Content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest buzz around the business world. What used to be a far-off possibility has fast become a go-to writing assistant for everything from copywriting to everyday communications.
No matter what kind of content you’re trying to create, AI writing tools make it easier and more efficient to generate compelling copy that appeals to your audiences. But there are definitely things to watch out for. Let’s take a closer look at what AI content writing is, why it’s useful, and where it could be potentially harmful.
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that produces unique images, animations, music, speech, text, and other types of content. It relies on a process called machine learning (ML) which is trained on specific data sets. These algorithms “learn” by creating content that resembles that data.
While the output may seem human-like, this type of technology can’t create content based on its own understanding or consciousness of the data. It just recognises and replicates patterns.
AI software like ChatGPT, Writesonic, Jasper, and Bard are programmed to generate natural-sounding text based on prompts input by users.
They use large language models (LLMs) trained on massive amounts of data, including books, articles, whitepapers, and documents. They’ve even scraped through content from the open internet. Because they’re programmed using such a wide range of topics, genres, and writing styles, they can recognise and mimic our language patterns.
To put it simply, it’s like these chatbots have read a tonne of books and have learned to write in a way that sounds like it could’ve been written by a human.
With AI-powered technology, the content possibilities are endless. You can create blogs, ads, product descriptions, social media captions, taglines, or any other type of marketing and sales collateral.
The trick to AI content writing is having the right prompt. It can mean the difference between getting a high-quality piece of writing and something that sounds stiff or robotic. AI writing tools rely on your understanding of your business and your customers to create meaningful and engaging content..
While it might sound like the perfect solution for speeding up your content creation process, here are the pros and cons of using AI to write content.
Pros | …… | Cons |
Fast data processing. | …… | Information could be biased or untrue. |
Quick turnaround of content. | …… | Possible plagiarism. |
Producing ideas. | …… | Lacks creativity and originality. |
Improving SEO. | …… | Search engines might devalue AI content. |
Efficient and cost-effective. | …… | Inconsistent or watered-down brand voice. |
…
Efficiency and ease of use
The greatest benefit of using AI writing tools is how fast they can create content with little to no cost involved. It takes mere minutes to produce copy using AI compared to the hours it might take a human writer. Plus, you don’t have to be a writer to use it. So, content creation becomes more accessible and easier to scale.
Improving search engine optimisation (SEO)
AI doesn’t just write the content for you, it can also help you optimise it for higher search rankings. It can suggest keywords and phrases, generate better headlines and titles, or produce meta descriptions. It can also come up with ideas for content leveraging user insights and search intent.
Sparking ideas and inspiration
It’s hard to come up with ideas under pressure, especially if you’re writing about a complex or technical topic. Because AI can process so much information so quickly, it can help with research by answering questions and developing ideas.
Concerns about plagiarism and inaccurate information
AI can only access the information that it has been trained on. So, there’s no way of knowing whether the information is accurate or if it was taken from another author.
To avoid making false or irresponsible claims, always fact-check AI-generated content and make sure the information hasn’t been updated since it was programmed into the software.
Risks of search engines devaluing your content
Google has clarified that it won’t downgrade content that is generated by AI. But, it does devalue content that has duplicated or incorrect information.
Because AI pulls from multiple sources and scrapes content that already exists, if you don’t add helpful information of your own, you could be going against Google’s spam policies and guidelines.
Lack of human creativity and originality
Even though AI is human-like, it can’t empathise with the needs of your customers or understand the nuances of your business context. It also can’t consistently write in the same tone, which could affect your brand voice.
Human writers, on the other hand, have the emotional depth and experiences needed to hook your readers and recognise grey areas in a particular subject.
AI has changed the content game forever. But before you let a robot take the reigns of your content production process, it’s important to consider the advantages and potential risks of AI technology.
While AI writing tools can quickly develop ideas and draft copy, they still need the strategic thinking and creativity of humans to create top-notch content that fuels your business growth.
If you want to know more about supercharging your content strategy using the power of AI and skilled writers, get in touch with the team at One Stop Media today.
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