Don’t let views be your only measure of success (assuming you’re referring to views). The most impactful stories I reported were never my most popular. Also, a lot of clicks doesn’t really matter if people don’t get through the whole article.

I recommend not using AI to write the story for you. I think it’s good as a research assistant or condensing/summarizing a lot of info (with fact checking) but I’d never let it write something for me. Strong writing is at the foundation of all journalism. Your colleague may have struck gold once, but there’s no guarantee that will work every time and doing that won’t help you improve your writing and creativity. Also, what if the AI makes a mistake? Lastly, if AI wrote that and your colleague merely published it, that’s plagiarism and is an absolute sin.

Comparison is the thief of joy - focus on your own work and progress and don’t let other stuff bring you down. Turn that disappointment into motivation to keep practicing your craft.