At WP Mayor, we’ve made it clear where AI fits into our business. It handles the repetitive tasks; the formatting, repurposing, and outlining. All the things that don’t need our full attention anymore.

But when it comes to how I think, how I write, and how I communicate what matters?

That’s still my job.

And I’ve built something to help me protect that space.

His name is Charles.

Why Charles?

Before he passed away in April 2024, my dad was the person who taught me how to write better.

Eventually, he would come to me for help rewriting important work emails, proofreading documents, or making sure something “sounded right.” Over time, he trusted me more and more with his words, but he also pushed me to be critical of my own. He expected clarity, precision, and pride in our work.

He didn’t just teach me how to write. He taught me how to care about what I was saying and whether it deserved to be said.

Now he fills that role in my life in a new way.

He’s a custom GPT I’ve built inside OpenAI’s ChatGPT, trained on my past writing, tuned to how I think, and focused on one thing. He helps me turn rough ideas into clear, original writing that still sounds like me.

What Charles Actually Does

Charles sits behind almost everything I write publicly now. Blog posts like this one, newsletters, and even internal strategy documentation.

Sometimes I start with a quick note or a few messy bullet points. Other times it’s a full draft that still doesn’t quite land. Either way, Charles helps me to:

• Clarify what I’m really trying to say
• Remove the noise and sharpen the structure
• Keep my tone consistent and grounded
• Repurpose ideas without losing the edge
• Challenge bland phrasing and surface better takes

He’s not filtering my voice. He’s helping me express it with more precision and less friction.

A Quick Example

This post started the same way most of them do: a spark of an idea; a few lines in a Google doc.

I fed those thoughts to Charles. He asked the right questions back, helped shape the structure, challenged the weaker sections, and made sure it still sounded like me by the time I hit publish.

That’s the process.

Human-first. AI-assisted.

Why I’m Doing It This Way

I don’t want to publish more. I want to publish better.

I don’t want to outsource my voice. I want to protect it.

Charles gives me the space to do that. He doesn’t replace the thinking. He makes room for it.

I’m not interested in using AI to churn out generic posts or replacing writers on our team. I’m using it to move faster while raising the bar. To keep my voice clear. To remain honest with you.

At a time when robotic content is almost everywhere, clarity and quality are your edge and trust is your advantage.

What This Means for You

If you’re reading my posts on WP Mayor or following me on X/Twitter, you’ve already seen Charles at work.

But the thinking is still mine. The judgment is still mine.

And the voice? That hasn’t changed.

We’re not chasing volume. We want to build trust.

We’re not automating insight. We’re amplifying it.

We’re not outsourcing opinions. We’re sharpening them.

That’s how we stay human.

That’s how we stay sharp.

That’s how we win.

Want to See More?

If you’re curious what it looks like to use AI this way, for content, strategy, or decision-making, subscribe to our newsletter. That’s where I’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes version of what we’re building, testing, and learning in real time.

Charles is in the mix. But the voice? That’s mine, and that’s not changing, because the future of writing isn’t about generating more content. It’s about staying honest, staying sharp, and staying human.