Why AI Can’t Tell Your Story (and Why That’s a Good Thing)

AI is powerful. It can organize ideas, spot patterns, suggest structure, and help you move faster. What it cannot do is live your life. And because of that, it cannot tell your story.

That is not a limitation to work around. It is a feature worth protecting.

What AI Is Actually Good At

Let’s start here.

AI is very good at:

• Identifying patterns across thousands of stories

• Recommending frameworks that create clarity

• Helping you outline, refine, and edit

• Speeding up the mechanical parts of writing

  
  

In other words, AI is excellent at structure.

Give it enough examples and it can tell you how stories usually work. It can point to common arcs, recurring beats, and proven flows that help audiences follow along.

That is useful.  But structure is not the same thing as story.

Why Your Story Is Not a Pattern

Your story is not just what happened.

It is:

• What you noticed that others didn’t

• What scared you in the moment

• What you almost said but held back

• What you misunderstood at first

• What changed internally before anything changed externally

Those details do not live in a dataset.  They live in your body, your memory, your hesitation, your lived experience.

AI can describe a version of a story like yours. It cannot describe your version, because it was not there.

It does not know which moment still tightens your chest when you think about it. It does not know which sentence you struggled to say out loud. It does not know which decision looked small at the time but rewired your entire life.

That is an important difference.

Voice Comes From Stakes

One of the most common questions people ask me is about how to “find their voice.”  Voice is not something you invent.  It is something that emerges from your unique perspective on the world.

I was teaching a class last year at a middle school.  There was a girl enrolled in the class who was very shy.  She barely spoke above a whisper.  

When I worked with her one on one, I loved what she had to say.  And I loved the way she said it.  So I encouraged her to speak in her own (soft) voice when she told her stories.  (She was actually doing stand up comedy!). 

Here were some of her jokes:

Hi, my name is Rachel.

I’m very quiet.

Not shy.

Just… quietly judging everyone. (she then slowly looked around the room which got an even bigger laugh)

And later in her set she said:

I’m very calm on the outside.

On the inside, I’m yelling.

(she then, ever so slightly, tensed up her neck, as if she was screaming inside)

Sorry.  Lost my temper for a second there.  

This was a kid who didn’t need to “speak up” or act any other way than exactly who she was/is.  And embracing that as her “voice” is what made her stories (and jokes) so memorable and unique!

Your voice comes from:

• What you risked

• What you lost

• What you learned the hard way

• What you now refuse to ignore

  
  

And also:

• Who you naturally are

• What you really think

• Your individual perspective on the world

  
  

AI can imitate tone. It cannot generate stakes.  And without stakes, a story may sound polished, but it will not feel true.

Why This Is Actually Good News

If AI could tell your story for you, it would mean your story was generic enough to be interchangeable.

The fact that it cannot is proof that your perspective matters.

AI can help you:

• Clarify your message

• Strengthen your structure

• Edit for flow and coherence

  
  

But it still needs you to decide:

• What your story is really about

• Why your story matters 

• What you want the audience to feel at the end

  
  

That work cannot be automated.  And it should not be.

How to Use AI Without Losing Your Story

My goal is not to reject AI outright. It’s to put it in the right role.

Use AI to:

• Test clarity

• Refine structure

• Spot gaps in logic

• Explore alternate ways to frame the same truth

Do not use it to:

• Replace your lived experience

• Speak for you

• Decide what matters

Let AI hold the flashlight.  You still have to walk into the room.

A Final Thought

The most meaningful stories are not impressive because of how they are written.  They are powerful because of where they come from.  

AI can help you tell stories more clearly.  But only you can tell the one that could not have been written by anyone else.

And that is not a problem to solve.  That is the whole point.