Why Longer Business Writing No Longer Works in the AI Era

A new study from researchers at Dartmouth and Princeton reveals a big shift: business proposals doubled in length after ChatGPT launched in late 2022—but the longer proposals no longer increase the likelihood of winning.

For decades, detailed proposals signaled effort and competence. That correlation just broke.

The researchers analyzed 2.7 million proposals on Freelancer.com and found that length no longer predicts success. If anything, verbose proposals now serve as an anti-signal.

This matters for every manager coaching their team on business writing, presentations, emails, and proposals. The old rules no longer apply.

What Changed

The research paper by Anais Galdin and Jesse Silbert documents three big shifts in business writing after large language models became widely available:

1. Proposals Doubled in Length

Before November 2022, most proposals averaged around 75 words. After ChatGPT's release, the distribution shifted dramatically—the typical proposal now runs 175-200 words. Writers more than doubled their output.

2. The Length-Quality Correlation Collapsed

Before LLMs, longer proposals correlated with higher win rates. The relationship was clear: more detail meant more wins. After LLMs arrived, that correlation vanished. Proposal length stopped predicting outcomes.

3. Writing Time Collapsed

Despite proposals doubling in length, writers spend less time creating them. AI tools make it trivially easy to generate hundreds of words in seconds.

Longer No Longer Means Better

For decades, detailed and thoughtful writing served as a credible signal.

Writing a comprehensive proposal took time and expertise. Buyers could reasonably assume: "This freelancer invested effort, so they're probably serious and capable."

ChatGPT destroyed that signal. Anyone can now generate a detailed, professional-sounding proposal in 30 seconds. Length no longer demonstrates expertise or commitment—it just shows someone has access to AI.

The result: Buyers face an avalanche of lengthy, AI-generated proposals, meeting notes, emails and summaries that all sound equally competent. The signal became noise.

The Real Problem

Business writing always rewarded brevity, but most teams optimized for completeness instead. More detail felt safer. Longer documents looked more professional.

That instinct has became a liability. When AI makes it effortless to write long, evaluators stop reading long. They scan for signal. They look for clarity. They reward precision.

The Solution: Smart Brevity

Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz provides the framework teams need for this new environment.

The book emerged from Axios's editorial philosophy: busy readers deserve respect. Get to the point. Cut the fluff. Make every word count.

Smart Brevity teaches:

• Bottom line up front - Lead with your conclusion, not your setup
• Axioms over paragraphs - One memorable sentence beats three mediocre ones
• Respect the reader's time - Assume they're busy, because they are
• Active voice, specific details - "Revenue grew 23%" not "significant improvements were observed"

These weren't revolutionary principles before AI. Now they're survival skills.

In a world where everyone can generate 500 words, the teams that write 150 clear words win.

How to Embed Better Writing in Your Team

Most managers tell their teams "be more concise" without giving them tools or training. That doesn't work.

Three practical steps:

1. Buy the Book

Get Smart Brevity for your team. Make it required reading for anyone who writes proposals, emails, presentations, or reports. Run a book club. Discuss real examples from your team's writing.

2. Create Writing Standards

Smart Brevity gives you a framework. Translate it into team norms:

• Emails: Bottom line in first sentence
• Proposals: Lead with outcome, not process
• Presentations: One idea per slide, not three
• Reports: Executive summary first, details in appendix

3. Use AI to Enforce Good Writing

AI created this problem—AI can help solve it. Tools like Kowalah's AI Accelerators include custom GPTs designed to coach your team on Smart Brevity principles in real-time.

Instead of asking ChatGPT to "make this longer" (the instinct that created the Freelancer.com problem), your team can ask: "Apply Smart Brevity principles to this email." The AI becomes a writing coach, not just a word-generation machine.

Want AI Tools That Make Your Team Better Writers?

Kowalah's AI Accelerators include custom GPTs designed to coach Smart Brevity principles—helping your team write clearly, concisely, and persuasively in an AI-saturated world.

Explore our accelerators and see how leading teams embed better communication habits.

Go deeper

• Smart Brevity on Amazon
• Kowalah Wednesday Webinars - learn one ChatGPT feature and ask your questions
• Kowalah Templates and Guides - AI policies, job descriptions and more - all free and ungated