An email arrived in my inbox recently that wasn’t for me, but about me. It was from a business owner to their marketing manager asking: “Will you still need to use her now that there is Chatgwhateva?”
That’s a great question, because AI has taken the world by storm. It’s a wonderful tool. It’s like a search engine on steroids! Bigger than the internet itself! As foundational as the discovery of fire (according to Micron global CBO Sumit Sadana quoted in The Economic Times)!
AI copywriting tools produce content and with the right prompts, the results are pretty good. The copy it spits out in mere seconds (impressive, I know!) is generated by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning.
Just a quick explanation, NLP is the way computers interpret human language and machine learning is the way computers learn without following explicit instructions.
When you give an AI copywriting tool such as ChatGPT prompts or instructions, it produces copy at the speed of light and the results can be surprisingly useful, especially for short-form marketing copy like social media posts or product descriptions. It’s just too easy!
Will AI replace copywriters?
I don’t think so. Not the good ones anyway. Okay, if you write simple blogs as your main gig, you may be in trouble. But for professionals who craft tailored messages and produce high-end articles and original website copy, there’s still plenty of work to go around. Business owners who value quality and distinctiveness will still be calling. Just for reference, I’ve put this question into ChatGPT:
Will AI replace Copywriters?
Alongside a comprehensive list of reasons why AI can be a valuable tool for copywriters, this is what I got:
In essence, while AI-powered tools are enhancing the efficiency and productivity of copywriters, they are not poised to completely replace the role of human copywriters. The collaborative partnership between humans and AI is likely to be the path forward, where AI assists copywriters in generating drafts, performing research, and handling repetitive tasks, while copywriters bring their creativity, strategic thinking, and unique insights to the table.
It’s not exactly how I would say it but… amen to that!
The way we work has changed
Instead of a brief, I now often get text from clients that they have copied straight out of ChatGPT with the question, “can you make this sound better?” Absolutely. I can massage it, rewrite it, pull it apart and build it up again, no problem. Just keep in mind that I’d much rather have a brief, a brain dump, and preferably a conversation.
I prefer to create copy from scratch to editing copy that’s generated with AI, but that doesn’t mean I am against it. I’ve used AI copywriting tools for a while now, for research purposes, to get idea lists, error-check, put lists in alphabetical order, restructure first drafts and plenty more, but I do NOT use AI to write copy. The creative process is my own, as that’s the only way to get the results that make a real difference for my clients.
An AI-assisted article doesn’t look like it was written by AI because it wasn’t. It was written by a human with a little help from AI. That’s the kicker.
Relying solely on ChatGPT for all your copy is bad for business. For it to be effective, your copy needs to make a real and personal connection. Marketing messages with personality are more important now than ever.
What AI copywriting tools can’t do
1. Create a tailored content strategy
If you ask an AI copywriting tool to write a content strategy, it’ll give you a generic checklist that outlines what steps you should follow. Handy, that’s for sure, but it lacks understanding of the audience, products, services, market positioning, goals and values of your business. Only a human copywriter can take all that into consideration and strike the right balance of content types, publishing frequency, keywords and phrases and most importantly, the tone of voice. AI is a good starting point, but a talented human needs to do the rest.
2. Check and verify facts
AI copywriting tools can’t verify the accuracy of information like a human researcher can. They can only provide suggestions based on the data they’ve been trained on. Publishing inaccurate information can discredit your reputation, so thread with care. There are plenty of examples of brands that got burnt.
3. Genuinely understand your ideal client
An important part of a copywriter’s job is to build trust and empathy with a reader. Unlike a human, AI copywriting tools can’t comprehend true emotion. AI can identify words and phrases that are associated with emotions, but it can’t “feel” them. That’s why human writers are, and will always be, more capable to genuinely connect with human readers. AI writing just lacks that passion which is why it can’t extract a brand’s unique selling points.
4. Attend meetings
As a copywriter, I gather most of the information I need straight from the source – the person or people behind the brand. You can’t have a two-way conversation or a real chat with ChatGPT. Just try it and see how quickly it gets stuck.
From your answers to the questions I’ll ask you when we meet, whether that’s online or in person, I get to know you and gain a deep understanding of what you want to achieve. With that information, I can hit the right note and create the copy you need.
Helping you stand up and stand out
AI is brilliant, and gets better every day. However, a bot just can’t capture your personality. Not now, not ever. It will struggle to create a unique brand voice, and nothing is more crucial in an oversaturated market than sharing unique and memorable content. Using the right tone is what sets you apart from your competition.
A good copywriter will take a deep dive into your brand persona – the unique characteristics, values, and voice that your business cultivates. They investigate the barriers and pain points of your ideal client, then use persuasive text to tap into the emotion of what your product or service helps to achieve.
I believe working with AI, as opposed to letting it do the job, is the way forward. So yes, you still need a skilled copywriter to get your messaging right. We can help you stand up and stand out with words that hit the right note, unless you are happy with rather generic and somewhat soulless text, of course.
~ Martine Pierhagen, founder of Sweet Orange SEO Copywriting & PR
Call Martine anytime on 021 492 040 or email us now and let’s set you up for success with the right words, AI assisted or not.
~ Again, with thanks to amazing creators from around the world that generously upload their work for free sharing on unsplash.com