For years, business writers have lived by the mantra “content is king.” But in today’s digital-first world, readability has taken the crown. Your audience isn’t judging you by how much content you publish — they’re judging you by how easy it is to understand.
Readable content doesn’t just make your brand look good. It drives engagement, improves customer trust, lowers service costs, and even boosts revenue. And with modern AI writing assistants like VT Writer, improving readability is faster and easier than ever.
Let’s explore why readability matters, how to measure it, and the steps you can take — with AI support — to make your communications crystal clear.
Why Readability Matters
Readability is how well your audience can process and understand your message.
Your customers come from diverse backgrounds. Some are not native English speakers. Others have limited time or are juggling multiple priorities. And many are navigating complex topics — from financial services to healthcare — where unclear wording can cause confusion, frustration, or even compliance risks.
Consider this: Zendesk reports that 75% of customers will spend more on a company that delivers a great customer experience than on a cheaper competitor. Readable content is a key driver of that experience.
When your communications are easy to digest:
Customers understand you the first time — reducing frustration.
Call center demand drops — lowering operational costs.
Compliance risks decrease — especially when regulations require plain language.
Trust grows — leading to stronger loyalty and repeat business.
Unreadable content, on the other hand, increases cognitive load. Long sentences, jargon, and dense paragraphs force readers to work harder to extract meaning. That’s when they abandon the message, pick up the phone for clarification, or simply take their business elsewhere.
The High Cost of Low Readability
Imagine receiving a letter about changes to your retirement plan. It’s packed with terms like “joint and several liability” and “special warranty.” You skim it, get confused, and call customer support — along with hundreds of other customers asking the same questions.
This happens every day in industries like asset management, healthcare, and insurance. Our analysis of 60 asset management companies showed that complex word density was a problem for 59 of them.
The costs are clear:
More inbound calls: One major U.S. pharmacy benefit manager found that simplifying customer letters reduced call center traffic by up to 30%.
Eroded trust: In regulated industries, unclear language can damage credibility.
Legal risks: Poorly worded notices can result in lawsuits, as seen in the Wells v. Louisiana Department of Healthcase.
Lost revenue: Accenture found that better customer experience can equate to 50% higher margins in the healthcare sector.
How to Measure Readability
Before improving readability, you need to measure it.
Common Formulas:
Flesch Reading Ease: Scores text out of 100; 70+ is readable for most audiences.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: Shows the U.S. school grade needed to understand the text. Marketing copy should typically aim for Grade 8 or below.
LIX Score: Measures text difficulty across multiple languages.
When explaining readability goals, it can help to use benchmarks from well-known books. For example:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Flesch score ~72, Grade Level ~5.3
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Similar scores
The Best of Isaac Asimov: Surprisingly close to Harry Potter in readability
How AI Writing Assistants Improve Readability
Manually auditing every piece of content across departments is nearly impossible. AI writing assistants like VT Writer make it scalable.
With AI, you can:
Instantly score content for readability and grade level.
Highlight complex words, jargon, and passive voice that lower clarity.
Suggest simpler alternatives to meet your readability targets.
Automate compliance with plain language regulations.
Benchmark and track progress across teams.
For example, a financial services company used VT Writer to simplify 11 benefit letters. The result? 19% fewer customer calls 23% reduction in inbound clarification queries.
Practical Steps to Improve Readability
Here are readability best practices you can start applying today:
Use short sentences
Break up long sentences into two or more.Avoid jargon and acronyms
Use plain English whenever possible. If you must use technical terms, explain them.Use active voice
“We will send your statement tomorrow” is clearer than “Your statement will be sent tomorrow.”Write for Grade 8 or lower
Even highly educated audiences appreciate simplicity.Audit all customer touchpoints
Include marketing, customer service, legal, and operations content.Automate with AI
Use tools like VT Writer to maintain consistency and clarity across the organization.
Boost SEO With Readable Content
Readable content isn’t just good for people — it’s good for search engines. Google’s algorithm favors content that delivers value to users, and cracked down on low-quality, keyword-stuffed pages.
Readable pages:
Reduce bounce rates.
Keep visitors engaged longer.
Increase conversions.
In short, readability is now an SEO ranking factor by proxy — through engagement metrics.
The New Rule: Readability = Revenue
Readable content meets your customers where they are, respects their time, and makes them feel valued. With AI writing assistants, achieving organization-wide clarity is no longer a resource-draining challenge — it’s a competitive advantage.
Better content = Better experience = Better bottom line.
It’s time to make readability your new business KPI.
