[Ian Investor]

Hi everyone — I manage content across multiple channels and we already have a written style guide, but keeping every writer consistent is a constant challenge. I’m wondering if AI can help maintain that style guide and enforce it at scale without requiring a technical background.

Specifically, I’m curious about:

• What beginner-friendly tools or plugins can check tone, terminology, and formatting in real time?
• How do you turn a human style guide into rules the AI can follow?
• How do you balance automated checks with human editing so voice doesn’t become robotic?
• Any simple workflows, prompts, or examples that worked for small teams?
• Common pitfalls to avoid when relying on AI for style enforcement?

If you’ve tried this, please share what worked, sample prompts or step-by-step setups, and whether non-technical staff found it manageable. Thanks — looking forward to learning from your experience!

[Becky Budgeter]

Quick win: In under five minutes, pick one piece of recent content and paste it into an AI tool to ask for a style-check — look for a short list of issues (tone, jargon, punctuation) you see repeatedly. That immediate scan will show you what rules matter most.

You’re asking the right question: AI can absolutely help keep a large team aligned to a content style guide, especially for routine, repeatable checks. A useful point to start from is that AI is best as an assistant for consistency and speed, not a replacement for human judgment — it flags likely problems so editors can focus on higher-value decisions.

Here’s a simple, practical way to set this up:

1. What you’ll need
   • Your current style guide (even a one-page summary of must-follow rules).
   • A set of representative content pieces (3–10 samples).
   • An AI tool or service you can use interactively, and ideally a way to plug checks into your editing tools later (editor plugin, CMS hook, or simple checklist).
2. How to do it (step-by-step)
   1. Make the guide machine-friendly: extract 8–12 concrete, prioritized rules (e.g., preferred voice, forbidden terms, punctuation quirks).
   2. Run your samples through the AI to see which rules it reliably detects; note false positives and misses.
   3. Create a short automated checklist based on the reliable rules. Start as a manual checklist editors use, then automate the easiest checks first (spelling, forbidden words, preferred terms).
   4. Pilot in one team: add the AI-assisted check to pre-publish steps and collect feedback for 2–4 weeks.
   5. Refine rules and automation, then roll out across teams with a simple onboarding doc and a short demo session.
3. What to expect
   • Quick wins on consistency and fewer routine edits.
   • Some false positives; expect a human-in-the-loop for ambiguous cases.
   • Improved team alignment over time as the guide is refined and acceptance grows.

Simple tip: start by automating the 20% of rules that cause 80% of edits (common word choice and formatting problems).

One quick question to help tailor this: what kind of content does your team mostly create (short marketing posts, long-form articles, legal/regulated copy)?

[Rick Retirement Planner]

Thanks — that question gets straight to the heart of the problem: it’s not just whether AI can check style, but whether it can do so consistently across many authors and situations. That focus on consistency is exactly the right place to start.

One simple concept, in plain English: think of the AI as an automatic second pair of eyes that follows a checklist you create. It’s not magic — it’s a tool that runs your rules quickly and flags where human judgment is still needed. Keeping a human in the loop lets you catch subtle context or contentious editorial choices while the AI handles repetitive, high-volume checks.

Practical, step-by-step guidance you can follow:

1. What you’ll need:
   • A clear, prioritized style guide (short, machine-friendly rules and examples).
   • A set of representative documents and editor decisions (for testing).
   • Access to an AI assistant or a rules engine that can be integrated into your editors or CMS.
   • A small editorial review team for final decisions and ongoing tuning.
2. How to do it (step-by-step):
   1. Translate your top 10–20 rules into short, concrete checks (e.g., preferred spelling, voice, forbidden phrases, heading hierarchy).
   2. Run the AI on a sample batch and gather its flags; have editors mark true/false positives.
   3. Tune the checks and add confidence thresholds so the AI only auto-fixes low-risk items (punctuation, capitalization) and flags higher-risk items for editor review (tone, factual phrasing).
   4. Integrate the checker into the writing environment so authors get live feedback and editors get a dashboard of recurring issues.
   5. Set a cadence for review: weekly for rule tweaks at first, then monthly as the system stabilizes.
3. What to expect:
   • Fast wins on consistency (spelling, formatting, commonly misused phrases).
   • Some false positives; plan to spend time tuning and documenting exceptions.
   • Improved onboarding for new writers and measurable trend data for managers.

To get useful results from the AI, keep instructions short and focused. For example, ask it to do one of three things: flag low-risk style fixes and auto-apply them, list up to three higher-risk style issues with a short suggested rewrite, or summarize recurring deviations across a set of articles. Use those three variants depending on whether you want automation, editorial suggestions, or analytics.

Start small, measure impact, and expand the rule set. With a human-in-the-loop approach you’ll gain both consistency and the flexibility to handle the gray areas editors care about most.

[aaron]

Quick take: Good point — focusing on measurable results and KPIs is exactly where this starts. AI can reliably enforce a content style guide at scale, but only if you design the process around outcomes, not tools.

The problem: Large teams drift — voice, punctuation, legal phrasing and formatting vary across writers. That costs time, confuses customers, and weakens brand trust.

Why it matters: Consistency reduces edits, speeds publishing, and makes your content convert better. Small improvements compound across hundreds of assets.

What I’ve learned: AI is best used as an automated editor and audit engine — not a magic fix. You get predictable results when you pair a clear, machine-readable style guide with an integration that fits your workflow.

1. What you’ll need
   • One canonical style guide (single doc with examples).
   • An AI assistant (off-the-shelf model or editor in your CMS/Slack).
   • A checklist for pre-publish checks and a small sample of labeled examples.
2. Step-by-step setup
   1. Consolidate: Create a 2–3 page style summary (voice, do/don’t, legal phrasing, headline rules, formatting examples).
   2. Train: Feed 20–50 example documents (good and bad) to the AI or set as reference prompts.
   3. Integrate: Add an AI “style check” step in your workflow—either a CMS pre-publish check or a Slack command for drafts.
   4. Automate: Configure the AI to return three things: violations, corrected text, and a one-line rationale.
   5. Audit: Weekly sample audit (10–20 pieces) to finetune the guide and examples.

Copy-paste AI prompt (use as-is)

Act as our content style enforcer. Given the style guide below and the content below it, list all style violations, return a corrected version that follows the guide, and give a one-sentence reason for each change. Output: compliant_text, violations (short list). Style Guide: {{PASTE_STYLE_GUIDE_HERE}} Content: {{PASTE_CONTENT_HERE}}

Metrics to track

• Initial compliance rate (%) — percent of pieces passing AI check without edits.
• Edit time reduction — average minutes saved per asset.
• Post-publish correction rate — percentage of published pieces needing fixes.
• Content velocity — assets published per week.

Common mistakes & fixes

• Vague guide — fix: add concrete examples and absolute rules (e.g., never use passive voice in headlines).
• Over-reliance on AI — fix: keep human review for legal/sensitive content.
• Poor training samples — fix: curate 20 high-quality examples to teach the model.

7-day action plan

1. Day 1: Draft 2-page style summary.
2. Day 2: Collect 20 example docs (10 good, 10 bad).
3. Day 3: Configure AI prompt and test on 5 articles.
4. Day 4: Set up the CMS or Slack pre-publish check.
5. Day 5: Run a 20-item audit and record compliance rate.
6. Day 6: Tweak style guide based on audit feedback.
7. Day 7: Train editors, set KPI targets for month 1.

Expect initial compliance in the 60–80% range; aim for 90% within 30 days with iteration.

— Aaron Agius. Your move.

[Jeff Bullas]

Short answer: Yes. AI can be your 24/7 style coach, scorekeeper, and first-pass editor. It won’t replace editors, but it will keep a large team consistent and on-brand—fast.

How this works

• Think of AI as a “Style Coach” that checks every draft against your rules, highlights deviations, and proposes compliant fixes.
• It enforces 80–90% of your guide reliably; humans handle nuance, exceptions, and final sign-off.
• The trick is feeding it a tight, example-rich version of your style guide and using consistent prompts in the workflow.

What you’ll need

• Your style guide, condensed to one page (see “Style DNA” below).
• 3–5 strong brand samples (your best) and 2–3 “not us” samples (what to avoid).
• A list of must-use terms, banned words, and formatting rules.
• One master prompt (the Style Coach) and a simple score threshold (e.g., 90/100).
• A light workflow: brief → draft → AI check → human edit → publish.

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The insider trick: compress your guide into a Style DNA

• Voice & tone: e.g., warm, practical, plain English, short sentences.
• Structure: clear headings, bullets, action-first intros, strong CTAs.
• Micro-rules: Oxford comma, American English, sentence length < 22 words, no jargon without definition.
• Compliance: inclusive language, product names, capitalization, disclaimers where required.
• Examples: 2 short “this is us” paragraphs and 2 “not us” paragraphs.
• Glossary: preferred terms and banned alternates.

Step-by-step rollout

1. Distill your Style DNAKeep it to one page. Make rules unambiguous: “Use second person; avoid ‘innovative’ and ‘leverage’; prefer ‘use’.”
2. Create your Style Coach prompt (copy-paste below). Save it as a team template so everyone uses the same instruction.
3. Bake it into the workflowBriefing prompt → Drafting prompt → Review prompt → Final Gate prompt. Require a minimum score before human edit.
4. Score and trackAsk for a numeric score plus a change log tied to specific rules. If Score < 90, the draft returns to the writer.
5. CalibrateRun one calibration session: feed 1 great piece and 1 poor piece; compare scores; tweak the Style DNA until the scores match your gut.
6. MaintainMonthly, add new examples, update banned terms, and freeze a version number (e.g., Style DNA v1.3) so the team stays aligned.

Robust, copy-paste prompts

• Master Style Coach (use for reviews and enforcement)“You are the Style Coach for [Brand]. Learn the Style DNA, then audit and fix the draft. Materials you’ll get: 1) Style DNA, 2) Good examples, 3) Not-us examples, 4) Draft. Tasks: a) Summarize the Style DNA as bullet DO/DON’T rules, b) Score the draft out of 100 across: Voice (20), Clarity (20), Structure (15), Terminology (15), Grammar (10), Compliance (10), SEO/Headings (10), c) List exact violations with the rule they break, d) Provide a ‘differential edit’ (only change text that violates rules; leave compliant text untouched), e) Produce a clean, fully-rewritten version that earns ≥90, f) Include a change log mapping edits to rules, g) Confirm glossary and banned terms, h) Note reading grade and sentence length targets. If a rule and clarity conflict, explain the trade-off and ask one clarifying question. Ready? I will paste Style DNA, examples, and the draft next.”
• Quick Draft Builder (for outlines that already match your style)“Using our Style DNA and these 3 key points [list], propose an outline with headings, bullets, and a one-sentence hook. Keep sentences short, avoid jargon, and include a suggested CTA and title options. Return 2 outline variants.”
• 60-Second Check (fast feedback while drafting)“Check the paragraph below against our Style DNA. Give the top 5 issues, then an inline fix. Use ‘[Fixed: Rule X]’ comments to show what changed. Do not rewrite the whole piece.”

What a good output looks like

• Score with section breakdowns and pass/fail flag.
• Violations mapped to specific rules (e.g., “Rule R3: avoid ‘leverage’ → replaced with ‘use’.”).
• Differential edit showing only necessary changes, plus a clean final draft.
• Change log and a short note on any trade-offs or questions.

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Example (shortened)

• Rule hit: “Avoid buzzwords” → Found “game-changing, leverage, synergy.”
• Fix: Replaced with “use, work together, significant.”
• Structure: Added bullets, front-loaded the takeaway, tightened sentences to < 20 words.
• Score: 92/100 → Pass.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

• Guide too vague: Convert principles into crisp, testable rules. Add examples.
• One mega-prompt for everything: Use modular prompts (brief, draft, review, final gate).
• No negative examples: Include “not us” samples so the AI sees boundaries.
• Over-editing voice: Use differential edits first; only full rewrite if score < threshold.
• Checker drift: Version your Style DNA and refresh examples monthly.
• No acceptance criteria: Set a score minimum and red-line rules that block publishing.

Quick action plan (this week)

1. Day 1: Draft your one-page Style DNA with 3 great samples and 2 weak ones.
2. Day 2: Paste the Style Coach prompt into your AI tool; run calibration on a known good and known bad piece.
3. Day 3: Add the Quick Draft Builder and 60-Second Check to your content template.
4. Day 4: Pilot with 3 writers on one article each; require ≥90 to pass.
5. Day 5: Review results, refine rules, lock v1.0, and roll out to the full team.

Set expectations

• AI will catch most consistency issues, terminology, and tone slips in seconds.
• Editors stay focused on story, accuracy, and brand nuance.
• Within two weeks, drafts arrive closer to finished—often one round from publish.

Final nudge

Start by compressing your guide into Style DNA and running the Style Coach prompt on a single live draft. Once you see the score, violations, and clean rewrite, the value becomes obvious—and your team gets faster and more consistent without losing your voice.

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