It ain’t easy for an experienced copywriter to come face-to-face with an artificial version of themselves that can research infinitely faster, type quickly and flawlessly, and pop out a blog post before they can refill their coffee and come back to their desk. It might feel like an unfair advantage, and some writers have fretted over what AI-generated content may mean for their jobs in the future. After experimenting with the tech, however, it’s clear that human writers will always have one thing the bots don’t: personality.
Among writers, the general consensus is that AI is fast, clear, and (mostly) accurate, but the final product reads like a middle school book report. It’s bland. It’s boring. It’s … robotic.
And most beloved brand voices are anything but.
AI delivers quantity, but not necessarily quality.
Can we let you in on a secret? We tried to use AI to write this blog post. “Write a 500-word blog post about ways that copywriters can humanize AI-generated content,” we said to ChatGPT. One click and about 10 seconds later, the content materialized. Here’s the opening paragraph:
Humanizing AI-generated content is crucial in today’s digital landscape, where authenticity and connection are paramount. As AI continues to transform content creation, copywriters play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between technology and human emotion. Here are some effective strategies for humanizing AI-generated content:
This was followed by a list of eight ideas for how copywriters can spruce up AI-generated content. It was decent enough. But it didn’t move mountains. And the concluding paragraph—in true book-report style—actually started with “In conclusion…”
Think of AI as your handy helper.
Because of its limitations, we view AI as a handy jumping off point—a creative assistant, if you will. For example, AI is great at coming up with idea-starters and thesaurus-style brainstorming. For longer pieces like trend articles, it cuts down on a lot of time compiling the initial research (along with links to the original article sources.)
What AI can’t do is be creative, give personal examples, or craft those lyrical turns of phrase that make brand-audience connections. It can’t weave facts into a story, and it doesn’t have a lot of empathy.
AI is all left brain, and no right.
That’s where we, as human writers, close the gap. We understand the nuance that goes into creating authentic, trustworthy content. We understand our clients’ voice and tone. We write in a way that engages emotion and dialogue.
So yes, a machine can produce content. But it’s the humans who make it sing.
