AI Writing | A helping hand or a threat to marketing?

A common term in content marketing is “copy,” which refers to a piece of written text to be published. It is used in designs, ads, articles, press releases, and white papers. Behind it, it is implied that human effort is putting words together to achieve a result —a “text”. But what does the term “AI copy” refer to? What does it imply? Does it put something together? It concerns the intrusion of generative languages into online written texts.

Let’s define what these AI copies are and understand the direction copywriting and online content are taking.

What is AI writing?

This is a piece of content written by artificial intelligence. Rather than “writing,” it is the regeneration of the language. It emulates human writing for prompt-driven requests. It uses content filtered from large volumes of database information. The result is a polished, artificial text model that replicates a piece of content.

We recognize an AI copy because of:

• Neutral writing styles, consistent tones, with no real opinions.
• Contains repetitions and redundancies with online content.
• Basic content structures with little depth.
• Generic data, and in some cases, with inaccurate or outright false statements.
• Contains numerical attributes (not visible to users) that can be tracked with AI detectors.

In functional terms, AI copies are ideal for mass content campaigns. They are generated in seconds and could be adapted to various devices, platforms, campaigns, and visual assets. But of course, if quality is generic and repetitive, so are the results. They could potentially be a deluded mimic of its own production.

Qualities of high-quality copy vs. AI copy

Today, we associate “quality” with human production. What was once considered “organic content”, “high standards,” or “attractive content” in digital marketing has evolved (or devolved) into content created by people (something that was a rule before).

The production of content creators, influencers, or authorities in a field prevails and ranks highly in digital media. AI copy, or any artificial intelligence-generated content, has secondary value. This does not necessarily mean that it is bad or of lesser value. What I mean is that human content (sitting down to write; sitting down to edit) has greater value for both algorithms and users in general.

The qualities that make such human copies stand out are:

• Real content, thought out, considered, and organized by a person.
• Content that expresses opinions, mistakes, or criticism, taking a stance on something.
• Content that is influential due to its impact.

AI copies can even be humanized and widely accepted. To do this:

• They must be heavily edited and aligned with the brand identity.
• They must be engaging; they must say something beyond the generality of common AI.
• They must be integrated in a hybrid way with human production.
• The quality and accuracy of such content must be verified.

Human writing or AI writing for content marketing?

It depends on your company’s goals or your project benchmarks. Marketing specialists believe that joint efforts are necessary (and even mandatory). In other words, use AI, but with human input. Why? Because:

• Content automation is becoming the norm. Its use is imperative to remain competitive in the digital market.
• Genuine brand engagement with users focuses on one-to-one interaction. This is only possible with a person. Even if content is entirely generated by artificial intelligence, the human touch (in editing, scriptwriting, strategy) must come from a person. 

Generative AI will not replace people’s charisma and mischievousness. Whatever brands may say, I believe that corporations’ apparent preference for AI over investors is temporary. Even if the world becomes less creative and more monochromatic, we as a species know how to identify quality. A good creator, thinker, and writer can infuse their productions with that quality with ease.

AI copy will be very prevalent in our publications. There are ways to utilize any AI ethically. Don’t feel guilty about creating a hybrid text. Utilize AI to automate processes or enhance your workflow. But out of responsibility for your own production, always keep your creative hallmarks on your side. Use your imagination, your experience, and your memory to create. Let AI assist you; don’t let it do the work for you.

Helping hand

Unquestionably, generative artificial intelligence has become a useful tool for writing. It helps us categorize ideas, search for information, and organize approaches. It is a valuable and time-saving resource when we face the arduous task of writing.

Among the benefits that AI writing offers to marketing and writing in general are:

• Easy topic selection.
• Topic hierarchizer and selector.
• Complement for research in LLM subjects.
• Valuable complement for SEO optimization.
• Suitable supplement for improving marketing strategies.
• Excellent tool for project management.

Potential threats

But AI writing poses several threats. Outside of marketing, the simple act of writing is becoming a museum piece. In other words, fewer and fewer people are actually writing. Increasingly, people are relying on ChatGPT or other forms of artificial intelligence to organize their ideas. As a result, critical-rational thinking is in decline, content has become monotonous, and the quality of written work is declining.

Some of the most apparent problems facing both written text production and digital marketing in general with AI writing are: 

• Lack of creativity and innovation in content production.
• Repetitive and dull content campaigns.
• Risks of misinformation, lack of verifiable or accurate information.
• Inconsistency or poor quality.
• Risk of lack of authenticity in terms of content authorship.

Implications of AI writing in a business model

Focusing specifically on marketing, it is true that AI represents an efficient business management model. It allows for considerable budget cuts for routine tasks, in addition to streamlining processes. But it also has negative implications, such as creating considerable dependency.

Among the positive points we can highlight are:

• Efficiency. AI tools accelerate our content creation. This enables us marketers to produce repetitive tasks, such as ads and social posts, more efficiently.
• Personalization. AI can tailor messages to our various customer segments in real-time.
• Cost savings. It reduces our reliance on large writing teams for routine tasks.

It also presents some significant problems, including:

• Generic content. Void ideas. We find here an overuse of AI risks blending into a sea of sameness, losing brand voice.
• Trust. They are widely known to be inaccurate and often fabricate answers. AI can hallucinate facts, which could hurt credibility.
• Over-reliance. Teams that skip human oversight might miss cultural nuances or emotional resonance.
• Ethics. A key point for me. Concerns about originality, plagiarism, and whether audiences can trust AI-generated copy.

Balanced view behind AI writing

I believe that AI writing, like all artificial intelligence, is instrumental. However, I’m not referring to replacing written content creation. It should work as a complement, as an aid to traditional text creation.

Do you use AI to search for topics or find out which topics align with what you write? Do you want to search for convenient keywords for free? Using AI-generated content is an excellent alternative.

I believe there is a possible balance between marketing and AI writing. This balance should not be based on the supremacy of AI over our day-to-day tasks. It must be a resource that optimizes digital writing, offering new perspectives on content analysis and planning marketing campaign strategies.