Last Wednesday, I got called out on a client call

I said I'd "used AI to help organize the proposal" — Old Zhou cut me off right there: "Don't give me the AI stuff. Your own thinking is what counts." I sat there staring at the wall after we hung up.

Sam Altman talked about this last week — it hit me right where it hurt

In a recent interview he said: "People hate AI because it makes everything feel insincere." It's not a tech problem — it's a feeling problem. I read it three times. My friend May, who's a consultant, already started changing her approach — she now sends proposals with a cover line like "The 3 core points I sorted out for you," and never mentions AI. Clients now think she's more thoughtful.

Then there's Xiaolin — he runs a personal IP on Xiaohongshu. Last week he told me he does let AI help rewrite the opening line of his scripts, but then he deliberately deletes that line and rewrites it himself before publishing. "That rewrite is the sincerity," he said, exactly that.

Cost to copy: try it today

Money: 0
Time: 1 hour (just reword your most recent deliverable)
Tech barrier: None — no tools needed. Just swap "AI helped me..." for "I helped you...", "I sorted out...", "I organized..."
First step: Open the last proposal, email, or doc you sent a client. Replace every "AI" mention with what you actually did.

How I use this at different stages

Just starting (0–1 clients): If you're brand new, don't overthink it — AI usage is still low, trust isn't a huge issue yet. But if you want a head start, build one habit now: re-read everything before sending, and make sure it "sounds like you."

I've got 1–2 stable clients: This is danger zone. One client lost beats ten new ones you'd need to win. I'd audit my most recent deliverables today — look for anything that might feel "not sincere enough."

Scaling up (team, course, product): If I'm scaling, I'd write "I don't let AI think for me" into my public intro. Putting a clear line between my brand and AI can actually become a selling point.

One last thing: not everyone needs to obsess over this. If your clients are tech folks, being upfront about "I use AI to speed things up" can actually score points. This post is mainly for those of us who've been called out face-to-face — same as me.