You need to know certain writing and editing fundamentals
For AI to be an effective writing tool, you must understand:
what good writing looks like and the principles that shape it
the steps to an effective writing process
what steps AI is good and bad at
the pitfalls of AI-generated content and how to fix them
Avoid workslop—use AI to deepen your own analysis, not offload it
Many people are over-relying on AI, and we’re seeing a backlash from the consequences of workslop.
Workslop: content that looks polished, but when you look deeper you realize it has a lot of words, makes your brain work hard, and doesn’t communicate much. (Each instance takes roughly 2 hours to deal with later. Do the math.)
Workslop isn’t new—We’ve spent the last 45 years helping professionals avoid it. AI just makes it easier and faster to produce if you don’t know how and when to use it.
We’re for AI—if you know how to use it
The quality of writing is only as good as the thinking behind it
Learn more of our thoughts on AI
We’re thinking deeply about AI and how best to use it (and not use it) in workplace writing. These blog articles share some of that thinking.
The cost of workslop on productivity and goodwill
Why AI use for writing and editing dropped in 2025
How to support your teams to use AI effectively
Why 95% of companies don’t see a ROI with AI
Become a better, faster writer (and thinker)
How we recommend you tackle learning AI
Start with Effective Workplace Writing—Best practices principles and a process to cut writing time by 50% without AI
Take our self-paced courses on AI (below)—They show how to use AI effectively within our writing process
Practice, practice, practice
Take Effective Editing—Refresh and deepen principles and learn to refine AI-generated text
For the keeners, take refresher training or work with us one-on-one to get personalized feedback
Our AI course offerings
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Know What Good Workplace Writing Looks Like
To be able to use AI to write effectively, you have to understand what strong content looks like and the principles behind it. Our Effective Workplace Writing course teaches the skills every workplace writer needs to know (with or without AI).
Live training or self-paced online course
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The Dos and Don'ts of Using AI to Write
Coming soon
Get started with a series of quick tips for when to use AI and when to avoid it in the writing process. This is for people just starting to use AI at work.
Self-paced, in-house, and virtual options
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Write Effectively and Efficiently with AI
Coming soon
Come with a document to write, and walk through our series of steps and prompts for using AI to deepen your thinking and speed up your writing. You’ll finish with a clear, concise, usable document.
Self-paced, in-house and live virtual training
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Use AI to Think Deeper and Get Smarter
Coming soon
Sharpen reasoning, challenge assumptions, and improve analysis. This course is for analysts who need to research, analyze, and build strong rationale into their documents.
Self-paced, in-house, and live virtual options
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Avoid Writing Like AI
Coming soon
Create content that feels like a human wrote it, not AI. Learn the “tells” of AI-generated text and how to fix them.
Self-paced, in-house and live virtual training
Start the conversation
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“One of the best workshops I've attended. Inspiring and motivating to get better at writing."
Councillor for City of Medicine Hat
(5 star Google review) -
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"Sessions were well led by presenters who were very aware of the briefing note process in government. This meant I was able to get maximum value from the information."
Manager at Alberta Education
(5 star Google review) -
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"Wordsmith facilitators are as confident, clear and helpful as your writing aims to be. More to learn about effective writing than many might think."
Policy Analyst at Alberta Education
(5 star Google review) -
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"This was the most immediately applicable training I have ever taken. Our whole team got excited. We went back and applied what we learned to our Proposal Guide and cut the page count by 50%."
Manager of the Cumulative Impacts Monitoring Program
