I write for a living and I use AI every single day. But that doesn't mean that I use AI to write. I've loved the art of writing long before artificial intelligence was available for use by the general public, so the idea of using it to do what I've enjoyed doing for decades really doesn't make sense to me. But I have found that some of the best ways to use AI do support making my writing in general — just not generating the actual words. Instead, I use it before I write, while I'm researching and after I've finished a draft. Sometimes I use it when I know something isn't working but can't quite figure out why.Using AI has become my writing partner as if I was in a writers' room. Since I work remotely, leaning on it has become a way to ask unlimited questions, including annoying ones, that might otherwise annoy an actual human writer.If you write for work, school or just yourself, and have questioned whether to use an AI humanizer to make your AI writing less detectable, scrap your process. Here are seven ways I'd use ChatGPT to make the process easier without asking it to write a single sentence for you.1. Pressure-test your idea before you startOne of my favorite things to do with ChatGPT happens before I've written anything. I'll explain what I want to write about and then ask it to poke holes in the idea. I'll give AI my "big idea" and ask what it thinks. Now that ChatGPT is less people-pleasing, it actually tells me when my ideas aren't as great as I think they are. And when the ideas don't have legs, AI offers suggestions to help make them work.Prompt to try: I'm thinking about writing an article for my Substack arguing that [idea]. Don't help me write it. Tell me what's weak about the premise, what I'm assuming and what a skeptical reader might push back on.The important part here is telling ChatGPT what you don't want.Ask "What do you think of this idea?" and there's a decent chance you'll get an enthusiastic response about why it's interesting. Asking it specifically to find problems tends to produce something much more useful.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.You might ignore half of what it says. That's fine. The point isn't to let ChatGPT decide whether your idea is good. It's to uncover the questions you need to answer before you start writing.2. Find the questions you haven't thought to ask