So you made something good. Maybe it's a blog post that really landed, or a video script you're proud of, or detailed conference notes with actual insights. Now you need to turn it into five other things: a LinkedIn post, an email, a video, a thread, whatever.

The obvious move is to dump it into an AI tool and ask it to 'repurpose' it. Which usually gives you something that's clearly AI-repurposed—generic, flat, missing whatever made the original worth reading.

Here's how to actually repurpose content without creating slop or exhausting yourself in the process.

How to repurpose content with AI (the actual process)

The processes you need depend on what you’re trying to do. But the basic method is the same.

1. Start with actually good content

If your original content is vague or half-baked, AI won't magically make it better in a new format. Be clear on the core ideas you're trying to communicate. Weak source material stays weak no matter how you reshape it.

2. Know exactly what you’re making 

Before you start, get specific about what you're making. Not just “a social post” but “a LinkedIn post that drives people to read the full article.” Not “a video” but “a 60-second video that works without sound.”

If the destination format is unfamiliar, study what actually works there first. You need to know what good looks like, or you won't be able to tell if what you made is any good.

Tip: The Flipped Interaction and Persona patterns help here.

3. Figure out what needs to stay and what can change

Before you ask AI to repurpose anything, strip your piece down to its core. What absolutely has to be preserved? Usually it's the main insight, your specific point of view, maybe a particular tone or energy.

What can adapt? Usually everything else: length, framing, specific examples, even voice (depending on the platform).

The clearer you are about this, the better your results will be.

4. Use the right tool

Different AI tools are good at different things. Descript works well for turning spoken content into clips. Claude can handle longer rewrites that need more context. ChatGPT's Canvas is useful for iterative editing.

Don't just pick whatever tool you're most comfortable with. Match the tool's strengths to what you're trying to do.

5. Expect to iterate

Your first attempt will almost never be right. That's normal. You'll need to refine, rework, and probably try again with a better prompt.

This isn't a sign that you're doing it wrong. It's just part of the process.

6 ways to use AI for content repurposing

Here are some practical ways I’ve used AI to repurpose content.

1. Turning messy notes into something useful

One of the most useful things AI can do: take conference notes, voice memos, or rambling transcripts and distill them into key points.

This works best when your raw material actually contains clear insights, even if they're buried under messiness. AI can help you find them, but it can't invent value where there isn't any.

It’s also important to know your audience. Are you preparing this for a time-strapped executive team? A general audience that needs more context? Or even just your future self, trying to remember why something mattered? Each version requires a slightly different kind of repurposing.

2. Summarizing without losing what matters

Summarization is removing what's unnecessary while keeping what matters. AI is actually very good at this.

To get good at summarizing using AI, try using the Chain of Density prompt pattern. Here's a quick primer: 

1. First, ask for a summary.
2. Next, ask the AI to list points it left out.
3. Finally, if there are any points you think are important enough to include, ask the AI to add those points. 

Watch out for faithfulness hallucinations, where AI adds its own ideas while claiming to distill yours. This is why it's easier to summarize your own work—you'll catch when something feels off.

3. Expanding content (without creating slop)

Expanding content is tricky because it's easy to just add filler. Don't ask AI to balloon 500 words into 2,500. That creates repetitive slop.

First, ask yourself whether you really need to make it longer. Brevity usually hits harder.

If expansion would genuinely help, ask yourself what would naturally make the piece richer. Use AI to suggest new subtopics or examples, then deliberately choose which ones to include. The goal is to add depth, not just length.

4. Shifting the tone (without losing your voice)

Tone shifts are tricky. Ask AI to 'make this better' and you'll often get something that sounds like generic AI—your voice completely erased.

Be intentional and specific about it. Instead of asking the AI to "make this sound better," describe the specific tone you actually want: casual, confident, punchy, irreverent. And mention what you want to keep intact.

Tip: If you’re unsure how to name the tone of writing, see this article on how to get AI to write like you.

Reducing complexity involves trade-offs. You’ll have to choose which subtleties are worth preserving and which can be safely smoothed out.

And know your audience. Most writing benefits from clarity and simplicity. But simplicity should enhance your message, not flatten it.

5. Language translation: what AI can and can’t do

AI translation tools have gotten much better and work well for common languages. They're useful for first-pass drafts or general understanding.

But for anything that needs to maintain subtle meaning, tone, or cultural nuance, you still need human review. Especially for less-common languages or formal communications.

If you’re using AI for translation, think of it as step one. Once the draft is complete, consult a native speaker (or at least a fluent reader) to surface any awkward phrasing or misinterpretations the AI might have introduced.

6. Changing formats entirely

Changing formats—say, white paper to blog post—means adapting to new constraints, audiences, and expectations. What works in a dense PDF might overwhelm a carousel or feel too dry for a landing page.

Start by studying what makes the target format work. Does it need punchy intros? Emotional hooks? Calls to action? Figure out what's missing from your original, because AI needs that material to do the transformation effectively.

Crossing mediums—blog post to podcast, article to video—demands even more care. Often you need to do this in steps rather than one jump. For an article-to-podcast transformation: first rewrite it as a conversational script, then adjust sentence structure, pacing, and word choice for audio. After that, you can use AI for synthetic voiceovers or visuals.

The key is preserving the core while evolving the form.

What actually matters

The real skill isn't in the AI tools themselves. It's in knowing what's worth preserving from your original work and how to coax that into new forms.

Whether you're distilling rambling notes into something structured, expanding brief insights into richer pieces, or reshaping written content for video, the goal is the same: preserve what makes your content valuable while helping it reach new audiences.

It takes more work than dumping text into ChatGPT and clicking 'repurpose,' yeah. But it's the difference between content that actually works and content that obviously came from an AI.