Are these the right specs?
In the age of AI, we need to learn to speak clearly and precisely. Now more than ever.
Because when we're vague, things don’t just get lost in translation - they multiply into mess, faster.
A friend recommended an EA from the Philippines to help me free up time for what matters most. He spoke highly of him.
So, as a test, I asked for help repurposing a podcast episode:
→ A short Instagram reel
→ Captions for LinkedIn and Instagram
→ Basic audio polish
I asked that the content feel good for marketing. Meaning: compelling, curiosity-sparking, so the right people actually want to listen.
When I got the files back, I was ... surprised.
Everything seemed done. All the deliverables were there.
But none of it reflected what I actually wanted.
It was generic. AI-generated filler. Empty words dressed up like a politician's speech - lots of air, no substance, many words said, no common sense delivered.
It became clear the EA probably just fed my request into a few AI tools, copy-pasted the output, and clocked out.
Charged me for 11 hours. Probably done in one.
Was it his fault? Probably not entirely. I assumed too much.
I hadn’t listed out the specs in detail. I assumed someone "great at copywriting" would ask questions if unclear. That he’d care to understand my work before jumping in. That he knew how to "hook" people into learning good stuff.
My assumptions - his thinking, that he was meeting the specs.
In the world of AI, it's easier than ever to meet the brief - word counts, video and audio formats, file types, engineering tech assignment descriptions. And it's more needed than ever to make sure that we are precise about the right kind of specs.
Just because it ticks the boxes doesn’t mean it’s what we needed.
PS It’s like fighters cutting 10% of their body weight in days to make a weight class.
Yes, they hit the number. But is that your idea of life-long weight loss success?
