Editing AI content: Why it’s a whole different skillset than traditional editing
Once upon a time (by which I mean 3 years ago), “editing” meant checking for typos, trimming unnecessary adverbs, and gently suggesting to the author that maybe, just maybe, their 40-word opening sentence could be split into something more breathable.
It was a noble profession.
Red pens. Marginal notes or their digital equivalents. The occasional dramatic sigh.
Then along came AI.
Now? Editing isn’t just about polishing. It’s about spelunking into the cave system of machine-generated thought and coming back with a map that says, “Here be dragons, also three paragraphs that somehow repeat the same point but in increasingly baroque ways.”
Traditional editing vs. AI editing: the quick and dirty
In old-school editing, you start with something that has a human brain’s logic baked in.
It might be clumsy, sure, but the bones are there.
AI content? Oh, it’s got bones all right, just not necessarily from the same skeleton.
Sometimes you get an elegant clavicle right next to what appears to be a femur from a completely different species.
My job is to make that make sense.
For example: Traditional edit problem: “The cat sat on the mat mat.” Easy. Delete a “mat.” Move on with your life.
AI edit problem: “The mat was a symbol of the great socio-economic upheaval, its woven threads representing the delicate balance of fate—also, here’s a recipe for lasagne for some reason.”
Now we’re in detective territory.
The big four: what AI editing really means
Let’s break down the actual job, because “fixing typos” doesn’t even make the list anymore.
These days it’s more like:
- Logic gap detection: Does paragraph three know paragraph seven exists? No? Then why is it contradicting it? AI can spin out contradictions like an over-caffeinated philosophy student.
- Fact-checking: I’ve seen AI declare confidently that the capital of Australia is Sydney (it’s Canberra) and that Isaac Asimov once won a Grammy (he did not, though I’d absolutely listen to his concept album).
- Verbosity control: AI can turn “The sky was blue” into a 300-word ode to atmospheric light scattering. Pretty? Maybe. Necessary? Nope.
- Uncanny phrasing triage: This is when a sentence is technically English but feels like it was run through a Victorian poetry generator at three in the morning. “Behold, the market’s undulating waltz of fiscal destiny.” Sure, buddy.
Why it’s a new editorial craft
Editing AI content is not “traditional editing with extra steps.”
It’s more like being part translator, part continuity supervisor, part slightly exasperated parent.
You’re guiding something that doesn’t know what it doesn’t know.
In traditional editing, you’re collaborating with someone who had intent.
In AI editing, you’re reconstructing intent. You’re looking at the text and thinking: What was this trying to be before it got distracted by that lasagne recipe?
The joy (and occasional chaos) of it
I’ll be honest: it’s weirdly fun. There’s a puzzle-solving thrill in figuring out where the AI’s train of thought jumped the tracks and rolled into the next county.
It’s a different kind of creative partnership. Less like co-writing with another human, more like interpreting the cryptic notes of an alien pen pal.
And yes, sometimes it’s frustrating. But so was editing real humans.
At least AI doesn’t argue when you cut 800 words. (Not yet. Give it time.)
Final thought before I wander off
If you’re an editor eyeing AI work, understand this, you’re not just “cleaning up.”
You’re shaping raw, context-agnostic material into something coherent, factual, and human-friendly.
It’s part writing, part world-building, part making sure the lasagne stays in the recipe section where it belongs.
Think of it less as a threat to your craft and more as a spin-off series. The main show (traditional editing) is still running.
This is the quirky cousin who moves in unexpectedly, eats all your cereal, but occasionally hands you a sentence so perfect you can’t help but forgive them.
Need help with AI editing, you know where I am: www.coastalcontent.co.uk
