[OPENING — 2-3 sentences. The thesis stated directly. The line itself or a near-variant. Sharp, specific, no setup. The reader should know what the essay argues by the end of the second sentence.]
[CONTRAST PARAGRAPH — 150-200 words. How most people think about product copy — describing features that already exist, making them clear, removing friction, helping users understand what's in front of them. All true, all useful, all the wrong frame for AI products specifically.]
[THE TURN — 200-250 words. Why AI product copy is different. The feature isn't fully built when you write the copy. The model's behavior is probabilistic, not deterministic. What the PM hopes the feature will do and what the model actually does in production are not the same thing. The copy isn't documentation — it's a commitment about what the product will stand behind in language. Told as observation, not argument. The reader should feel like you're describing something they've half-noticed and never named.]
[ONE EXAMPLE — 100-150 words. One specific, abstracted moment from your work — no Microsoft attribution, no feature names. Could reference "an AI feature I worked on" as the framing. The example is doing the work of grounding the argument in real practice without violating confidentiality. Optional — you can also write the essay without an example if it flows better.]
[THE PRINCIPLE — 100-150 words. What this means for how you approach AI content design. Not a checklist. A stance. The kind of paragraph a hiring manager underlines.]
[CLOSER — 1-2 sentences. Lands the essay without summarizing it. Leaves the reader thinking. Should feel like the same writer who wrote the closing line of your LinkedIn About.]