How to Build an AI Style Guide

March 19, 2026

TL;DR

Style guides originated to ensure consistency in book printing, with Horace Hart's Rules at Oxford University Press being an early example.
The function of style guides has remained consistent: to make rules explicit for consistent output, regardless of the producer.
Technological advancements, such as the telegraph and screens, led to the development of new style guides (e.g., AP Stylebook, web style guides).
Language models produce generic writing, creating a gap that can be bridged by AI style guides, which translate a writer's unique style into machine-usable instructions.
Unlike mechanical decisions, a writer's distinct style often lies in subconscious elements like word choice and sentence rhythm.
Building an AI style guide requires surfacing and documenting these subconscious patterns, a process that can lead to self-discovery about one's own writing.
Tools and guides exist to help individuals create their own AI style guides, enabling AI assistants to better approximate personal writing styles.

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