The Race is On: It’s Copywriters versus AI Language Apps
The focus on AI as a tool to help us write better sales copy has been growing. In fact, there are even entire companies devoted to using AI to write better content. So “What is AI?”
Artificial intelligence is a computer program that mimics human thought processes. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. A computer can now write emails, create content and even design websites — all without any human intervention.
But before you jump on the bandwagon and start experimenting with these platforms, it’s important to understand how they work and whether or not they can actually deliver on their promises.
Two main ways to use AI apps
There are two main ways that AI is being used in the content creation space:
1. Content creation tools that use algorithms to generate text based on pre-existing data sets (e.g., content libraries).
2. Natural language generation software that uses machine learning algorithms to generate fully formed sentences based on a set of rules programmed by humans.
Why copywriting is a hard job
Copywriting is a hard job. As a copywriter, you need to know about the products you’re selling, the audience you’re selling to, and how to make them want what you’re selling. This is hard enough as it is. But if you’re creating sales pages for an eCommerce website, there’s another layer of complexity: You also need to write persuasive copy that sells.
It’s a skill that takes years to master, but from this moment on, it can be outsourced to software.
There are tools like Outbrain’s Write from the Start, which uses AI to help you write better headlines. But the copy in your ad has to be engaging and interesting and useful.
The idea behind this kind of software is that once you’ve trained it on lots of different kinds of text — headlines, email subject lines, etc — it will start coming up with its own ideas for how to write copy.
This is called “generative learning” — training an algorithm by feeding it data so that it learns how humans work and behaves like a human writer would (albeit without being able to understand context).
But… can the new AI apps learn enough about persuasion and human behaviour to come up with effective sales copy? And can their blogs rank highly?
Do we have enough data for AI to write compelling sales copy?
The experience of writing something is one thing; the experience of reading something is another thing entirely. So if you don’t understand what reading feels like, then you won’t be able to create something that people will want to read — whether that’s an article or a book or whatever else you’re creating as a writer or content creator.
AI-generated content has the ability to scale and grow at an exponential rate. However, there are still some concerns that need to be addressed before we move forward with AI-generated content in our marketing strategies. Will it lead to online writing chaos?
Ian Whitworth of SmartCompany says: “Words will become an even more devalued currency. We’re all going to have to get better at actions and at understanding how to be different.” (Read Ian’s AI article here).
Will AI replace human copywriters and content writers?
How far can AI go? How far should we allow it to go? And what does this mean for our future as marketers and business owners?
The first thing we need to understand is that artificial intelligence will never replace humans in the process of writing ‘interesting’ sales copy. Instead, it will complement our efforts by taking on the more mundane tasks (commenting on endless LinkedIn posts, for instance) so we can focus on elements like positioning, honing a different voice, and messaging.
As a marketer, your job isn’t just about generating leads or driving traffic to your site; it’s also about creating content that converts prospects into customers — human-like content that resonates with your audience on an emotional level. And here’s where AI comes in. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, programs like Wordsmith (by Automated Insights) can analyse large amounts of customer feedback data from different industries across multiple channels — like email or social media — to identify patterns.
Can the AI really create empathy with the intended readers?
Content marketing is all about creating empathetic relationships between brands and customers. If a brand doesn’t understand what its audience wants or what problems they are facing, how can it create value for them? As the realm of information is huge, this is where AI comes into play. By using natural language processing, companies can enable chatbots to understand what your customers are saying and respond accordingly.
What happens when AI writes sales copy?
AI-generated sales copy will not be able to address every concern that your audience may have. To make sure that you’re getting the most out of this new technology, here are three questions you should ask yourself:
What type of content do I want to create?
What purpose does this particular piece of content serve? Is it meant to educate readers on a topic? Or is it meant to generate leads by promoting a service or product?
What beneficial points need to be included in the content?
This will determine the specific language branches, which can be used on Facebook messenger automation and online chats. (This line is from Jennifer’s brain).
Can copywriters work with AI language processors? Or will AI simply replace copywriters and content writers eventually?
The answer to this question is not clear-cut. In fact, there are many ways that AI can be used by copywriters to improve their work. The key thing is that AI must be used in conjunction with human input, rather than replacing it outright.
Why Use AI?
Artificial Intelligence can be used for a number of different purposes:
- To speed up the process of writing content for clients
- To write more engaging content for SEO purposes
- To create more eye-catching headlines for social media marketing campaigns. (You can still choose the one you like best).
Yes indeed, AI is here and it’s not going away.
AI is becoming more common in content management systems, which means that copywriters will have to adapt to working with AI. (Here the language AI went off-track and said it can do things that humans can’t, like analyse data and understand what’s happening in the world around them, which is complete BS).
When it comes to content creation, AI can help by providing suggestions for topics that are trending on social media or analysing data from your website to determine what kind of content you should be creating.
It can also help with the actual creation of content by helping you write faster and better than you would be able to do on your own.
Conclusions
As far as the race against time for human copywriters, AI is already being used to write content and proofread content. As far as I can see, there are three ways that this could affect copywriters in the future:
1. AI will become so good at writing that it will replace us. This has been predicted by many experts (including Ray Kurzweil), who believe that within a few years we’ll be able to create software that can write better than any human — let alone a copywriter! The result? Copywriters will be out of a job!
2. We’ll learn how to work with AI instead of against it, creating a new kind of hybrid human/machine writer. One who can combine the creativity of humans with the efficiency of computers… and make more money than ever before!
3. We won’t need written AI because humans will have evolved beyond needing words anyway — we’ll communicate simply by looking at each other (the science fiction theory).
Takeaway: In Copywriters Versus AI Apps, AI tools used by content producers can be helpful, not just disruptive.
This article was written with the help of Copy.Ai and edited by Jennifer Lancaster to make sense. Editing is still a key skill!
