How to survive AI fatigue for content creators

Does the word “Chat” conjure images of dread in your head? Are you sick of hearing “Have you asked Copilot”? Do you find yourself rolling your eyes at posts with too many emojis? Are you unsure what a “DeepSeek” is, and, at this point, you’re too afraid to ask?

You may be suffering from AI Fatigue.

I’m very sorry to meet you in this position, but as somebody who works for an AI-powered observability company, studies for a degree in Content Strategy, and is a professional content creator living and breathing social media, nobody can understand you more than me.

Keep reading. Even though there’s currently no known cure, with a bit of work, you can surely alleviate your symptoms by following a few tips.

What is AI fatigue?

I thought I made up the term “AI fatigue”, but a quick Google search revealed otherwise. This article from TechTarget defines AI fatigue as “the feeling of mental exhaustion and overwhelm due to continuous -- and increased -- exposure to AI technologies.”

A few weeks ago we had attendance week at university and after one too many courses requiring or suggesting using ChatGPT to complete the assignments, I looked at the schedule, and—BAM—one of the courses that we were due to attend had “AI” written in the title. Sitting outside in the sun at lunchtime with a group of friends, I groaned and expressed my lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming class.

What surprised me, though, was that my sentiment was reflected by my peers.

How have we come to this point?

As I talked with more people about AI, particularly Generative AI, I felt my feelings were mostly validated. What was once seen as an exciting new world of possibilities has now turned into something that didn’t really deliver its promises. It has, in many cases, even made things worse.

We hear people lamenting the death of creativity. Nobody wants to read AI-generated articles or books or look at AI Art. And many have the feeling that social media’s already been ruined by it.

I remember when ChatGPT was announced and made publicly available a few years ago as clear as day because it was not that long before I was due to go on maternity leave. At that point, somebody suggested using it to replace my work while on leave. Two years later, I feel like AI has become omnipresent. And it did replace at least some parts of my work to make me more productive.

But what gets me is that I noticed that I started relying too much on it and becoming more insecure about my skills, in particular when it comes to writing. And, in general, I feel like I never particularly enjoy using Generative AI for content creation. The frustration with it trumps the results it gives.

How to alleviate AI fatigue

I’m sorry if it all sounds so dark and depressing until now. Don’t fret - there are things you can do to combat the fatigue. Here are four tips for a healthier relationship with GenAI:

Be mindful of your usage

In reality, nobody’s forcing you to use Generative AI, but in many cases, it does help you, especially when it comes to staying competitive in the world of content creation. If stopping completely is out of the question, I think it’s important to learn to distinguish when you should use it.

Did you leave school and forget everything you learned in maths class? That’s because you no longer need to spend hours learning new formulas every week. I, for example, realized that I’d become quite rusty with editing after relying a bit too much on AI to fix my writing mistakes. Writing well is, in the end, a non-negotiable skill for me, so I want to keep practicing it.

Relying too much on AI to do the thinking for you could lead to losing the skills you have honed over the years. Only use it when strictly necessary, and keep your brain running the rest of the time.

Get your peers on board

As somebody who works in a remote team, I often find it quicker and easier to rely on GenAI for brainstorming since I don’t always have my people in the same room as me.

But the other day, I found myself in the position of needing to brainstorm with a human, and I felt a bit annoyed when the person I asked for help asked me first if I had already asked an AI.

I made it clear that I wanted to talk to a human about it because I trusted them more. We met in the middle, where they asked AI for some prompts, and we refined the final solution together.

Be open about your preference for using AI only when strictly necessary. Nobody will use that against you.

Keep an open mind

Does this sound contrary to what I’ve said until now? Well, we need to admit that Generative AI isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Sometimes you need to think that it’s a case of “AI won’t replace humans — But humans with AI will replace humans without AI”.

In many ways, the possibilities of AI are exciting, so keeping up to date with the trends and experimenting with new things can open up a world of possibilities. Don’t take it too seriously, and try new things out. Experimentation is the bedrock of creativity.

Go out and touch grass

If you live on the internet too much like me, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish what is truly a societal issue and what is just something living online that, in the end, doesn’t affect your life. (Before you come for me, I’m talking about content creation with Generative AI and not about biased algorithms used to develop AIs that are, in fact, affecting society negatively at a larger scale.)

If you’re stuck with a content creation project and you’re not under the pressure of a close deadline, sometimes it’s better to shut the laptop and go for a walk instead of asking ChatGPT for ideas. Getting some fresh air and clearing your head does more wonders for your creativity than anything else.