Now we’ve all calmed down a little bit from the first flushes of AI content excitement, it’s probably a good time to step back from the bandwagon slightly and take a good look at AI and what it means for content marketing. With the help of AI like ChatGPT, marketers can generate content more efficiently than ever before, churning out blog posts and social media captions like there’s no tomorrow. Which there probably isn’t if you’re a perpetually awake computer programme. But AI isn’t a faultless answer to every content marketer’s wishes. There are some major limitations to using it for all your copywriting tasks.

Why You Should Use AI-Generated Content

Saves Time and Resources

One of the most significant advantages of AI-generated content is that it can save time and resources for marketers. With AI, you can create high-quality content quickly and easily, reducing the time and effort needed to create content manually. This means that you can focus on other important tasks that can’t necessarily be replaced by a machine, such as strategy, analysis, and optimization.

Improved Consistency and Accuracy

AI-generated content is designed to be consistent and accurate. Unlike human writers, who may have varying writing styles and expertise, AI-generated content is standardized and precise. This makes producing large volumes of content easier, without sacrificing quality.

It Gets You Started

Getting an AI to write a blog post for you doesn’t mean you have to just copy and paste it straight onto your website. In fact, you definitely shouldn’t be doing that. One of the most valuable uses for AI is as a plunger for your writer’s block. If you’re stuck on where to begin with a piece of copy, ChatGPT (or similar) can hammer out a basic draft for you in a few seconds, to which you can add your own wonderfully human touch.

Why You Shouldn’t Use AI-Generated Content

Lack of Human Touch

While AI-generated content may be efficient and accurate, it may lack the human touch that makes content truly compelling. Human writers can inject emotion, humour, and creativity into their writing, which can be difficult for AI to replicate.

Limited Creativity

Nothing is ever new when it comes to AI. While AI can analyse data and create content based on that analysis, it cannot generate truly innovative or creative ideas in the same way that a human can. This is a comforting thought, but it does mean that AI-generated content may be more formulaic and less engaging than content created by a human copywriter.

Search Engines Don’t Like AI Content

The most important rule of thumb for writing content to rank on Google to make sure that it’s helpful for people. That’s the one thing to make sure of above all else, as it is the focus for most of Google’s updates to its search algorithm. If you’re creating quality, original content that users find helpful, you won’t ever go far wrong.
Right now, the vast amount of AI content being chucked out by some websites is not helpful in the eyes of Google, and as a result, search engines devalue AI-written content. This means that relying on AI alone to create content is not a smart move.

When to Use AI-Generated Content in B2B Marketing

AI has limits to its application in marketing and content creation, but there are some situations where it may be appropriate to use it. Here are some examples:

Repetitive Content

If you need to create a large volume of content quickly and efficiently and aren’t particularly concerned with it being creative or personalised, AI-generated content may be a good option. This is particularly true for repetitive content, such as product descriptions or FAQs.

Data-Driven Content

If you need to create content that is based on data analysis, such as market research reports or whitepapers, AI-generated content can be very helpful. AI can analyse vast amounts of data and generate insights that may be difficult or time-consuming for humans to uncover.

Time-Sensitive Content

If you need to create content quickly in response to a time-sensitive event, such as breaking news or a product launch, AI-generated content may be a good option. AI can create content quickly and accurately, allowing you to respond to events in real time. ChatGPT’s training data might only go up to September 2021, but it can read webpages if you give it a URL, which means it’s easy to bring it up to speed on current events if you need to.

The main takeaway from this is that AI content must be treated and used with caution. As a writing assistant, it’s a remarkable tool, there’s no doubt about that. However, as a standalone copywriter, it still leaves a lot to be desired. After the initial excitement and panic around ChatGPT, the bandwagon has slowed down to the point where it’s safe to jump off.