Field Notes

Write Like an Aircraft Manual: Clear Copy for Local Services

An OpenAI founding member says AI should write like an aircraft manual. Here is what that means for pest control, HVAC, and plumbing service websites and ads.

Published October 30, 2026 by the Digital Marketing Raleigh team.

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A recent Search Engine Journal piece by Matt G. Southern carried a headline that caught the attention of a lot of people who write for a living: a founding member of OpenAI suggested that large language models should write like an aircraft manual. That is a striking image. Aircraft manuals are not famous for charm. Nobody curls up with one on a Sunday afternoon. But they are famous for one thing that most marketing copy lacks: when a mechanic reads a step, they know exactly what to do next.

If you own a pest control company, an HVAC shop, a plumbing business, or a roofing crew, you may wonder why a debate about how artificial intelligence writes has anything to do with you. The answer is simple. More and more of the text your customers read, on your website, in your Google Business Profile posts, in follow-up emails, and in the search results themselves, is now written or summarized by AI tools. And a growing number of the questions homeowners ask are answered by AI systems that read your pages and decide whether you are worth recommending. How those systems write, and how they read, shapes how people find you.

This article does not try to report every detail of the original remarks, and we will not put words in anyone's mouth. Instead, we will take the core idea at face value, that clear, procedural, unambiguous writing beats flowery writing, and walk through what it means for a local service business that wants more calls and fewer confused prospects. We will cover what aircraft manual writing actually looks like, why so much AI marketing copy feels hollow, and a practical set of rules you can apply to your own pages this week.

What "Write Like an Aircraft Manual" Actually Means

Aviation maintenance documentation follows strict writing rules for a practical reason: a misunderstood instruction can have serious consequences. The aerospace industry has long used a controlled language standard often called Simplified Technical English. The general idea behind controlled writing of this kind is easy to grasp even if you never read the standard itself. Use short sentences. Use one word for one meaning. Put instructions in the imperative ("Remove the panel") rather than in passive constructions ("The panel should be removed"). Give one instruction per sentence. Say what will happen and what to check.

Compare two ways of telling a homeowner what to do before a termite inspection.

Version one: "Our experienced team is dedicated to delivering a seamless, stress-free inspection experience tailored to your unique home, so you can enjoy peace of mind knowing your biggest investment is protected."

Version two: "Before we arrive, clear about two feet of space along the inside walls of your garage. Unlock any crawl space access. Put pets in a closed room. The inspection takes about an hour, and you do not need to be home if we can reach the crawl space."

The first version sounds like marketing. The second version sounds like a manual. Which one helps the homeowner more? Which one makes your company look like it knows what it is doing? Most owners we talk with pick the second one immediately, even though the first one is closer to what they see on many competitor websites.

That is the heart of the aircraft manual argument. Clarity is a form of respect. When writing tells the reader exactly what to do, what to expect, and what it means, the reader trusts it. When writing piles on adjectives and vague promises, the reader starts skimming, and then leaves.

Why AI Tools Drift Toward Fluffy Writing

Anyone who has asked a chatbot to "write a homepage for my plumbing company" has seen the result. It usually opens with something like "Welcome to your trusted partner for all your plumbing needs." It mentions "unparalleled service," "cutting-edge solutions," and "a commitment to excellence." It closes with "Contact us today to experience the difference." Every sentence is grammatically correct. Almost none of it says anything.

There are a few reasonable explanations for why this happens, and you do not need to be a computer scientist to follow them.

• The tools learn from what already exists. A huge amount of the business writing on the internet is generic marketing copy. A model trained on that material learns that generic marketing copy is what a homepage looks like.
• Vague writing is safe writing. A tool that does not know your service area, your pricing, your warranty, or your crew cannot say anything specific without risking a false statement. So it says nothing specific.
• The prompt is often vague too. "Write a homepage for my HVAC company" gives the tool nothing to work with. Garbage in, filler out.
• Pleasant-sounding text gets rewarded. People tend to rate smooth, confident, upbeat text as good, even when it lacks substance. Over time, tools may lean toward what sounds good rather than what is useful.

The aircraft manual idea pushes in the opposite direction. It asks for writing that is boring in the best sense: predictable, exact, and easy to act on. For a local service business, that is not a downgrade. It is exactly what a stressed homeowner with water on the basement floor needs to read.

Why Clear Writing Matters More for Local Service Businesses

Think about the moment someone finds your business. They are rarely browsing for fun. A furnace quit at night. A wasp nest appeared over the back door. A shingle blew off in a storm. The customer is often worried, sometimes in a hurry, and usually reading on a phone. That situation looks a lot more like a mechanic in a hangar than like a person reading a magazine.

In that moment, the reader wants answers to a short list of questions:

1. Do you handle this problem?
2. Do you serve my area?
3. How fast can you get here?
4. Roughly what will it cost, or how is it priced?
5. What happens if the problem comes back?
6. How do I reach you right now?

Every sentence on your site that does not help answer one of those questions is in the way. Aircraft manual writing clears the way. It puts the answer first and the explanation second.

There is a second reason this matters now. Search engines and AI assistants increasingly summarize web pages for people instead of just listing links. When a homeowner asks an assistant "who can fix a leaking water heater near me," the system has to read pages and pull out facts. A page that clearly states "We repair and replace tank and tankless water heaters in Raleigh, Cary, and Garner. Same-day service is often available on weekdays" is easy to understand and easy to quote. A page that says "We are passionate about delivering comfort solutions to our valued community" gives the system nothing to quote. We cannot promise how any particular search system will rank a page, and nobody outside those companies can. But it stands to reason that plain, factual pages are easier for both people and machines to understand.

Eight Aircraft Manual Rules for Your Marketing Copy

You do not need to adopt a formal technical writing standard to get the benefit. The following rules borrow the spirit of controlled technical writing and adapt it for a service business website, Google Business Profile, and customer messages.

1. One idea per sentence

Long sentences that chain three ideas together with commas force the reader to hold everything in memory. Break them up. "We offer free estimates, we are licensed and insured, and we serve all of Wake County" becomes three short sentences. Each one is easier to scan and easier to believe.

2. Use the imperative for instructions

When you tell a customer what to do, tell them directly. "Turn off the water at the main shutoff valve" is better than "It is recommended that homeowners consider shutting off the water supply." The direct version is shorter, clearer, and sounds more confident.

3. Use one word for one thing

If your page calls the same service a "tune-up" in one paragraph, a "maintenance visit" in the next, and a "seasonal checkup" in a third, a reader may wonder whether those are three different products. Pick one term and use it everywhere. If you must use a second term because customers search for it, define it once: "Our spring tune-up (some people call it an AC maintenance visit) includes..."

4. Replace adjectives with facts

"Fast service" is an adjective. "We answer the phone live from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday" is a fact. "Experienced technicians" is an adjective. "Our lead technician has worked on residential HVAC systems since the early 2000s" is a fact, as long as it is true. Facts persuade. Adjectives get skimmed. Only use facts you can stand behind.

5. Put the most important information first

Aircraft manuals often place warnings and key conditions before the steps they apply to. Do the same. If you only service residential properties, say so at the top of the page, not in the last paragraph. If emergency calls carry an after-hours fee, say so before the customer calls, not after.

6. Say what happens next

Good procedures tell you the expected result of each step. Good service pages tell the customer what happens after they call. "When you call, we will ask for your address and a short description of the problem. We will give you an arrival window. Our technician will text you when they are on the way." That small paragraph removes a lot of uncertainty.

7. Cut words that do no work

Words like "very," "truly," "really," "high-quality," "top-notch," "best-in-class," and "solutions" rarely add meaning. Delete them and read the sentence again. In most cases nothing is lost and the sentence gets stronger.

8. Use lists for anything with more than two parts

If you are describing what a service includes, what to prepare, or which areas you cover, use a list. Lists are easy to scan on a phone. They also force you to be specific, because a vague item looks obviously vague when it sits alone on its own line.

Applying the Idea to Your Website Pages

Let us walk through the main pages most local service businesses have and see how the aircraft manual approach changes them.

The homepage

Your homepage has one job: confirm to a visitor in a few seconds that they are in the right place, and show them how to reach you. A strong homepage for a service business usually opens with a plain statement of what you do and where you do it, followed by the phone number. Something like: "Residential pest control in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Call 919-000-0000 for a same-week inspection." Then it lists your main services, explains how the process works, and shows why someone should pick you. Notice there is no "Welcome to..." and no mission statement in the first screen.

Service pages

Each major service deserves its own page, and each page should read like a short procedure. What problem does this service solve? What signs tell the homeowner they need it? What does the visit include, step by step? How long does it take? How is it priced? What guarantee or follow-up comes with it? A page that answers those questions in plain language is far more useful than a page with three paragraphs about your passion for the trade.

Service area pages

Many owners create a page for each town they serve, then fill each one with the same generic text and swap the town name. That approach tends to produce thin, repetitive pages. The aircraft manual mindset asks a better question: what is actually specific to this area? Maybe a certain neighborhood has older homes with cast iron drain lines. Maybe a town has a lot of crawl spaces that attract moisture-loving pests. Maybe your drive time from the shop is longer, so you schedule that area on certain days. Specific, true details make a location page worth reading.

The guarantee or warranty page

Guarantees are where vague writing does the most damage. "100% satisfaction guaranteed" means nothing until you explain what you will do if the customer is not satisfied. Will you come back for free? Within what time frame? What is excluded? Write it out the way a manual would: condition, action, result. If you want to see how we approach our own promises to clients, our guarantee page lays it out in plain terms.

The contact page

Your contact page should tell people exactly how to reach you, when you answer, and what information to have ready. Keep the form short. Ask only for what you need to call them back. State how quickly you usually respond, but only if you can keep that promise every time.

Applying the Idea Beyond Your Website

Clear, procedural writing pays off everywhere your business communicates, not only on your website.

Google Business Profile posts and descriptions

Your business description and posts are short by design, which makes every word count. Lead with the service and the area. Use concrete details: seasonal offers with real dates, specific services you are booking, practical tips for the current season. A post that says "Mosquito season is starting. We are now booking yard treatments every three weeks through October. Call to get on the route" gives people a clear reason to act.

Appointment confirmations and reminders

Text and email reminders are some of the most-read messages your business sends. Treat them like checklists. Include the date, the arrival window, the technician's name if you can, what the customer should do to prepare, and how to reschedule. Remove everything else. A customer should be able to glance at the message while standing in their kitchen and know exactly what is happening.

Follow-up and review requests

After the job, a short, direct message works better than a long thank-you note. Say thank you once, explain what to watch for over the next few days, tell them how to reach you if anything is wrong, and ask for a review with a direct link. Direct does not mean cold. It means you respect their time.

Estimates and proposals

Estimates are where homeowners decide whether to trust you. A clear estimate lists each item of work, what it includes, what it costs, and what is not included. Vague line items like "labor and materials" invite suspicion. Plain line items invite a signature.

Where Plain Writing Ends and Brand Personality Begins

A fair objection to all of this: if every company writes like an aircraft manual, won't they all sound the same? Won't the warmth and personality of a family business disappear?

Not if you put personality in the right places. An aircraft manual is a tool for getting a job done safely and correctly. Your instructions, service descriptions, pricing explanations, and guarantees are that same kind of tool. They should be plain. But your business also has a voice, and that voice can live in your photos, your story, the way your team talks on the phone, and memorable brand elements like a slogan or a jingle.

Think of it as two layers. The first layer is information: what you do, where, how, for how much, and what happens if something goes wrong. That layer should be as clear as a maintenance checklist. The second layer is memory: the thing that makes a homeowner remember your name six months later when the problem comes back. That layer can be playful, catchy, and personal. A short audio brand that sticks in someone's head does a job that no paragraph of copy can do. If that idea interests you, our custom jingles page explains how we approach it for local service companies.

Where businesses get into trouble is mixing the two layers. They try to make the information layer charming, so they bury the price behind cute wordplay. Or they try to make the memory layer informative, so their slogan turns into a list of services. Keep the layers separate and each one works better.

How to Use AI Writing Tools Without Sounding Like a Robot

None of this means you should avoid AI tools. Used well, they can save a busy owner a lot of time. The aircraft manual idea simply points to a better way of using them.

Give the tool facts, not vibes

Before you ask a tool to write anything, write down the facts in a plain list: your services, your service area, your hours, how pricing works, what your warranty covers, what makes your process different, and common customer questions with your real answers. Then ask the tool to turn those facts into a page. A tool fed with real facts produces far more useful text than a tool fed with a one-line request.

Tell it the rules

You can ask a tool to write in a specific style. Instructions like "Use short sentences. Use the imperative for instructions. Do not use the words seamless, solutions, or unparalleled. Do not make claims that are not in the list I gave you" tend to produce cleaner drafts. You are essentially handing the tool a mini style guide based on the rules above.

Check every claim

AI tools can invent details that sound plausible. A draft might claim you have been in business for a certain number of years, that you offer a service you do not provide, or that you serve a town you never drive to. Read every sentence and ask, "Is this true, and can I prove it?" If the answer is no, delete it. A false claim on your website can cost you a customer's trust, and in some cases it can create legal problems.

Edit for your customer, not for the tool

The final draft should sound like something your best office manager would say on the phone: clear, friendly, and specific. If a sentence sounds like nobody in your company would ever say it out loud, rewrite it.

Do not publish in bulk without review

It can be tempting to generate dozens of location pages or blog posts at once. Many owners find that a smaller number of carefully reviewed, genuinely useful pages serves them better than a large pile of near-duplicates. Quality and accuracy matter more than volume, especially when your reputation is attached to every word.

A Simple Editing Checklist You Can Use Today

Here is a checklist you can print out and use on any page, post, or message before it goes live. It is written the way we recommend writing: short, direct, and in order.

1. Read the first sentence. Does it say what you do and where? If not, rewrite it.
2. Find every adjective that describes your company. Replace each one with a fact or delete it.
3. Find every sentence with more than about 25 words. Split it into two or three sentences.
4. Find every instruction to the customer. Rewrite it in the imperative.
5. Check that each service has one name and that you use it consistently.
6. Check that the phone number appears near the top and near the bottom.
7. Check that pricing, fees, and exclusions are stated before the customer has to call.
8. Check that the page says what happens after the customer contacts you.
9. Verify every claim. Delete anything you cannot prove.
10. Read the page out loud. Fix anything that sounds like a brochure instead of a person.

This takes some time on the first page. By the third or fourth page, most owners find the rules become second nature, and their writing gets noticeably tighter everywhere, including in emails and texts.

What This Means for Your Marketing Going Forward

The conversation around how AI should write is not going away. Tools will keep changing, and the systems that read and summarize your website will keep changing too. Nobody can promise exactly how those systems will behave next year. But one principle seems likely to hold: writing that is clear, specific, and true is useful to people, and what is useful to people tends to hold its value over time.

For a local service business, that is good news. You already have the raw material for great writing. You know your trade. You know what customers ask on the phone. You know what goes wrong, how you fix it, and what you do when a fix does not hold. The job is to get that knowledge onto the page in plain language, without the filler that so much generic marketing copy, human or machine written, tends to pile on.

That is a big part of what we do at Digital Marketing Raleigh, a done-for-you local marketing service operated by Petronella Technology Group, Inc. We help pest control, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and other service companies build websites, profiles, and messages that answer customer questions directly and make it easy to call. You can learn more about how the service works on our homepage, or browse more practical articles on the Field Notes blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to write like an aircraft manual?

It means writing in short, clear sentences that tell the reader exactly what to do and what to expect. Aviation documentation uses controlled language rules such as one instruction per sentence, consistent terms, and direct commands. Applied to marketing, it means replacing vague praise with specific facts and plain instructions.

Will plain writing make my business sound boring?

Plain writing makes your information easy to understand, which most customers appreciate when they have an urgent problem. Your personality can still come through in your photos, your story, how your team treats people, and memorable brand elements like a slogan or jingle. Keep the information clear and put the personality where it does not get in the way.

Should I stop using AI tools to write my website?

No. AI tools can save time if you give them real facts, clear style rules, and a careful human review. The problem is not the tool itself. The problem is publishing vague or inaccurate drafts without checking them. Every claim on your site should be true and something you can stand behind.

Does clear writing help with search rankings?

No one outside the search companies can guarantee how any page will rank. That said, clear and specific pages are easier for both people and automated systems to understand, and pages that answer real customer questions tend to be more useful. Usefulness is a sound goal regardless of how search technology changes.

How long should a service page be?

Long enough to answer the questions a customer has before calling, and no longer. For most services, that includes what the service is, signs you need it, what the visit includes, how long it takes, how pricing works, what guarantee applies, and how to book. If a section does not answer a real question, cut it.

What words should I remove from my marketing copy?

Start with filler terms that carry little meaning, such as "seamless," "solutions," "top-notch," "best-in-class," "unparalleled," "very," and "truly." Then look for any adjective describing your company and replace it with a specific fact, or delete it if you cannot back it up.

Can Digital Marketing Raleigh rewrite my existing website?

Yes. Rewriting existing pages into clear, specific, customer-focused language is a common part of our done-for-you service. We start from the facts of your business and build pages that answer customer questions directly and make it easy to call.

If your website, profile, or customer messages sound more like a brochure than a clear set of answers, we can help you fix that. Call Digital Marketing Raleigh at 919-348-4912 or reach out through the contact page, and we will talk through what your customers need to read before they pick up the phone.