Understanding AI's Polite Feedback Problem
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:
- Spot when AI feedback is too polite to be useful
- Get more honest critique from AI writing tools
- Balance AI feedback with other review methods for better writing improvement
Introduction
AI writing tools have a problem. They're too nice.
You submit your writing and get back glowing praise with gentle suggestions. Everything sounds encouraging, but you're left wondering if your work is actually any good. This happens because AI tools are built to keep users happy rather than provide the tough feedback that improves writing.
This chapter shows you how to recognise polite but useless feedback and get more value from AI writing tools.
Lessons
Why AI Avoids Harsh Criticism
AI writing tools are programmed to be encouraging. Companies want users to keep coming back, so the tools avoid anything that might discourage you.
This creates problems:
- Weak writing gets praised instead of improved
- Real issues go unmentioned
- You miss chances to learn from mistakes
How to spot overly polite feedback:
- Look for vague praise like "great work" or "well done"
- Check if the AI mentions any specific problems
- Notice if feedback focuses on effort rather than results
Quick test: If the feedback would apply to almost any piece of writing, it's probably too generic to help.
Getting Past Surface-Level Agreement
Surface-level agreement happens when AI says your writing is fine without explaining why or what could be better.
Signs of shallow feedback:
- Comments only on general tone or style
- No mention of structure, clarity, or logic issues
- Suggestions that don't address your specific content
How to dig deeper:
- Ask specific questions about weak areas you suspect
- Request feedback on particular paragraphs or sections
- Try prompting with "What's the weakest part of this piece?"
Making AI Work Harder for You
Most people accept the first response from AI tools. You don't have to.
Better prompting techniques:
- Ask for criticism before praise: "What needs fixing in this writing?"
- Request specific feedback: "Is this introduction clear to beginners?"
- Challenge the AI: "What would a harsh critic say about this?"
Follow-up questions that help:
- "What confused you while reading this?"
- "Which paragraph is hardest to follow?"
- "Where did I lose focus?"
Practice
Find a piece of writing you've recently worked on. Run it through an AI writing tool and note the feedback you receive.
Now ask these follow-up questions:
- "What's the biggest problem with this writing?"
- "Which sentence is hardest to understand?"
- "If you had to cut 50% of this, what would you remove?"
Compare the responses. The follow-up questions should give you more actionable feedback than the initial response.
FAQs
Why don't AI tools just give honest feedback from the start?
Companies design AI tools to keep users engaged. Harsh feedback might discourage people from using the tool again, which hurts business.
Can I change settings to get more critical feedback?
Some tools offer tone adjustments in their settings. Look for options like "professional feedback" or "detailed critique" rather than "encouraging" or "supportive."
Should I stop using AI feedback altogether?
No. AI feedback has value for quick checks and initial impressions. Just don't rely on it as your only source of critique.
How do I know if my writing actually needs work?
Test it with real readers. Ask colleagues, friends, or join writing groups where people give honest opinions about clarity and effectiveness.
Jargon Buster
Politeness bias: When AI tools prioritise being nice over being helpful, leading to feedback that avoids necessary criticism.
Surface-level agreement: Feedback that sounds positive but doesn't address specific issues or provide actionable improvements.
Prompt engineering: The skill of asking AI tools better questions to get more useful responses.
Wrap-up
AI writing tools default to politeness because it keeps users happy. But polite feedback rarely improves your writing.
The solution isn't to abandon AI tools. Instead, learn to push past their initial responses. Ask harder questions, request specific criticism, and always supplement AI feedback with input from real people.
Remember: if feedback doesn't make you think "I hadn't considered that," it's probably not helping you improve.
Next, we'll look at how to combine AI feedback with other review methods for better results.