Dear Joy · No. 1 ·
Living with new technology, one letter at a time.
Is it cheating to let AI write my emails?
Dear Joy,
I’ve started using a chat app to write work emails and they come out so much nicer than mine. But I feel guilty, like I’m faking it. Is that cheating?
Joy answers
Grand Rapids, put the guilt down. It’s heavy and you don’t need it.
People have always had help with words. Assistants typed letters, editors smoothed articles, a friend read over your cover letter and said “maybe not the joke.” Using a tool to help you say what you mean, more clearly and more kindly, isn’t faking anything. You decide what the email says. You decide whether it’s true. You press send. That’s authorship.
Where it would cross a line is if it said things you don’t mean, or things that aren’t true, or if your workplace has rules about it. So read every email before it goes, and check your employer’s policy if you’re unsure.
One small suggestion: keep a little of yourself in there. Change a phrase so it sounds like you. Leave in the “hope your week’s going okay” you always write. People can tell when an email sounds like nobody, and your voice is part of why they like working with you.
You’ve found a way to take some stress out of your day. That’s not cheating. That’s the whole point.
Feel the Joy, baby.
Joy
You’re still the author
You decide what to say and whether it’s true. The tool helps with the wording, the way a kind editor would.
Make it sound like you
Change a phrase or two so it reads like you. People respond to your voice, not perfect prose.
Clip and try this
Copy it into the chat app you already use.
Here’s an email I wrote: [paste]. Make it clearer and a little warmer, but keep my voice and keep it short. Don’t add anything I didn’t say.
Dear Joy is written by The Joy Daily’s editors. It’s general wellness and education, never medical, legal or financial advice.