How I Use ChatGPT to Brainstorm Newsletter Topics

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Every week, I need a juicy, relevant topic for AI Picked, Alex Approved. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with ChatGPT as my brainstorming partner — and it’s been surprisingly effective.

Here’s how the process went for my latest edition:

1️⃣ I fed it my previous newsletter topics so it knew what I’d already covered.

2️⃣ I asked for fresh angles, from AI in IDEs to Docs vs AI debates.

3️⃣ We drilled down into real-world developer opinions, research, and stats.

4️⃣ I used it to structure a fast-read newsletter with fast facts, real quotes, and a deeper dive for readers who want more.

The result: a newsletter draft ready to go, packed with credible sources and actual dev stories — all while keeping my voice front and center. Read the full edition here.

Pro tip: AI is amazing for idea generation and research, but the human touch is still essential for context, nuance, and personality.

Note that this conversation took around 30 minutes but it did give me two different posts based on the same conversation (the newsletter and THIS post you're reading right now!).