Is AI coming for your copywriter's job?
5 minute read
Marketing teams are looking to use tools like Grammarly, Articoolo and Phrasee to create copy, in the hope they won’t have to brief a copywriter.
But will the end result really be what you want to see in your blog, website, or ad campaign?
Understanding AI
AI is software designed to carry out a job previously assigned to a human. After it’s been programmed, the machine will ‘learn’ how to accomplish its designated task.
The tech that fuels artificial intelligence has been around for many years, and businesses have been avidly adopting it ever since. Google is a high-profile example; the company first incorporated artificial intelligence into its mass-market translation software in 2006, before refining it further a decade later.
Early on, the conversation around AI focused on the automation of mundane tasks – but has since expanded far beyond this original remit.
Content marketing has grown more popular right alongside the advancements in AI-fuelled tech. Software makes bold claims of speeding up the writing process and boosting accuracy, while comprehensive content creation software offers to transform the relationship between copywriters and their craft.
But these tools are seldom as impactful or effective as they promise to be.
Can robots be writers?
Most AI content models work by absorbing prior written content so it can be repurposed in different formats. They operate within set parameters - input by a human - to guide the software towards finding the right words.
The mixed results of these tools help showcase both the strengths and weaknesses of AI in the creative arena.
Grammarly
Grammarly is an AI-powered tool designed to help make writing projects simpler. Usually used for small writing tasks such as email, Grammarly corrects your mistakes by highlighting them in red, before allowing you to choose whether to ignore or acknowledge each of the highlighted areas.
The tool also provides suggested corrections as you write.
Yet while Grammarly has its merits, experienced wordsmiths will quickly notice many of the ‘corrections’ are grammatically incorrect, as AI can’t discern the correct word choice or tense within each sentence.
Articoolo
Articoolo is a big name in content creation tech. Developed by a team of computer scientists, mathematicians, and content creators, the tool offers to mimic the human writing process, creating headlines and web copy drafts.
With just a few clicks, Articoolo’s neurolinguistic programming promises a fully scalable solution to your copywriting conundrums.
Yet Articoolo also draws heavily on previously published content and is poorly reviewed on TrustPilot. Independent reviewers have noted that like so many tools of its kind, the articles generated are seldom fit for publishing.
Phrasee
When copywriters at Dixons Carphone needed to induce excitement around Black Friday sales, the company turned to AI.
The AI business behind this collaboration, Phrasee, uses deep learning to provide what its founder calls ‘scientific rigour’ to brand messaging.
After both human and machine brainstorming, the company settled on a slogan that didn’t mention Black Friday at all. This slogan simply declared: “Time’s running out!”
To develop the slogan, AI software:
Processed slogans input by copywriters
Ranked the impact of their words against different sources
Sifted through raw data to decide which were most effective
For Dixons Carphone, the development of this slogan was considered a great success. The company believed AI had stripped away the complication added by copywriters, who had all used the ‘Black Friday’ term in their slogans – instead of tapping into the core problem the company faced – making people want to shop, right now.
Yet Dixons Carphone only reached this slogan by processing and condensing all the other slogans which had been created by the copywriting team. Without copywriters, there would have been no information to process, and therefore, no AI-generated slogan.
Should writers fear AI?
AI’s ability to condense, repurpose and sift through knowledge is undeniably impressive. But when used in writing projects, it can’t be trusted to work alone.
Even the most advanced software has its limitations. Machines still don’t understand what makes a successful text, such as:
Tone of voice
Originality
Basic sentence structure
Instead, AI content systems all too often:
Use poor grammar and syntax
Add plagiarised content
Produce low-value copy
The process of using AI always requires human input from writers and subject experts – alongside access to acres of content used to ‘feed’ the system with information.
Some of the tools copywriters fear will replace them are actually designed to help writers. As a budding content creator, you can use AI tools to write faster and create more impactful copy.
AI-based copywriting tools usually focus on areas such as:
Proofreading
Editing
Sense-checking
Right now, the use of these content tools is still niche, and has yet to be adopted widely by copywriters. As AI becomes more skilled, copywriters may choose to adapt and work alongside these tools more frequently when crafting content. But they are unlikely to be replaced by them.
Humanity wins the day
Great copy is both an art and a science. It’s a delicate balance that relies on the fundamental humanity of both the writer and the reader. Brands might be able to use an AI content system to create passable copy, but this is only achievable after significant input from human writers.
If you’re considering using AI in your own copywriting, think carefully:
Is it worth the time and investment of using AI if the result is only ‘passable’?
Does adding an AI dimension really save you time (or money) when compared to simply trusting a human writer?
Are you simply adding complications where they aren’t needed?
We need to foster innovation and originality to provoke action and inspire engagement in our respective audiences.
No matter how advanced, that essential creative spark that elevates content out of the ordinary is something artificial intelligence is incapable of replicating.
The more you learn about AI’s content-building abilities, the more unlikely it seems that AI will ever snatch away the copywriter’s crown.
Want to work with our (human) copywriter?
Contact Sookio to chat to the author of this piece, who always checks the box that says: ‘I am not a robot.’