Will AI Replace Copywriters? 9 Things You Need to Know About AI Content Marketing
- Irene Schouwenaar
Artificial intelligence is everywhere. While stories about the pros and cons of AI being used to create content for news outlets or school assignments are still raising eyebrows, the technology has already become a part of everyday life. Digital assistants like Siri and Alexa leverage AI to respond to user questions. Netflix uses it to serve up content, and AI lets Amazon recommend items for you to add to your cart.
AI in content marketing is still a relatively new concept. And when it’s used to generate new copy, it’s generally still used with human oversight. But technology moves quickly. Will AI replace copywriters in the future? Only time will tell.
What is AI Content Marketing?
Before we can discuss whether AI will replace human marketing teams, we need to nail down what we’re talking about. Many organizations already leverage AI in some aspects of their marketing efforts. Automating basic tasks like list segmentation and email sends frees up creative teams to focus on generating new ideas and innovative campaigns.
But discussions about AI in content marketing generally center on copy created by machines — blog posts, articles, and other marketing collateral generated by software tools pulling data on search queries. Sometimes humans are involved in polishing up language and checking for accuracy. Other times, marketing copy AI tools generate and publish content without intervention.
Is this advance in technological capabilities amazing? Or just another nail in the coffin of unique, innovative marketing campaigns? We’re probably a bit biased in that area (our content is still entirely human-generated). So instead of judging, let’s explore the pros and cons of AI in content marketing, and you can decide for yourself.
The Benefits of AI Content Marketing
There’s no denying that artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copy.ai can make building a content marketing campaign a lot less work.
1. No Skills Required
Writing marketing copy (at least, writing good marketing copy) is not a skill set everyone has. If you’re a business owner without a background in content marketing, AI content marketing can seem like a simple solution to a complex challenge.
2. Robots are Fast
There’s no shame in admitting that computers can perform some tasks faster than their human counterparts. The calculator app on your phone can do math more quickly than you. It’s just a fact. Marketing copy AI tools can produce hundreds of words in minimal time. (The quality of those words is something we’ll get to in the next section.)
3. AI Helps Cut Costs
If you don’t have the skills or time to create content to attract and educate audiences yourself, you’re going to have to outsource. While marketing strategists and copywriters will probably want pesky things like salaries and acknowledgement of their work, all your AI content marketing tool needs is an assignment.
4. Automation = Good
In case you’re skimming this blog post and missed the part earlier where we mentioned this, the ability to automate non-creative tasks can give marketing teams a huge advantage. Segmentation, data analysis, and functions like optimizing email sends are ideal for AI.
The Downsides of AI in Marketing
Faster, cheaper marketing content that doesn’t depend on your own writing ability sounds pretty appealing. But there’s a dark side to using AI in content marketing.
5. Algorithms Have Issues
Chat tools powered by AI have a history of problems. Back in 2016, Microsoft had to end its Tay chatbot experiment when social media users taught the tool to use racial slurs. More recently, another chatbot (coincidentally also from Microsoft) professed its love to a New York Times writer and advised him to leave his wife.
And the problems with AI and language work both ways. The infamous Scunthorpe problem (named when an English city’s moniker triggered censorship tools because of a rude word contained within it) recently caught up with The Kinks. Twitter deemed searches for the band inappropriate, for obvious reasons.
6. Quality is Inconsistent
The goal of marketing content is to attract, educate, and engage. Putting your best foot forward is vital. But AI text-generation tools, while improving, generate results that are inconsistent at best. Your efforts to build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your field won’t be helped if you’re getting basic facts wrong.
7. Google Hates a Ripoff
Trying to reach the coveted “Featured Snippet” slot in Google search results? Marketing copy AI tools are not your friend. Because machine-generated text is based on other copy found online, you risk plagiarizing the very content you’re trying to compete with. If Google deems your content unoriginal or too close to that on existing sites, it will be devalued in search results.
8. You Won’t Say Anything New
Google isn’t the only one that might penalize you for parroting your competitors. While human readers might not identify how closely your copy matches other blog posts and articles, you’ll still get lost in the crowd of brands all saying the same thing. Originality attracts attention. And it’s not AI’s strong suit.
9. The Human Touch is Gone
Chatbots that pop up to serve website visitors have become common, as have articles touting their value. But many consumers find them annoying and downright unhelpful. AI tools lack personalization, the ability to solve complex issues, and most importantly, deprive your audience of the opportunity to interact with a human representative of your company.
Need to Boost Your Marketing Efforts?
We don’t know if AI will replace human marketing teams. But in the meantime, we’re just gonna keep doing what we do: helping our partners build a brand, attract an audience, and get their message out.
If you’re looking for a way to boost your marketing efforts but aren’t quite sure if AI is the right answer, talk to the team at TPM. We are a full-service marketing agency that can help make your messaging dreams a reality. Contact us today.
