Is the AI Content Writing Bubble About To Burst?

Businesses May Be Shifting Back to Human-Created Content

AI has been the buzzword for a while, and in the last couple of years, we’ve seen a shift in business approach from using human content writers to AI. There’s no doubt that AI has revolutionised the content and copywriting industry and it’s not surprising that some have turned away from humans, preferring this new technology. AI came with the promise of faster, more accessible and potentially cheaper solutions for businesses looking to populate their websites, blogs and marketing material with engaging content.

However, there has been a growing concern over the quality and authenticity of AI-generated content. And with Google reportedly clamping down on content that offers nothing to the reader, which AI often does, is the AI content writing bubble about to burst?

The Rise of AI Content Writing

AI content writing software has gained a significant amount of headlines amongst content and copywriters over the last 1-2 years, with many approaching the technology with consternation. And rightly so. These platforms come with the promise to generate a wide range of content, such as articles, blog posts and product descriptions with minimal human intervention. Just a few prompts and Bob’s your uncle. Some businesses taking time to review their content marketing strategy, including the cost element and the speed to generate and publish content.

While this can be quite understandable from the view of businesses, it has created several challenges for content and copywriters to adapt. In addition, AI-generated content has raised concerns that it diminishes the work and experience of a human content writer. Let’s take a look at some of those issues that AI content brings.

Quality and Authenticity

One of the main concerns that surrounds AI-generated content is its quality and authenticity. While AI software mimics human writing, it lacks the creativity and emotional intelligence that human writers bring to the table. It can be dull, soulless and delivered in a monotone, robotic fashion and may completely ignore style and brand tone of voice. And if you want to inject a bit of humour into your posts, don’t bother. AI software hasn’t got a clue how to be funny. A generic article that’s completely devoid of personality offers nothing to customers or potential clients and severely reduces its impact on readers.

Factual Detailing

AI can make things up. There, I said it. Although it’s great for research, checking for factual accuracy is essential. AI works on prompts and more prompts means more text. However, some software tries to cover every prompt, even if it means making stuff up to ensure your text includes all prompts. And I know this as I’ve fact-checked it! Very often, information becomes confused, which AI then tries to pass off as true. Work published in this fashion without facts checking affects the trust of customers, sending them running in the arms of competitors.

Editing Still Required

It doesn’t seem to matter if the text has no substance or if “realise” contains a z. It only needs to read well, include all the prompts, and be publishable within 15 minutes. AI-generated content can be easy to spot and once customers start recognising the signs of generic, basic and unedited content confidence in your products disappears. This can lead to other questions such as ‘what other corners are the business trying to cut?’

What is Google’s Stance on AI Content?

Google is not planning to restrict AI content as long as it is of high quality and value to readers. However, what they are doing is classing as spam anything that is produced en masse for the sole purpose of manipulating search engine rankings. This includes content that has been produced through automated means, including generative AI content. Some will publish content that provides no substance and doesn’t benefit anyone except those who are producing it. Well, not anymore and content such as this will now be classed as spam. That doesn’t bode well for businesses that have been cutting corners and seeing their content at the top of search engine rankings.

Google’s stance on this firmly underscores the importance of human expertise to add value to content. A content writer’s ability to capture a brand style and tone of voice isn’t easily replicated by AI, regardless of how many prompts are used. While AI can augment and simplify the writing process, it cannot fully replace a human writer’s ability to create meaningful and valuable content that businesses need and deserve.

Time To Shift Back to Human-Generated Content?

AI is here to stay, however, there is evidence to suggest that businesses are now realising that AI-generated content is no replacement for the human touch. What can human content writers offer? Here are a few things that we concentrate on:

Placing Emphasis on Quality

High-quality, authentic content helps to build brand credibility, drives engagement and fosters customer trust. Human writers provide the creativity, expertise and attention to detail needed to produce compelling content that resonates with the target audience.

Personalising and Customising

We live in an era where marketing is personalised and businesses want content that appeals to the very people they want to attract. Human writers are amazing at tailoring content to highlight specific wants and needs and create words that evoke emotion and inspire action.

Perfecting SEO

Some AI software can identify which keywords to use, but putting them together in a written piece to meet search engine requirements is something that only human writers can perfect. AI tends to use keywords in ridiculously high volumes, which can result in ‘keyword stuffing.’ Human writers know how many times keywords can be used in a piece of text and will structure the work to accommodate, without compromising the quality and integrity of the content.

Keeping Brand Voice and Identity

Every brand has a unique voice, tone and identity that sets it apart from competitors. As I said earlier, AI is pretty soulless when it comes to capturing these three simple elements that define a business. Human writers are adept at identifying and amplifying a brand’s personality by researching and understanding the company and creating the ideal content that their customers expect.

The AI content writing bubble may not have burst entirely, but there has been a considerable shift towards human-crafted content. While AI tools continue to play a role in content creation, they are quickly becoming viewed as supplements rather than substitutes for human writers. At Hypnocat, we embrace AI but not to the point where it writes our content for us. We believe that you deserve content written by a human – that’s what you’re paying for and that’s what you’ll get. If you want to experience content written by a human writer, get in touch and see how we can help you.