Disclaimer: This post was written with zero AI assistance.
Content writing services tend to be an underappreciated area in the marketing mix.
Let’s be honest, words can be boring.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ve probably heard something about AI writing tools – namely ChatGPT. If you’ve used any of the AI-writing tools, you know they are pretty slick, it almost feels like magic.
But what does this mean for the future of content and building a brand?
I’ve been in the content writing and copywriting game for a long time. I’ve worked with hundreds of writers over the years and here’s my take.
Around 80-90 percent of writers are going to get replaced by AI content writing tools.
The other 10-20 percent will go on and redefine the nature of content writing.
As a content writing agency that values quality content over quantity, we believe the future of content looks bright.
I want to take this opportunity to explain how.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
The Current State of AI Content Writing Tools
AI writing tools have come a long way – and they will continue to shape the future of content over the next few years.
The major artificial intelligence programs use natural language processing and machine learning to understand how we communicate as humans. It sounds like a science fiction movie.
By creating a prompt, AI writing tools can spit out readable, coherent text that helps create blog posts, email content, social media posts, ad copy, and other content marketing tasks.
There have even been reports that ChatGPT can pass the Bar Exam – and a plethora of other academic assignments (not sure if that’s cool or terrifying).
As far as content writing services go, AI writing has been met with mixed reviews.
At Razorcopy, we’re not ones to ignore the obvious or resist change in the content marketing world. We’ve been examining AI writing tools like ChatGPT and Jasper for a long time – and here’s what we think:
What AI Content Creation CAN Do
AI content writing tools do a few things exceptionally well. These are a handful of ways AI can make the content creation process more efficient:
- Generate coherent text in little time
- Regurgitate definitions of buzzwords
- Provide an easy-to-understand explanation of basic knowledge and concepts
- Help spark ideas and overcome writer’s block
- Reduce time spent researching certain topics
- Provide surface-level assistance with SEO writing and keyword research
As a content writing agency, the benefits above can help make the writing process more efficient. However, there are certain elements within our practices that AI simply cannot do (yet).
Let me explain.
What AI Content Creation CAN’T Do
Robots can do amazing things. But they have always fallen short on one key task: being human.
And that’s exactly what content writing and copywriting are all about.
Our job at Razorcopy is to craft valuable content that resonates with humans, not robots. That said, AI writing is incapable of replicating core tasks of content marketing, including:
- Empathizing with human emotions
- Using real or hypothetical experiences to convey lessons
- Understanding cultural nuances
- Providing expert takes on certain topics
- Using storytelling as a means to sell
The essence of high-quality content goes beyond definitions and general knowledge. Content marketing strategies need to have a distinctly human element – and draw on real experiences to get the point across to a target audience.
Until the bots can do this exceptionally well, the future of content lies in the hands of skilled human writers.
What Do AI Writing Tools Mean for Human Writers?
With all the news about ChatGPT and other AI writing tools, nearly every content writer has probably asked themselves, “Will AI replace human writers?”.
I’ll give my take on this in a minute – but first, let’s go straight to the horse’s mouth. Here’s how ChatGPT answered this question:
Content writing and copywriting will always play a role in a content marketing strategy – but there are a few new realities we’ll need to accept with the rise of AI.
What AI Writing Means for Businesses & Agencies
For businesses and agencies, I’ve got good news and bad news.
The good news is you won’t need to hire writers to spin up general knowledge-type content on basic topics. AI can manage this aspect of content production in seconds.
The bad news is you’ll need to invest in engaging content that incorporates a strong human element, draws on real experiences, and promotes genuine expertise (beyond spitting out definitions and such).
And this does not come cheap.
Moreover, Google has said that spamming AI-generated content to manipulate search engine rankings is against the guidelines. In other words, you can’t generate hundreds of SEO blogs in seconds and shoot to the top of the search engines.
We’re going to see a rise in demand for “AI-assisted” content. The best writers will use AI for certain tasks so they can free up more time for critical thinking and creativity.
Even if you’re using AI for the general knowledge sections of your SEO blogs, you’ll probably need a human to go through the content and “humanize” it.
To end with a bit more good news: high-quality content typically involves a mix of general knowledge and expert opinions based on real experiences. AI can significantly reduce the time spent on the former – so human writers can focus on the latter.
What AI Writing Means for Human Content Writers and Copywriters
Ok writers, I’m not going to sugarcoat this.
AI content writing tools are here to stay. There’s no fighting it.
Truth be told, A LOT of writers are going to be replaced.
Jargon-laced fluff articles are no longer going to cut it.
If your primary form of writing is regurgitating definitions and rehashing general topics (which have been written about millions of times), your job is at an ultra-high risk of being lost to AI writing tools.
In other words, step your game up.
The best writers are going to be irreplaceable in content marketing strategies. The lower-end writers will not be part of the future of content.
Something all writers should know: if a client asks if a piece of content you wrote was AI-generated, it’s a nice way of saying, “We could have used AI to write what you gave us.”
The good news is leveling up your writing will allow you to command a higher price. In my next section, I’m going to talk about how you can do it.
How Human Writers Will Need to Approach Content
AI content writing tools are either going to be a writer’s best friend or worst enemy.
For human writers to survive in an AI-driven world, the key is to do what AI cannot do to build more personalized content. Here are a handful of elements you’ll need to engrain in your writing:
Hot Takes
When you write content – whether it be a blog post, guest post, long-form article, etc. – your goal is to showcase relatable knowledge. To do this, you need to become an expert.
Being an “expert” in the age of AI writing tools is not churning out definitions and buzzword-filled sections.
You’ll need to research a topic and develop your own opinion on it – or get your client’s opinion.
For example, say you’re writing a blog post on influencer marketing in the new year. You’ll provide some general info for context. But the real meat and potatoes of the post will be the down-to-Earth opinion on what works well and what doesn’t.
From here, you’ll provide some expert insight with key takeaways.
As a writer, this is how you’ll build a personal brand and reputation for yourself.
Applicable Problem-Solving
When people turn to content with problems, robots don’t always have the answer.
For your content writing services to stand out, your job will be to identify these problems and provide real solutions people can actually use.
Think about who you’re speaking to.
For example, let’s say you’re writing a post about SEO for electricians.
Regurgitating the technical SEO knowledge – like mobile-first indexing, canonical URLs, HTML tags, and so on isn’t going to resonate with the average electrician.
Instead, you’ll need to explain how basic SEO tasks can help them rank higher on Google searches – and possibly a step-by-step guide on setting up a GMB profile. You can also talk about the importance of hiring a professional SEO agency for the more technical tasks.
Content marketing isn’t about just providing textbook information (it never has been); it’s about solving problems on a personal level. If you can do this with writing, your job is probably safe.
Insight Based on Personal Experiences
This is the type of content robots cannot write – and will be increasingly important in the future of content marketing.
Adding insight based on personal experience is how you establish a sense of thought leadership. More importantly, it allows you to go “against the grain” and add something new.
I’ll give you an example based on my own personal experience.
I recently wrote a guest blog about the tiered pricing model at a previous job and how it complicated things behind the scenes.
The angle was that it created a caste system within the client base. We had to focus on providing the best value and results to clients on the Gold plan. Subsequently, we had to provide less value to our Silver and Bronze clients.
This begged the question:
Why are we spending our time finding ways to provide less value to clients?
This is a hyper-personal take AI could not generate.
People don’t want to read about the same humdrum information that’s been written about time and time again. Your premium content writing services can focus on helping clients add a personal touch to stand out from the crowd.
Razorcopy’s Final Take (for Now)
Writers: don’t be afraid. AI writing tools are our friends.
AI writing tools alone cannot build a strong identity for a brand – unless, of course, they want their brand identity to be a robot.
The good news is AI content writing tools CAN help with some of the heavy lifting to create content and get messages out there.
However, the essence of content writing is about to change – big time.
At Razorcopy, we live and breathe content and copywriting. It’s part of our job to stay at the forefront of innovation. Over the next few years, we’re going to become very familiar with the term “AI-assisted” content.
Are you looking to step up your content game with website copy and SEO blogging?
If so, get in touch with an expert from Razorcopy today.
