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Nov 5, 2026

Two Writers Who Won't Let AI Write for Them: Kieran Drew and Olivia Bedford

AI can now produce a passable newsletter or blog post in seconds, so what do people who write for a living do with it? A newsletter writer who runs his online business on his own, with help from a virtual assistant, uses AI, including Claude, for almost everything except the writing: turning each issue into video scripts and social posts, reporting on what performs and helping with decisions. A developmental editor who works with fiction writers uses no generative AI at all, but relies on dictation and other non-generative tools to get her work done. Both have drawn the same line: the words are theirs.

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For people who write for a living, generative AI raises an uncomfortable question. If a machine can produce a competent draft in seconds, what exactly are clients and readers paying for?

Two people who run writing businesses on their own have answered it in a similar way, from opposite directions. One uses AI for almost everything in his business except the writing itself. The other uses no generative AI at all, but depends on other kinds of AI tools to do her job. Both refuse to let AI write the words that carry their name.

This article is for writers, editors and anyone whose work depends on their own voice. We look at what each of them uses AI for, where each draws the line, and then, in a separate section, at what their experience still has to do.

Kieran Drew: AI for everything except the writing

Kieran Drew is a former dentist who now runs an online business built around his newsletter and courses on writing, which he describes as making around $500,000 a year. He lived in the UK until 2025, when he gave up his flat there and left to travel and work in South America. When he quit dentistry, one of the rules he set for his new business was not to build a big team. A virtual assistant takes care of his non-creative tasks, such as booking travel.

How he uses AI

In an April 2026 issue of his newsletter, he described what happens after he finishes writing each issue:

  • Video scripts. A series of AI prompts turns the newsletter into a YouTube script, with title and thumbnail ideas, opening hooks and calls to action for his free resources, drawing on his own collection of examples.
  • Social media. Claude finds what is worth extracting from the newsletter for social media, fixing formatting and hooks rather than writing new posts. He says one issue can yield three long posts and five short ones, plus five scripts for short videos that are cut from the YouTube video with Descript.
  • Workflow. The same workflow creates documents in his Notion workspace, tags him for filming and tags his virtual assistant to upload the posts.
  • Reports and decisions. After client calls, AI writes a report with action points for the client and pulls out content ideas. Each week, it analyses his best-performing content. He also says he uses it heavily to help him make decisions.

Where he draws the line

He does not let AI write his newsletter: not the first draft, not the final draft and not the structure. At most, he asks for brief notes on structure when he is stuck, or for help finding a quote in his notes. His reasoning is that the newsletter is his main way of connecting with readers, and that in a world where everyone hands their writing to AI, sounding unmistakably human becomes an advantage.

Olivia Bedford: no generative AI, but plenty of help

Olivia Bedford is a developmental editor and book coach who works with fiction writers through her business, Olivia Helps Writers. She is based in Rhode Island in the United States. In a March 2026 episode of her podcast, The Better Writer Podcast, she explained how she does and does not use AI.

What she does not use

She does not use generative AI to create anything she shares, such as blog posts or emails, and she says she will never use AI tools in client work. She has turned off the "connected experiences" in Microsoft Word to keep clients' manuscripts away from AI tools, and has published her AI policy on her website.

The AI tools she does use

  • Dictation. She dictates editorial letters to clients, emails and blog posts. She started because of pain in her hands, and says she is not sure she could do the job full time without it.
  • Text-to-speech. She has her editorial letters read aloud to catch typos before sending them.
  • Video editing. She edits her podcast and course videos in Riverside, where correcting the automatic transcript removes the matching part of the video. She calls the tool AI-powered, but says she does not know whether it uses generative AI.
  • Spelling checks. She uses ProWritingAid for spelling, with its generative features turned off.
  • Manuscript analysis. Very occasionally, she runs her own manuscripts through Marlowe, an analysis tool from Authors.AI that compares a manuscript with bestsellers on measures such as the share of dialogue. Her policy says she never uses AI analysis tools for client work.

Her three principles

She decides which tools to use by three rules: AI never produces anything she passes off as her own writing; she does not use AI for work she would otherwise pay a person to do; and she weighs each tool's environmental cost, keeping only those she thinks justify it.

What experience gave them that AI could not

This section is our analysis, not a claim made by either writer.

  • A voice worth protecting. Both treat their own writing as the thing readers and clients come for, which is why neither hands it over.
  • Knowing which tasks are only mechanical. Drew can delegate formatting, repurposing and reporting because he knows which parts of his work carry the meaning. Bedford can use dictation and spell-checking because they leave her judgment untouched.
  • Editorial judgment. An editor's value lies in how she reads a manuscript and explains what it needs, work Bedford keeps entirely for herself.
  • Clear, public rules. Both have spelled out their boundaries, Bedford in a written policy for clients and Drew in his newsletter, so readers and clients know what to expect.

The two approaches side by side:

Kieran DrewOlivia Bedford
WorkNewsletter writer and writing coursesDevelopmental editor and book coach
BaseTravelling in South America (left the UK in 2025)Rhode Island, United States
Generative AIUses Claude heavily, but not for his writingDoes not use it
What AI handlesVideo scripts, social posts, workflow, reports, decision supportDictation, read-aloud checks, video editing, spelling
What stays humanEvery word of the newsletterAll client work and everything she publishes
Guiding ideaUse AI everywhere except where human connection matters mostThree public principles on authorship, jobs and environmental cost

What you can copy

These are our suggestions, drawn from the two stories.

  1. Decide what is yours. Name the work that defines you, such as your newsletter or your edits, and keep AI out of it.
  2. Use AI on what comes after the writing. Repurposing, formatting and reporting can be delegated without changing your voice.
  3. Look beyond generative AI. Dictation and read-aloud tools can save time and even protect your health.
  4. Write your rules down. A public AI policy tells clients exactly what they are paying for.
  5. Weigh the costs as well as the benefits. Bedford's principles include whether a tool replaces a person and its environmental impact.

Notes on the sources

The facts about Drew come from his newsletter, including an issue published on April 25, 2026, and his website. He mentions a virtual assistant who uploads his social media posts and handles other non-creative tasks, and other outside help, such as an agency for his YouTube channel and a company that is publishing his book; his sources do not say whether the assistant is an employee or a contractor, and they do not describe any employees. His revenue figure is his own description; he has also published monthly figures for some months. He has not said which country he lives in now.

The facts about Bedford come from the transcript of her podcast episode on her own website, her website's policies page and her listing in the Authors.AI directory of editors. The episode is dated March 10, 2026 on its podcast host and March 9 on her website, which appears to reflect the time zone. Her sources do not mention employees, associate editors or other staff. She has also done consulting work for Authors.AI. Her website lists her prices, but her sources give no revenue figures.

Sources

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