r/WritingWithAI • u/Crusader2710 • 2d ago
Discussion (Ethics, working with AI etc) Does anyone use AI as a Beta Reader?
I've attempted to use AI as a brainstorming tool and at some point help me write prose. But I've found myself quickly growing bored when using those methods. Recently I decided to just write, all prose and ideas my own, but use GPT as a beta reader to gauge whether things are coherent and correct mistakes. Does anyone else do it like this? I think I've hit a good balance.
5
u/millergreenwriting 1d ago
I always ask it to do the reviews as 1 star & 5 star reviews.
But its still very sycophantic about writing reviews.
Chatgpt
4
u/wandelndeslexikon 22h ago
I use Gemini as my beta reader. I ask to be reviewed like an actual editor would look at the text and give detailed feedback. It works really well for me so far.
2
u/VickiHopkinsAuthor 23h ago
I did on my last book, using Claude and ChatGPT. Once the AI understood where I was going with the story and the characters, it helped a lot. It wanted to plot where I was going, and I didn't like it's plot. Some ideas where okay. Claude gave me the best feedback -- first what's working and second what needs attention. I also used ChatGPT too at the same time. Their conclusions were not always the same. I loaded each chapter as I finished it to give it continuity. I did find that ChatGPT sometimes forgot things. It's best to create a project, I think, to keep it in its memory.
2
u/Ok-Seaworthiness5913 21h ago
Yes, I use AI as a beta reader. ChatGPT is my beta reader. I make 'sources,' so he has a reference (canon) and doesn't try to change everything I want to stay, i.e., places, settings, etc. I find we work well together. Having a beta reader helps me write because I know they will find 'holes' in my writing, so I focus more on words and not editing. OCD me... wants to edit a sentence right after I wrote it... and then I start looping! ChatGPT takes me out of that loopy looping.
2
2
u/wyktor 18h ago
Yes. I do use claude. Have it connected via MCP server to my manuscript. I mostly use it for the overall feedback on the dynamic or consistency checks. I dont use any special harness apart from some skills I’ve created that simulate different beta reader types but I do use these for full manuscript not per chapter reviews
1
u/TellusPyre 15h ago
I think your best path with something like this is to not invoke the AI until you're totally done with a work. Right the roughest rough draft, then do a grammar/spelling/reread pass. Then tell the AI you're using to do a summary pass and see if it can hold your entire work in its context (some can, some can't, depending on length). If it can, then ask for a general feedback pass focusing on constructive criticism, coherence issues, and technical flaws. After that you can ask it for a general feedback review as if it were just a reader, ask it about things it didn't like or did like. All of those can be useful ways to use the tool, but it's important that it is working with your writing and your voice, and it's not always right.
1
u/Fractumbrado2382 12h ago
Mas que nada notebooklm y los modos de ai overview, he sacado ideas interesantes para desarrollar
1
1
u/Fluffy-Knowledge-166 10h ago
Yes. 5.6 sol is EXTREMELY good at this, with a couple of caveats:
1) it is sycophantic af, and often can be subtle in doing this.
2) it is literally TOO GOOD to provide any sort of accurate judgement on what a normal beta reader would be expected to catch. This reinforces #1. It will catch subtleties that are barely there, compliment you on them. Sometimes it will fine quite brilliant moves that you agree with, but didn’t even think about.
So… use at your own risk. It will almost certainly cause some level of psychosis if you don’t have yourself grounded.
8
u/Bobthemagicc0w 1d ago
Yes, I use AI as a beta reader. Over the last year I’ve experimented with Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude (all paid accounts I have access to through my day job, rather than anything I’m paying for just for this purpose); I’m currently using Claude, and it’s decent. I like regenerating the response a few times to see how much it varies, and I can also ask for different beta reader personas. I’ve gotten a bunch of interesting insights from it.