Ethical AI Use Policy as a Copywriter

Last Updated: May 11, 2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t a sci-fi concept anymore—it’s real, it’s here, and it’s probably writing half the internet while sipping code-flavored coffee somewhere in the digital ether.

But this corner of the internet? It’s human. It’s heart-forward. It’s The Copy Sloth®—not The Copy Droid.

The Copy Sloth® Ethics-First AI Use Policy

I do use tools like ChatGPT (hello, robot assistant) to make my life a little easier behind the scenes — think: cleaning up messy meeting notes, sorting out to-do lists that look like a spilled box of magnetic poetry, or turning scattered ideas into something resembling order.

Basically, the grown-up version of asking Clippy if he can format your book report—without letting him write the thing.

Aubrey, why an AI usage policy?

Transparency is a core value for my business, and I don’t hide behind lies or manipulation. Having an AI use policy helps me keep my promises to my clients, readers, and myself.

Don’t get me wrong: I know reading this AI usage policy makes me sound like I live on a pedestal the height of heaven.

But I’d rather you read this page and instantly decide I’m not your copywriter than compromise my own values as a business owner.

I never ask AI to write your copy. Ever.

And I would never let it touch mine, either.

Every word you see is intentionally chosen, slow-crafted, and brewed with the same care as a 90s mixtape made for your crush—no skips, all heart.

Here’s why: AI tools don’t breathe. They don’t blush. They’ve never been in a room when someone said the thing that changed your whole perspective. They haven’t lived.

And writing? The good kind? The kind that builds trust and makes someone whisper, “they get me”?
That has to come from a living, breathing, human point of view.

What I might use AI for

Think of it like the Lisa Frank pencil case of my workflow—fun, functional (but not the homework itself).

Here’s what I use AI tools like ChatGPT for:

  • Brainstorming ideas when I’m outlining a blog or brand voice
  • Tidying up admin chaos (summarizing transcripts, cleaning up messy outlines, etc.)
  • Turning a mountain of bullet points into a cozy little paragraph (like folding a fitted sheet, but for words)
  • Grabbing general public info to get a quick lay of the land
  • Light tone explorations—which I always fine-tune with my own judgment (like adjusting the radio dial until it hits just right)

What I will never use AI for

There are hard lines in my work—and this is one of them. AI doesn’t get to touch the sacred stuff.

So no:

  • No writing your copy from scratch
  • No plagiarizing someone else’s voice or style (ick, no thanks)
  • No submitting your private, sensitive, or brand-specific info to AI platforms
  • No delivering content that hasn’t been combed through, edited, and smoothed by human hands
  • No duplicating your voice for someone else—this isn’t the Sisterhood of the Traveling Brand Voice

Your voice is safe with me

I’ve worked on massive, high-stakes proposals for NASA (yes, actual rocket science), and I take confidentiality as seriously as I take Oxford commas. (If you’re an Oxford comma hater—you’re just wrong.)

I don’t feed your data into machines. I don’t use your story as a test run for someone else’s brand. And I don’t play fast and loose with the magic you’ve built.

To put it plainly: Your voice is yours. And it stays that way.

A Note on AI & Ethics

I won’t sugarcoat it — tools like ChatGPT aren’t ethically spotless. They’re trained on who-knows-what, by who-knows-who. There’s no gray area here: AI tools steal from creatives and artists. Acknowledging that matters.

Every time I type “ChatGPT.com” in my Chrome tab, I prompt engineer with pause and consideration. I stay informed. I stay cautious. And I make human-first choices, always.

Because while AI might know a lot, it will never know what it’s like to write from lived experience. Or heartbreak. Or hard-won joy.

It’s a tool—like spellcheck or caffeine. Helpful in moderation. Useless and utterly criminal without consciousness or context.

TL;DR

The lawyers won’t like how I’ve written this page, but who even likes reading legalese? (Not me!)

AI might help me stay organized behind the scenes. But it DOES NOT write your story—I do. And every word is warm, human, and uniquely yours.

Bottom line: If you’re 100% anti-AI, I’m NOT the copywriter for you or your brand.