Writing concisely is a plain language pillar. When we keep it brief, we respect our readers’ time and attention.
But brevity is not a strength of the LLMs behind a growing proportion of our written communications. The way they generate text — linearly, token-by-token — makes LLMs incapable of editing their own output.
In the AI age, ‘Be short, be simple, be human’ has taken on a new dimension.
AI-generated emails, whipped up in milliseconds, tend towards verbosity. Process documents take longer to read than to implement. An AI-written ‘brief’ is an inherent misnomer.
The AI age risks becoming an Age of Too Much — of glut. It’s little wonder that Merriam Webster’s 2025 Word of the Year was ‘slop’.
Human writers need to take responsibility for their AI-generated screeds. Do your readers the kindness of editing for conciseness.
Or at least have your AI assistant give that email a trim before you click ‘Send’.
Check out our AI-related content
The ‘All About AI’ collection is a great place to start. Several other collections include content about using AI and we’re adding much more every month.
We also recommend getting familiar with the principles of clear communication by working through the rest of the content library. That way, you’ll be able to create clear, reader-focused content with ease.