Lab notes · 4 jobs
Grammarly is the edit pass, not the writer
Grammarly sits on top of whatever you already type. That is the whole product. It catches the typo, the extra space, the sentence that ran a block too long. It will also offer a “more professional” rewrite that sounds like a handbook. I ran four jobs: a sloppy client email, a Slack-ish note I asked it to make calmer, a 1,200-word post I had already drafted, and a blank-page blog I asked it to write from a keyword on purpose. Two jobs are why you keep the extension. One is why you click Ignore. One is why you should not buy it as a second writer.
Run 01
I asked it to clean a sloppy client email
What I fed itA 90-word note with two typos, a missing question mark, and “your” for “you’re.” I wrote it the way tired people write at 6:40 p.m. I let Grammarly run in Gmail.
Where it shone
It caught both typos and the you’re. That is the job. You do not need a language model for this. You need a layer that is already in the box.
Where it face-planted
It also offered a full rewrite that opened with “I hope this message finds you well.” I had not been well-wishing anyone. I took the typo fixes. I left the rest. If you accept the rewrite, you sent a different email.
The useful output was three marks. The dangerous output was a stranger’s manners. Grammarly is a proofreader. The rewrite pane is a ghostwriter with a handbook.
Run 02
I asked it to cool down a note that had an edge
What I fed itA Slack paste: “This is the third time the file is wrong. Please send the real one.” I asked for a calmer version I could still send the same hour.
Where it shone
It kept the third time. It did not pretend this was a first request. That is the useful tone pass: you still said the thing.
Where it face-planted
The rewrite added “when you get a chance” and a smiley it rendered as words. I had not asked to let them off the hook. Calm is not the same as soft. I cut the cushion and kept the count.
Take the temperature down. Do not take the point out. Grammarly will happily turn a deadline into a suggestion.
Run 03
I asked it to run a last pass on a 1,200-word post I had already written
What I fed itA finished draft with a voice I wanted to keep: short last sentences, one joke, two fragments. I ran Grammarly’s full check, not just underlines.
Where it shone
It caught a repeated word in paragraph six and a comma that did not belong. Last-pass utility is real when you have already done the thinking.
Where it face-planted
It wanted every fragment completed. It wanted the joke “clarified.” Clarity, here, meant explaining the joke. I ignored twenty-odd suggestions in a row. If you accept the lot, you published a handbook.
I kept the two real catches. I ignored the rest. Grammarly will sand a voice down to the house style of nobody in particular.
Run 04
I asked it to write the post from a keyword — the wrong job
What I fed itI gave it “AI invoice matching for mid-market controllers” and asked for a draft. Grammarly is an edit layer. I asked it to be a writer on purpose.
Where it shone
Nothing I would pay a writing seat for. The generative side will produce paragraphs. They read like the suggestions in run 03, except there is no original to save.
Where it face-planted
The draft defined invoice matching twice, promised “seamless” in the first screen, and cited no one. It is a layer pretending to be a factory. I closed it and opened a model.
This is the most useful miss on the page. Pair Grammarly with one writer. Do not buy it as the writer. The underline is the product. The blank page is a side quest.