GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani refuses to read AI-written work, says employees must write their own ideas
GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani believes writing is an important part of thinking and refuses to read AI-generated documents.
GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani believes employees should be able to put their ideas into words without depending on artificial intelligence (AI) to do the writing for them. He has a strict rule when it comes to documents landing in his inbox. If he can tell that a piece of work has been written using AI, he simply will not read it.

Speaking to Business Insider, Bhutani explained his reasoning. "If somebody sends me a document and I can tell pretty quickly it was written by AI, I don't read it," he said. "Because if the person couldn't take the time to write it, then I definitely shouldn't take the time to read it."
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Why GoDaddy CEO wants employees to write themselves
Bhutani's stance does not mean employees cannot use AI at all. He said they can turn to the technology for help with understanding words or phrases. However, he expects them to develop their thoughts and communicate their ideas in a way that others can understand.
For him, writing is also about working through an idea and improving it along the way. He described this as practising the "art of iteration", where employees keep questioning and refining their initial thoughts.
"What I'm really looking for is: What was the original observation? What was the original hypothesis? What got you interested in this idea? Why do you think it matters?" he said.
Bhutani believes that this is where human thinking makes a difference. "AI only knows what the internet already knows. It doesn't know what we know deep inside us, and there are ideas coming from us all the time," he added.
What makes AI-written documents stand out?
Bhutani also spoke about the clues that make him suspect a document has been written using AI. Interestingly, language that sounds too polished can be one of them.
He explained that he works with people from different backgrounds, for whom English is often not their first language. So, when a document suddenly uses language that seems unusually perfect, it can stand out.
Length is another factor he looks at. Bhutani said excessively long documents can also be a giveaway. He prefers writing that is "punchy and clear" rather than unnecessarily elaborate.
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Other CEOs have concerns about AI-written work
Bhutani is not the only business leader questioning the use of AI for workplace writing.
Earlier this year, Varun Anand, co-founder of AI sales and marketing startup Clay, shared the company's writing policy on LinkedIn. Written by engineering employee Sophie Alpert, it stated that "Writing is thinking" and that employees should be able to explain every line they write.
Figma CEO Dylan Field also said in a September post on X that employees must disclose their use of AI in the writing process by adding the label "written with AI".
While companies are increasingly adopting AI tools, some CEOs clearly want employees to retain the ability to think and write for themselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHORVaishali KapilaVaishali Kapila is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital, where she covers internet culture, viral social media moments, human interest stories and workplace trends. She believes the best stories often come from ordinary experiences and everyday conversations. Through her stories, she aims to help readers understand not just what is trending, but why it matters. Vaishali has over five years of experience in digital journalism. Before joining Hindustan Times, she worked as a Sub Editor at NDTV, where she specialised in food and travel writing. Over the years, she has written and edited stories on recipes, nutrition, restaurants, destinations and travel trends, while building expertise in digital storytelling and audience-focused content. Today, her work spans topics including consumer issues, lifestyle, workplace trends and stories that reflect everyday life. She enjoys finding fresh angles, speaking with people and adding context that helps readers make sense of a story.Read More

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