AI polish makes it harder to spot problems. But there’s a quick fix.
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Atlassian's Teamwork Lab ran a controlled study with 903 knowledge workers to test whether AI-polished writing makes it harder to catch substantive flaws. Reviewers of AI-polished drafts were 22% less likely to spot a first flaw and 15% less likely to spot a second, spent 62% more time reviewing, and were 18% less willing to give critique. However, adding a simple 'Status: Early Draft' label almost entirely reversed these effects while keeping perceived effort ratings high. Older employees and managers proved largely immune to the polish effect, while Gen Z and entry-level workers showed the steepest drops in flaw detection.
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AI polish is a powerful psychological signal to drop your guardAn “Early Draft” label fixes the AI polish effect — and boosts perceived effortThe bottom line: Include a warning on early drafts for useful feedbackQuestions this post answers
Does polishing a draft with AI make reviewers less likely to catch mistakes in it?
Yes, reviewers evaluating AI-polished drafts were 22% less likely to catch a first flaw and 15% less likely to catch a second flaw compared to reviewers of unpolished drafts, according to a controlled study of 903 knowledge workers. They also spent 62% more time reading and were 18% less willing to give critique, since polish signals the work is already finished. Anyone relying on AI-polished writeups can track workflow research like this on daily.dev before it burns them in review.
How do you get honest feedback on a document that was polished with AI?
Add a simple label like 'Status: Early Draft' along with an explicit request for feedback. In a study of 903 reviewers, this almost entirely negated the AI-polish effect, dropping perceived finality from 37% to 21% and restoring willingness to critique to baseline, while high-effort ratings actually rose from 64% to 69%. Teams refining AI-assisted writing workflows can follow findings like this on daily.dev.
Are some employees better than others at catching flaws in AI-polished writing?
Yes, Gen X employees (46+) and managers acted as a natural firewall, spotting flaws in proposals regardless of whether AI polish was applied. Gen Z and entry-level employees, by contrast, showed steep drops in flaw detection when reviewing AI-polished drafts versus unpolished ones. Managers weighing how AI writing tools affect review quality can follow research like this on daily.dev.