AI Writing
Issues to Watch for With AI-Generated Text on Websites
Review the common issues with AI writing or AI-generated text on websites to avoid potential problems and find ways to use AI tools effectively and efficiently.
AI content generation tools have been with us for almost two years.
I'll pause while that sinks in. Time really does fly, doesn't it?
In that time, content marketers and strategists have had plenty of time to truly appreciate just how much support AI tools can provide for their content marketing efforts.
However, it has also brought to light some common issues, as well.
Review the common issues with AI writing or AI-generated text to ensure you use AI tools effectively, efficiently, and avoid potential problems.
AI-generated content refers specifically to copy for landing pages, product descriptions, and articles that is produced with AI tools.
AI content generation tools like ChatGPT, generate content outputs based on your requests.
When used properly, AI reduces the time it takes to create great content, allowing marketers, freelancers, small business owners, and strategists to focus their additional time on other efforts.
Processing AI-generated content is simple. All you need to do is select your chosen tool (ChatGPT or Google Gemini), type in your prompt as if you were briefing a human writer, and hit send.
Your chosen AI tool will then scour the internet to pull together copy that is relevant to your query based on what is already published and accessible online.
Before we dive into some of the biggest issues that can come from leaning too heavily on AI-generated text for your website content, let's touch on some of the advantages that generative AI can bring.
Generating content is much quicker than planning and writing it yourself. AI can produce content in minutes, whereas human writers need time to research and write.
AI-generated content can seem more cost-effective than hiring a writer or freelancer to help with a project. For example, if a company is forced into a budget cut or more mindful spending, it looks like an attractive benefit.
However it’s worth noting here that there can be costly issues to mass-producing AI content that doesn’t comply with Google’s spam policies. More on that below.
Is there anything more frustrating than writer's block? Writer's block can leave you in a state of content paralysis, struggling to get through each sentence, let alone entire pieces of content. AI can help with brainstorming ideas so you can get past writer’s block.
As AI tools scour top-performing results in a matter of seconds, they make an excellent option for creating excellent content briefs. Then, you can take this initial inspiration and add your unique personality and expertise as a writer.
While generating content might seem extremely easy at first, when you start to do so more frequently, you quickly start to notice that a few common issues frequently occur.
As we have touched on, AI relies on content that has already been produced, providing you with a response to your query. However, when you need to address more subjective tones, it can struggle significantly.
As AI pulls from other sources, you may also experience issues with plagiarism, which can cause major problems for website authority and trust.
If you incorporate AI content into your workflow it's beneficial to use a plagiarism checker to review pieces for potential instances of duplicate content.
Another important issue to consider when opting for AI content is the impact that it can have on your search engine optimization.
Google can detect AI-generated content, and it has shown with recent helpful content updates that it doesn't tolerate websites packed with AI content.
Search engine crawlers are searching for content created by humans (people-first content) and articles that provide new insightful information, which is something AI is currently not capable of.
For anyone who has tried to generate AI content before, you’ll know just how much more additional writing and editing is required.
To create truly high-quality content, you’ll often find yourself spending plenty of time editing and tweaking prompts or content outputs, to the point where writing it from scratch may have been just as quick and less frustrating.
If AI text is part of your content creation process, a website scanner or an AI checker is a helpful way to rapidly highlight AI-generated writing that requires further review.
AI generation tools work by scraping the internet to answer your questions, pulling information from wherever possible to provide you with the content you need.
The keen-eyed among you will notice one major issue with this approach.
When AI does this, it’s not coming up with ideas. It lacks that fundamental skill that allows human writers to stand out from the crowd — creativity.
With all that in mind, it is easy to start thinking that AI-generated content is actually more harmful than beneficial when it comes to website support, but that isn't true.
Instead of worrying about whether or not you use AI tools, you should focus on how you use them.
Note: When AI translators produce text, it’s often flagged as AI-generated even if the original text was human-written.
Using AI writing tools to generate content may not be the easy way to climb up the search engine rankings that it seems to be.
However, with relevant keywords and a wiser approach to AI content production, it can be an incredibly effective tool for speeding up the content creation process.
While AI can help with research and short content, Google prefers content written by humans for humans. AI-generated content that prioritizes keywords over user experience can be penalized by search engines.
AI content can be similar to existing content because it gathers information from various sources online. This can be flagged as plagiarism by search engines if not properly integrated and reviewed by humans.
AI can't create new ideas. It relies on existing information to generate content, which can lead to a lack of creativity and a robotic tone in writing.
AI can be a useful tool for research, brainstorming content ideas, and generating shorter content like social media captions. However, human review and editing are still essential to ensure quality and avoid plagiarism.