AI Writing
AI for Content Creation — How AI is Impacting Copywriting
AI has changed the world of copywriting. Review some of the ways that AI powered content creation is impacting the art of writing copy.
Like nearly every other field it has touched, AI has dramatically changed the copywriting and content marketing industry.
It’s brought up the question of whether you need a copywriter or if you can rely on AI for content creation. Get insight into the many ways that AI is changing copywriting, including its pros and cons.
You’ve likely seen AI powered content creation tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and others generate intelligent, human-like copy faster than any human.
At a surface level, it looks like an easy way to hand content creation over to a computer.
It sounds like every content publisher, SEO strategist, and marketer’s dream come true — at first, at least. That’s until you dive a little deeper to research how AI content impacts Google rankings or run into AI hallucinations that present incorrect information as fact.
The verdict? AI can streamline content creation, but if you’re thinking about replacing your entire copywriting roster with AI – think again. AI is better as a content marketing assistant used to support experienced copywriters.
When you give AI-generated text more than a cursory glance, it won’t take long until you realize that the content AI generates can be repetitive and generic.
Although ChatGPT uses many common words and phrases like ‘on the other hand’ or ‘in summary,’ the content it produces can’t capture a unique human perspective.
Further, Google prioritizes people-first content that provides readers with value, so generic content isn’t a shortcut to boosting rankings.
AI is fantastic at drawing upon its vast storehouse of training to come up with unique ideas and perspectives to crush writer’s block.
Many copywriters use AI for content ideation or drafting content briefs. It’s a useful tool for:
When AI is used transparently as an assistant, it helps writers gain a competitive edge for their clients.
AI draws upon training and data to identify and pinpoint trends and new ideas. This reliance means it lacks the capacity to craft emotionally impactful copy in the same way that a copywriter can.
Missing an emotional perspective can reduce the relatability of a piece of content and result in a disconnect with an audience looking for nuance, subtlety, and even humor.
Today’s AI powered content creation tools do more than just write. They can also deliver direct feedback by analyzing writing style and tone. If a writer gets hyper-focused or goes off on tangents it can distract from the topic of the post.
So, after reading content dozens of times, it’s the perfect time to ask the AI for feedback. Reviewing content with AI as an assistant can help writers stay on point when it comes to brand voice, writing style, and tone. This, in turn, can help you tighten up and streamline your writing so that it flows better.
Sometimes, the ‘facts’ that AI generates are entirely incorrect. For instance, in 2023, a lawyer used ChatGPT to cite cases for one of his defendants. The problem was these cases didn’t exist — they were completely made up by the AI tool.
For all its advantages, AI cannot always discern the difference between truth and fiction, which may cause it to generate misinformation or false facts.
This fake information, known as ‘AI hallucinations’ in the AI world, is surprisingly common. You don’t need to be a legal scholar to uncover them.
Example: If you ask ChatGPT how many ‘r’s’ are in the word ‘strawberry,’ it may return the answer that there are two (instead of the correct answer, three).
Another highly effective use of AI for copywriters and content strategists is identifying content gaps. AI can analyze existing topics and identify which topics a blog or website is missing that are creating a ‘content gap.’
As a result, copywriters can branch out to incorporate new ideas and cover content clusters that weren’t previously published on your website.
With the rise of AI, there’s also been a corresponding rise in quality issues with AI-generated text on product listings on Amazon.
The Verge covered a story that featured several instances where AI generated incorrect product titles and descriptions with text such as “I’m sorry but I cannot fulfill this request” on everything from furniture to outdoor patio accessories.
Amazing. I’ll take two!
In this example, incorrect AI-generated text could cause multiple issues for a company, including lost customer revenue and a drop in brand reputation.
In its quest to become a well-rounded expert in everything, AI is trained on unfathomable amounts of data. This includes plain text like books and reports, as well as web pages and even social media posts.
AI may also be trained on massive datasets of images and photos for AI art generators or spoken recordings and music used to train speech recognition for AI audio generators.
So, using AI for research can be a great way to boost efficiency as a copywriter. Copywriters can draw on the wealth of data AI accesses to better understand target audiences and compile sources. However, fact-checking AI research and sources is still best practice.
Unfortunately, AI can be impacted by biases. In 2018, Reuters reported that Amazon had to shut down a recruiting program that used AI, which was not gender-neutral.
Although these issues may not seem to relate to copywriting and content creation directly, it’s nonetheless important to be aware of AI’s potential for bias.
When an AI incorrectly makes assumptions, it can lead to copy that misrepresents the product or its intended audience. So, it’s essential to review AI-generated content closely to align it with brand voice and values.
So, what’s the verdict on using AI for content creation? Humans are better at writing copy than machines.
Connecting with one’s audience through nuance, emotional bonding, and storytelling is a uniquely human trait that despite its training, machines can’t yet replicate with authenticity.
Copywriters are still crucial for developing and refining content so that it matches brand persona and speaks to target audiences in a way that resonates with them.
That being said, AI powered content creation does have its place. It’s an excellent research tool (when complemented with fact-checking) and offers fantastic opportunities to overcome writer’s block.
For that reason, we should look to the future and ways copywriters can best use and work with AI rather than viewing AI as a replacement for authentic human writing.
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