I’m not anti-AI. And I realise that if your main decision driver is cost, then it’s a cheap way to handle your business writing chores – marketing, blog articles, social media posts, etc.
Artificial intelligence is just a tool.
Like any other tool, the results are good or bad depending on the skill of the user. And like any other tool, if it’s the only one you use, the results are likely to be poor quality and not fit for purpose.
So, can you use a tool like ChatGPT or Copilot to write your online content, check your grammar and spelling, or even write a whole book? Of course you can. But it’ll probably be bland, generic text, with too-rigidly applied grammatical rules, that won’t engage your readers.
Do you know how AI works?
I doubt it because even AI creators admit they don’t really know what’s going on inside the ‘black box’. What we do know is that generative AI models use the data they have been trained on to ‘predict’ what answers are most accurate. The more training data used, the more ‘natural’ the responses… and potentially, the more generic too.
So, artificial intelligence is not actually intelligent, you are not having a conversation with it, it is merely programmed to feed you the answers that are most likely to be ‘correct’.
It’s incredibly impressive and the potential applications for dealing with huge quantities of data are obvious… the potential for writing text that matches your personal brand and tone of voice, not so much.
Why AI won’t give you unique content
AI doesn’t measure up in terms of:
- Originality – AI models work in terms of probability; producing text based on what words and phrases would be most likely. However, in English it’s possible to say the same thing in a wide variety of ways. For an individual tone of voice, or some identifiable brand expression, the last thing you want is to say it ‘how everyone else says it’.
- Correctness – Remember that classic line from The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”? AI use of synonyms and alternate phrases can often leave you with the same reaction.
- Accuracy – Two things here… First, with so many AI models trained on ‘the internet’, you cannot be sure that the outputs don’t rely on misinformation or fake news. Second, remember that AI is predictive, looking for what is ‘most likely to come next’ – in practice, AI models can create their own fake facts and information (often referred to as “hallucinating”).
Why a human being CAN give you unique content
Not every human can out-write an AI model but those with a deep understanding of the language, and professional experience in using it as both writer and reader, are more likely to offer:
- Understanding of context – Your text has a purpose, a context, and a human writer or editor’s grasp of nuance and intention will influence the text they create.
- Consistent grammar & style – A human proofreader or writer can bring a more subtle understanding of grammatical and style rules to the text, knowing which can be broken, and when, to fit brand, tone of voice and situation.
- Cultural sensitivity – Humans are more conscious than AI of words and phrases that may cause offence, or produce specific reactions in specific audiences.
- Fact-checking – Are humans infallible? Oh, hell no. But a human professional will do their own research and checking to ensure that your text doesn’t rely on falsehoods or misinformation.
- Emotion – Despite various cinematic examples of man-machine romance, back here in the real world, empathy and emotions are human traits, more likely to be used correctly by a human writer or editor. And often, it’s the emotional elements of your text that have the deepest impact on the audience.
Then there’s the fact that when dealing with a human word-worker, the brief (the context, objectives, outcomes and other factors influencing the text) is a conversation with someone who can listen, interpret, intuit and clarify to ensure they understand what you need. That’s two minds working towards a common understanding. With an AI model, you input your prompt and see what it produces (then you often have to revisit the prompt!)
Like any other tool, with AI the results depend on your skill in using it.
With a human being, the results depend on their skills, not yours.
It may happen in the future, but right now AI isn’t good enough to write for your business
Any business endeavour is a balancing act with three factors: cost, time and quality. If your only or main driver right now is cost, then AI will give you cheap results, and quickly. But if quality is important to you… if your business and brand are to be unique (and stand out in that crowded marketplace) then your words must be unique too. And right now, humans are unique (“We’re all individuals!” –Brian); machines are not.
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