How to Rewrite Text in Plain Language with AI

Plain language is writing organized for a specific audience so people can find, understand and use the information. It is not simply shorter sentences or simpler vocabulary. A reader may need a technical term, definition, qualification, table or step-by-step instruction to act correctly. Before rewriting, identify who will read the text, what they need to understand or do, what details are mandatory and what source controls the content. Ask AI to reorganize a supplied passage, explain jargon or point out buried instructions. Specify that it must retain all conditions, warnings, exceptions, dates, amounts, named contacts and uncertainty. It may remove a qualification because it sounds complicated, change who must act, or turn a possible outcome into a guarantee. Compare the rewrite with the source rather than trusting a fluency score or the model’s statement that it preserved meaning. Structure helps as much as vocabulary. Put the main message first, use headings that describe the task, order steps as readers will perform them and explain abbreviations at first use. Prefer concrete verbs and short sections, but do not break a complex idea into fragments that lose its logic. Readability formulas can help identify dense passages; CDC guidance warns that overreliance can produce writing that is shorter but no longer accurate or meaningful. Ask representative readers whether they can find the next action and explain the important conditions in their own words. For high-stakes text, such as medication directions, eligibility decisions, contracts or safety procedures, the content owner must review every change. AI can propose clearer phrasing, but it cannot authorize a policy change or decide what information may be removed. Keep the approved source, record substantive edits and confirm that the version released to the public is the one experts reviewed. Clarity should make accurate information more usable, not change what it says.