Table of Contents
- The Rise of AI-Powered Creativity
- But Here’s the Catch: Authenticity Still Wins
- My Experience Using AI for Content
- A Few Tools Worth Trying
- The Future: Collaboration, Not Competition
By Lamiya Siraj
Over the past year, there’s been a massive shift in how we think about content creation. What used to take hours of brainstorming, writing, and editing can now be done in minutes with the help of AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, Notion AI, and Midjourney. But as the excitement (and fear) around AI grows, one thing is becoming clearer: AI isn’t replacing human creativity — it’s reshaping how we use it.
💡 The Rise of AI-Powered Creativity
AI tools are no longer limited to tech enthusiasts or big brands. From small business owners to freelancers, everyone is experimenting with AI-generated content — blog posts, Instagram captions, design ideas, even entire marketing campaigns.
As someone who has written three novels and one non-fiction book, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the creative landscape is shifting. When I started my writing journey, every word was painstakingly crafted, every blog post manually tailored to my audience. Today, as both an author and a certified coach helping others find their voice, I’m amazed by how AI has become a collaborative partner rather than a replacement.
What makes AI so powerful is its ability to personalize content at scale — something that would have taken me days or even weeks to do manually. Through my work as a motivational speaker and blogger, I’ve learned that different audiences need different approaches. The aspiring writers who read my blog crave inspiration and vulnerability. My social media followers want bite-sized wisdom they can apply immediately.
Now, imagine creating one core piece of content — say, a blog post about overcoming creative blocks — and letting AI help you adapt it for different platforms and audiences. One version for professionals on LinkedIn, emphasizing productivity and career growth. Another for Gen Z on Instagram, using relatable language and visual storytelling. A more data-driven version for potential clients or publishers who want to see the methodology behind your approach.
As a writer, I’m not threatened by this technology. I’m energized by it. Because at the end of the day, AI can help me reach more people with my message, scale my impact as a author and speaker, and free up time to do what I do best: create meaningful stories and connect authentically with those who need to hear them.
🧠 But Here’s the Catch: Authenticity Still Wins
While AI can generate content faster than ever, authenticity remains the one thing it can’t fake convincingly for long. Readers can sense when something feels robotic or lacks emotion. The secret to using AI well lies in balance:
I learned this lesson not from technology, but from years of sitting across and writing novels where characters had to feel real enough to make readers cry or cheer. In my three novels, every character’s struggle came from observing real human behavior — the messy, imperfect, beautiful parts of being human. My non-fiction book worked because it was built on genuine stories and hard-won lessons, not just theory. It came from speaking to readers as well as audiences who needed hope,
When I write a blog post or craft a speech, people don’t connect with perfect grammar or flawless structure. They connect with the vulnerability in sharing my own failures, the specific detail about that moment I almost gave up on my second novel, or the breakthrough a client had that still gives me chills.
The secret to using AI well lies in balance — something I practice daily in my own work:
- Use AI for structure, research, or generating ideas. Let it help you organize your thoughts, find relevant data, or brainstorm angles you hadn’t considered. As a writer, I appreciate anything that gets me past the blank page faster.
- Add your voice, stories, and real experiences to bring it to life. This is where my years as an author, blogger, and motivational speaker become irreplaceable. AI can suggest what to say, but only I can share the story of the reader who told me my book helped them through their darkest time. Only I can infuse a coaching insight with the specific emotion that makes it land.
That’s where the human touch shines — and that’s what keeps readers coming back. They don’t return for perfect content. They return for you.
🌍 My Experience Using AI for Content
When I first started experimenting with AI tools for my blog, I was skeptical. After writing three novels and one non-fiction book the traditional way — through countless late nights, multiple drafts, and that sacred struggle between me and the blank page — I wondered: Would AI make my writing less personal? Would it dilute the voice I’d spent years developing as an author and motivational speaker?
But I quickly realized AI could actually help me focus more on what I do best: storytelling and connecting with my audience.
As a published author and a certified coach, I’m always teaching my fellow writers and clients about working smarter, not harder. Yet here I was, spending hours wrestling with introductions or getting paralyzed trying to find the perfect way to start a blog post. I’d sit there, knowing exactly what message I wanted to share from my speaking engagements or coaching sessions, but somehow unable to get it onto the page.
Instead of getting stuck on the first draft, I started using AI to create outlines, gather topic ideas, and even rephrase sentences when my brain felt foggy. I’d feed it the core concept from a recent speech or a breakthrough moment with a coaching client, and it would help me structure the bones of the piece.
The result? I spent more time refining my ideas, weaving in personal stories from my novels, and crafting the emotional beats that make readers feel something — and far less time battling writer’s block. AI became my writing assistant, not my replacement. It handled the scaffolding so I could focus on the architecture.
As someone who’s made a career out of words — whether in books, blogs, or from the stage — I can honestly say AI hasn’t diminished my authenticity. It’s amplified my ability to share it with more people, more often.
⚙️ A Few Tools Worth Trying
If you’re curious about where to start, here are a few tools that have helped me (and many other creators):
As someone who juggles writing books, creating blog content, preparing keynote speeches, and coaching clients, I’ve tested quite a few AI tools. Here are the ones that have actually made a difference in my daily creative work:
- ChatGPT / GPT-based assistants – for writing and brainstorming ideas. This has become my brainstorming partner when I’m developing blog topics, outlining chapters for future books, or refining talking points for speaking engagements. I use it to break through those moments when I know what I want to say but can’t find the right angle.
- Notion AI – great for planning and rewriting. As a writer managing multiple projects (trust me, keeping three novels and a non-fiction book organized was chaos before this), Notion AI has been invaluable for planning content calendars, organizing research, and quickly rewriting sections that aren’t quite landing.
- Canva Magic Write – for creating captions, headlines, and visuals fast. Perfect for those days when I need social media captions, email subject lines, or quick promotional graphics for my books and coaching programs. It saves me hours of staring at a blank Instagram post wondering how to condense a big idea into three sentences.
- Runway ML or Pika Labs – for turning ideas into short AI-generated videos. I’m still experimenting with these, but they’re fascinating for turning concepts into short videos. As a speaker, I’m always looking for ways to extend my message beyond the stage, and video content has become essential.
A word of caution from my experience: Don’t try to use every tool at once. Start with one that solves your biggest pain point. For me, it was ChatGPT for beating writer’s block. Find yours, master it, then expand from there.
🔮 The Future: Collaboration, Not Competition
AI will keep evolving, but so will our creative process. The most successful creators won’t be those who avoid AI — they’ll be the ones who learn how to collaborate with it.
I think about this often when I’m coaching aspiring writers or speaking to audiences about personal growth. The fear I hear most isn’t about AI taking jobs — it’s about AI making us irrelevant. But here’s what I’ve learned through writing four books and building a career on authentic connection: we’ve never been competing with tools. We’ve been competing with our own resistance to evolve.
When I started blogging years ago, some traditional authors told me it would cheapen my craft. When social media emerged, critics said it was the death of “real” writing. Yet each new tool simply gave me more ways to reach people who needed encouragement, more platforms to share the stories that matter.
AI is no different. It’s a tool, and like any tool, it amplifies intention. In the hands of someone just chasing clicks, AI will produce hollow content. But in the hands of a creator who cares — someone with real experiences, hard-won wisdom, and genuine desire to serve their audience — AI becomes a force multiplier for impact.
As a motivational speaker, I’ve stood on stages and watched people’s faces light up when a message finally clicks for them. That moment of human connection, that spark of transformation — no algorithm can manufacture that. AI can help me prepare better presentations, research my audience, or draft follow-up materials. But the story I share about overcoming my own doubts as a first-time novelist? The vulnerable moment when I admit my failures as openly as my wins. That’s irreplaceably human.
If there’s one takeaway from this shift, it’s that technology is only as powerful as the creativity behind it. AI can generate text, but only you can make it meaningful.
And that’s a future worth embracing.
What’s your take?
Have you tried using AI tools for your work or creative projects? I’d love to hear your experiences — share them in the comments or tag me on social media!
Lamiya Siraj: Stories & Beyond 
“Your thoughts matter – Share them below!”