One of the world’s greatest sports media brands—a company with a brand voice that was built on great sports writing—was recently accused of publishing articles by fake, AI-generated writers, complete with fake bios and computer-generated headshots. The brand claimed their staff had nothing to do with the content; evidently they deleted the suspect articles, blamed a third-party content provider, and moved on.
Maybe that’s true; maybe it isn’t. But the content still showed up on their website. And it was bad. An excerpt from an article about volleyball claimed that the sport was “a little tricky to get into, especially without an actual ball to practice with.” Does this sound like the same brand that once published work from famous authors like John Updike and William Faulkner? Not so much.
Writing is one domain of life and work where too much tech can taint the whole exchange. Perhaps it’s because when it comes to higher-value writing like journalism or copywriting, what your reader is actually looking for is more than mere information. They’re looking for connection. To be educated, inspired, persuaded, entertained. Your reader is looking for their life to be enriched in some way.
This is the exact opposite of the disappointment you experience when reading an AI-generated article. Not only do you not get an enriching experience, but you’re left with the feeling of having been duped.
This is the case even when brands are open about using AI. Buzzfeed is very transparent about their use of artificial intelligence; they even have a disclaimer at the top of AI-assisted articles that reads: “This article was collaboratively written by [author] + Buzzy, our creative AI assistant.” The byline on these pieces cleverly reads, “As Told to Buzzy.”
That’s all well and good, and the candor is appreciated—but the content still stinks. I started to read an AI-assisted travel guide about Cape May because I was drawn in by the headline (AI is great for headline generation). But the piece was hollow, devoid of any depth or detail. I’d go so far as to say the writing could apply to just about any beach town.
What good does it do a company to utilize this technology to increase visibility—only to alienate and disappoint the readers who end up on these sites? What good does it do the reader?
When it comes to content creation, brands should prioritize quality over expediency. We’ve seen this with our own blog here at MarketSmiths. Over the years we have maintained a fairly rigorous publishing schedule. All of our content is human-written. And we take the time to address the issues that matter most to our audience. And yet, during times when we haven’t been as consistent with our publishing, we’ve seen it affect lead volume. There is a direct connection between lead volume and content production. But that content must be original, valuable, insightful, and well-written for it to work.
Like all relationships, building trust with your readers takes time and consistency. And, like all relationships, that trust can be eroded or broken through careless or inconsiderate behavior.
The sports brand in question didn’t become a premier brand by gaming the system. It did so by producing incredible content, month after month, decade after decade. And, even in the era of AI, that’s still the way it’s done.
Want help creating quality content for your brand? Get in touch with the ‘Smiths today.
