In the age of AI, the new standard for value is the "GPT Test." If a person's public statements, writing, or ideas could have been generated by a large language model, they will fail to stand out. This places an immense premium on true originality, deep insight, and an authentic voice—the very things AI struggles to replicate.

Great writing is not a stroke of genius but a craft of intense iteration. Observing Y Combinator founder Paul Graham showed that he would rewrite a single sentence dozens of times to achieve clarity and impact. This process of refinement is the key to persuasive and concise communication, demystifying the path to becoming a better writer.

After years of study, Grammarly's leadership concluded that the definition of "better writing" is entirely situational. The most critical first step is not grammar, but clarifying the communication's goal—whether it's to inspire action, change an opinion, or simply inform—before writing a single word.

The true danger of LLMs in the workplace isn't just sloppy output, but the erosion of deep thinking. The arduous process of writing forces structured, first-principles reasoning. By making it easy to generate plausible text from bullet points, LLMs allow users to bypass this critical thinking process, leading to shallower insights.

Spiral's redesign was driven by the principle that "good writing is downstream of good thinking." Instead of just generating content, the tool focuses on helping users explore and clarify their own ideas through an interactive, question-based process, making the AI a partner in thought.

AI-generated text often falls back on clichés and recognizable patterns. To combat this, create a master prompt that includes a list of banned words (e.g., "innovative," "excited to") and common LLM phrases. This forces the model to generate more specific, higher-impact, and human-like copy.

While unmotivated working on a Grammarly alternative, founder Naveen Nadeau secretly built a dictation tool for himself. This personal tool, later named Monologue, was so useful that it became his main focus, proving that inspiration can strike when solving your own problems on the side.

Most AI writing tools produce generic content. Spiral was rebuilt to act as a partner. It first interviews the user to understand their thoughts and taste, helping them think more deeply before generating drafts. This collaborative process avoids "slop" and leads to more authentic writing.

Unlike many AI tools that hide the model's reasoning, Spiral displays it by default. This intentional design choice frames the AI as a "writing partner," helping users understand its perspective, spot misunderstandings, and collaborate more effectively, which builds trust in the process.