms, Substack appears to have a relatively low amount of AI-generated writing. For example, two other AI-detection companies recently found that close to 40 percent of content on the blogging platform Medium was generated using artificial intelligence tools.
