The content creation landscape continues evolving rapidly. While the most recent trend is seeing visual and video content take center stage, written content is still king of the hill. Written content engages audiences and drives sales like no other format; it is one of the primary reasons there are more than 1.1 billion websites on the World Wide Web.
Although webmasters, SEO specialists, and content creators hold written content in high regard, many view the advancements of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a legitimate threat to the written word, with machines able to produce high-quality prose in a fraction of the time it takes humans. While those fears are understandable, the future of written content is not one where AI takes people’s jobs but one where humans and machines collaborate and improve the standard of writing to a whole new level.
Understand That Humans Can Outshine AI
While AI is a powerful tool that can automate specific tasks and processes and churn out generic articles about any subject, it cannot hold a candle to humans regarding written content. Humans can add depth to articles and blogs through storytelling, providing unique insights that AI cannot replicate. Sure, AI can provide you with a detailed blog article about the most popular California betting apps that will drive clicks, but can it provide its audience with an anecdote about using such apps while attending a thrilling sporting event that resonates with the reader and keeps that reader coming back for more? No, it cannot.
AI can mimic human writing styles, especially through natural language processing and machine learning, but it lacks the emotional intelligence and lived experience that content specialists provide. The best writers evoke emotions and connect with the reader on a personal level by crafting stories or injecting humor while understanding the nuances of human language.
With that in mind, where does AI fit into a content specialist’s arsenal?
Embracing the Idea of an AI Assistant
As someone who has provided written content for tens of thousands of websites over the past 15 years, I am well-placed to advocate having an AI assistant.
Instead of thinking robots will replace me, I use AI’s key features to help my writing, particularly in the planning phase. Writers usually receive a brief highlighting the article’s subject, and it is up to the writer to thoroughly research that subject.
Most start the research process by searching on Google or loading up Wikipedia, but both are time-consuming practices.
Adopting an AI assistant that performs research frees up valuable time that can be spent on the more valuable task of writing the article. With simple prompts, AI like Claude can conduct in-depth research in seconds, delving deep into the internet, uncovering niche topics, hidden trends, and audience interests that a human researcher could easily miss.
In addition, your AI assistant can be a powerful ally in the combat against writer’s block. Every content specialist will agree that creative roadblocks are one of the most significant hindrances faced almost daily. AI can suggest potential topics and content formats, brainstorm intriguing angles, and provide the framework for a well-structured article.
Furthermore, using AI as a brainstorming tool enables content specialists to compose articles about unfamiliar subjects, opening the door for additional revenue streams. You may have expert knowledge about health and fitness, but a client may want an article about Guatemala’s rivers. Thanks to AI’s research and brainstorming abilities, you can confidently accept that brief where you would previously leave it for someone else.
Use AI For Reviewing, SEO, and Translation Purposes
AI is an asset to writers during the planning stage and when the time comes to review the finished article.
Content creators often utilize AI-powered review tools, such as Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and Ginger, to find spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in their writing.
An increasing number of budding writers and seasoned wordsmiths feed their finished articles into natural language generation programs like Claude and ask them to review the text.
Such tools can quickly re-write human-generated content so that a specific demographic more easily understands it. For example, you may want an article to be understandable by people in the 10th grade or make the language more suitable for a professional audience. AI can almost instantaneously translate your article into another language, removing the need for expensive human translators and enabling you to craft content for a much wider audience.
Lastly, by leveraging AI-powered tools, written content specialists can produce copy that performs well in search engine results pages (SERPs) by suggesting keyword density, article structure, headings, and more. Articles that rank higher in SERPs receive more traffic, have a higher chance of converting visitors, and are highly sought after by outreach specialists globally.
Wrapping Things Up
The advancements of AI have accelerated in recent times, with AI now capable of producing high-quality written content about any subject you can think of. This ability has led to written content specialists fearing they will be left out in the cold and replaced by more cost-effective machines.
Although AI poses a legitimate threat as its algorithms become increasingly complex, there will always be a place for humans regarding written content. AI is coming on in leaps and bounds and doing so at an alarming rate, but AI lacks emotional intelligence and cannot have life experiences. Humans can evoke emotional responses from readers and deeply engage them through anecdotes and other storytelling abilities that resonate with fellow humans.
Instead of fearing AI, writers should embrace and collaborate with it. Using AI’s speed and efficiency for thorough research and to help overcome the dreaded writer’s block frees up much-needed time that humans can use performing the most valuable task of all: writing stellar content like only a human can.
