Earned exposure, SEO & AI search
What is the 10-80-10 rule for AI content?
The 10-80-10 rule is a way to use AI for content where a person supplies the first 10% (real expertise or raw material), AI does the middle 80% (drafting and formatting), and a person does the final 10% (editing, verifying and deciding what ships).
Short answer
The 10-80-10 rule says a person supplies the first 10% (the real insight, story or expertise), AI does the middle 80% (drafting, formatting, repurposing), and a person does the last 10% (editing, fact-checking, deciding what ships). Cut either human end and you get slop.
Most low-quality AI content systems make the same cut. It removes the human at the start and the human at the end, because those are the expensive parts. Those are also the only parts that make the output worth reading.
The 10-80-10 rule is how I run AI across my newsletters, my software and this site.
What are the three parts?
| Stage | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Takeoff: 10% | Human expertise | The insight, experience, story, judgment, reporting or raw material that makes the work real |
| Cruise: 80% | AI | Transcribe, organize, help research, draft, transform, repurpose, format and scale |
| Landing: 10% | Human judgment | Edit, verify, apply taste and context, make the publishing call, take responsibility |
The airplane names are on purpose. Takeoff and landing are where crashes happen. Cruise is where autopilot earns its keep.
Why not let AI do 100%?
Because AI can generate unlimited words, and unlimited words are worth nothing. When content is free to produce, the scarce thing is a reason to trust it. That reason only comes from a real person who knows something and a real person who checked it.
My one-line version: use AI to scale what is real, not manufacture what is not. AI should multiply genuine expertise, real reporting and useful information. It should never substitute for having something worth saying.
What does it look like in practice?
- This answer library. The first 10% is me: my own words from calls, podcast episodes and client conversations. AI clusters those into the questions people ask and drafts the pages. The last 10% is a fact-check against the original quotes and my edit. If a number isn't in the source material, it doesn't go on the page.
- Local guides. For evergreen guides on WilCo Guide I asked for a recognizable local author voice. The upgrades that make a guide credible against generic AI content all come from the human ends: firsthand observations, dated sources, and a stated reason each place made the list.
- Directory articles. My plan is for AI to eventually write articles for each business on a directory page so the owner doesn't have to. The first 10% there is an interview with the actual owner. Without that, it's mass-produced filler, and search engines have rules about scaled content.
- Founder-led posts. The raw material is what actually happened this week: what I built, what broke, what a customer did. AI turns it into writing. I decide if it's true and worth posting.
What are the warning signs you skipped a 10%?
- Skipped takeoff: the piece could have been written about any business in any town. No specific number, story or opinion.
- Skipped landing: wrong facts, invented quotes, generic filler, nobody would sign their name to it.
Is there a test before something ships?
I use five questions before publishing, launching or selling anything:
- Did we earn the right to make this claim?
- Is the underlying expertise real?
- Is the product useful?
- Is the media property valuable without the promotional benefit?
- Would we be comfortable if a customer, journalist, competitor or AI system examined how the work was created?
If any answer is no, it doesn't ship. That's the landing 10% doing its job. It's also the backbone of earned exposure: you can't earn trusted attention with work you wouldn't let anyone inspect.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From TJ Larkin's written operating principles for his companies and team calls in 2026. Last updated .