Meet the Tech Reporters Using AI to Help Write and Edit Their Stories
Photo-Illustration: WIRED staff; Getty Images Save this story Save this story When technology reporter Alex Heath has a scoop, he sits down at his computer and speaks into a microphone.
He’s not talking to a human colleague—Heath went independent on Substack last year—he’s talking to Claude .
Using the AI-powered voice-to-text service Wispr Flow, Heath transmits his ideas to an AI agent, then lets it write his first draft.
Heath sat down with me last week to showcase how he’s integrated Anthropic’s Claude Cowork into his journalistic process.
The AI tool is connected to his Gmail, Google Calendar, Granola AI transcription service, and Notion notes .
He’s also built a detailed skill—a custom set of instructions—to help Claude write in his style, including the “10 commandments” of writing like Alex Heath.
The skill includes previous articles he’s written, instructions on how he likes his newsletters to be structured, and notes on his voice and writing style.
Claude Cowork then automates the drafting process that used to take place in Heath’s head.
After the agent finishes its first draft, Heath goes back and forth with it for up to 30 minutes, suggesting revisions.
It’s quite an involved process, and he still writes some parts of the story himself.
But Heath says this workflow saves him hours every week, and he now spends 30 to 40 percent less time writing.
“I’ve always hated the zero-to-one process of writing a story … Now, it’s actually kind of fun,” he says.
“Going out on my own, I realized I need AI to help with the volume.” Heath is part of a growing contingent of tech reporters using AI to help write and edit their stories.
The AI workflow is especially enticing for reporters who have gone independent, losing valuable resources like editors and fact-checkers that typically come with a traditional newsroom.
Rather than just prompting ChatGPT to write stories, independent journalists say they are re-creating these resources with AI.
