There's a fresh (inter)face in our team. They may not be a coffee fanatic or a cat person like the rest of us. But we do have one thing in common – a penchant for content and copywriting.
We’ve all seen and heard the AI hype. It’s on every newsfeed, timeline and ‘for you’ page. Used correctly, it’s the new tool in town for your marketing communications. But perhaps you’re looking for a more personal introduction? If you are thinking about using AI for your copy, here are the basics to consider.
AI what? Chat who?
Although Chat GPT may have hit the most headlines recently, it’s not the only AI tool that can be used for copywriting. Software such as Grammarly, Jasper and are just some of the other players out there. Additionally, platforms such as Hootsuite, Semrush and Notion are adding AI copywriting features to their offerings or integrating with other tools.
But how do they work?
By using natural language processing and machine learning, these tools process how we write from content that already exists online. This enables them to produce copy, for any topic imaginable, in mere seconds. Sounds great, right? We agree, it really can be. However, there are some important limitations to keep in mind. We’ll get to these later.
But first, let’s look at how we can use these platforms to our advantage when creating copy.
Using AI for content creation
Whether you’re using AI to perfect your original copy or to research new content ideas, AI tools can be used in many different ways. Here are just a few examples:
Optimising copy
You can use AI tools to spellcheck, better understand grammar rules, rephrase sentences, shorten copy and lots more.
Example Chat GPT prompts: Find another adjective for amazing that also begins with the letter A. Change the spelling from US English to UK English. Shorten this paragraph by 100 words.
Structuring your content
Ask ChatGPT to help you design an outline for a blog or social media post, taking restrictions such as word counts into consideration.
Example Chat GPT prompt: Create an outline for a blog article of 500 words about summer activities in Amsterdam.
Getting to know your audience better
Find out what challenges your audience personas are facing to tailor your content to their Google searches and interests.
Example Chat GPT prompt: What obstacles do content marketers often face when creating a new social media strategy?
Limitations to look out for
Despite all its uses (and yes, there are a lot), it’s really important to keep AI’s limitations in mind. We cannot stress this enough. For use in copywriting, the most crucial thing to remember is that nothing these tools create is new. AI-generated copy is always derived from other sources online and, therefore, is never truly original.
To avoid unwanted consequences such as plagiarism, we would advise to only ever use AI to support your own original writing. Use it to research and to inspire your own work, and don’t be tempted to cut corners by having it write copy for you. And don’t forget to fact-check the information it’s offering you at all times. It’s not unlikely that it is inaccurate or sourced from unreliable data. And sometimes, it’s even wholly made up – a phenomenon that’s been described as ‘hallucination’.
A new addition to our content toolkit?
So, the big question. As writers and content specialists, are we adding AI to our creative toolkit? The answer: yes, where needed – while keeping the tech’s limitations in mind at all times.
However, we will always support a human-first approach to content creation. That will never change, and we would recommend this to any and all of our clients. Original ideas, tailored copy and a curated tone of voice are just some of the areas that we (human creatives) will always excel in. If AI can help us to complete these tasks faster, or help inspire some new thoughts, then hey, we’ll take it!
Looking to use AI for your marketing and communications? We can help!
And stay tuned – we will soon be delving into how AI can also be used in areas such as: