AI.
It’s everyone’s new favorite acronym, and those AI writing tools are pretty cool. With them, you can write a resume, summarize a YouTube video, and even create a song.
Companies love AI, too! 72% of businesses already use it to perform at least one business function.
However, just because you can automate tasks doesn’t mean you should. AI writing tools have many excellent uses that writers (including this one) always use. They’re fast, customizable, and great for consistency, but they also:
- Lack emotional intelligence and deep subject understanding
- Mass produce the same generic, repetitive content that lacks personal touch
- Struggle with nuance and brand voice, which is essential for business marketing
- Can be fed false facts and rely on old information, which can be inaccurate
If you’re thinking about whether to use AI tools when creating web content, here’s how to make excellent use of them. But first…
What Are AI Writing Tools, and How Do They Work?
AI writing involves using large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to write text for you. These tools are fed massive amounts of data found on the internet. When you give it a prompt, it then uses that data to create content by predicting the next word in a sequence.
Think of it like solving a logic puzzle. Do you know those times when you have to prove you’re not a robot by clicking on all the images with a dog or a traffic light? That’s how AI models learn but at a much grander scale. These models don’t understand meaning or audience needs. That’s artificial general intelligence—and we’re not there… yet.
When to Rely on AI
AI is game-changing during your planning stage. Do you need 25 ideas for blog posts about chocolate chip cookies? AI can generate those in seconds. Want ten headline ideas to go with each of those articles? It can help with that, too!
AI tools are also helpful for minor writing tasks, like product copy and social media posts. Want to make sure your grammar and spelling are correct for those posts? Done and done!
What AI Isn’t Meant For
When it comes to core content, AI is meant to inspire, not create.
Don’t use it to write your web copy, including your:
- Home page
- Landing pages
- About page
- Service pages
You shouldn’t use it for longer blog posts and other content meant for specific audiences. Remember, AI writing tools are great for ideas, but the writing should come from you or the writer you hire. AI can predict word patterns, but humans use words to create meaning and connect with an audience.
Speaking of human connection, case studies, testimonials, and other customer engagement materials should also come from humans.
Advantages of Not Using AI
Humans and Google prefer human-written content—and with good reason. Let’s start with humans:
Human-Written Content Outperforms AI-Generated Content
A study by Neil Patel found that AI chatbots like ChatGPT are faster at producing content, but human-written articles receive 5.44x more traffic. We also spend more time reading human content than AI content—likely because we’re connecting with the material more.
I could’ve gone onto ChatGPT and asked it to write 1,000 words on whether or not you should use AI writing tools for your website. This whole piece would’ve been done in about two minutes. However, humans are better at making big-picture connections, which helps readers understand and digest content.
Advantages of Not Using AI
If you Google a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and the first results that come up are missing key ingredients, have the wrong baking time, or are recipes for oatmeal raisin cookies, you’re going to stop trusting it. Google is always changing its criteria when deciding which articles show up first, but content quality and authenticity are always major factors. When ranking content, Google emphasizes experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
The stuff AI writes can lack the experience and trustworthiness Google prioritizes. AI tools also struggle to keep up with how Google’s algorithm, which can hurt your ranking. Here are a few things to consider:
- AI tools lack real-time learning. They rely on historical data and patterns, while search engines prefer unique and fresh content.
- AI writing is repetitive. AI’s text patterns often parrot whatever already exists online instead of providing new insights. Repeated copy is unlikely to outrank original content.
- That whole nuance thing again. Google updates usually include subtle changes aimed at addressing the needs of their users. AI tools may not fully grasp them, but those with E-E-A-T do!
- AI can misrepresent information. Not everything on the internet is true, and sometimes AI learns things that are inaccurate or outdated. With all the misinformation out there, it’s in Google’s best interest to emphasize ethical content creation rooted in (you guessed it!) E-E-A-T.
- Ethics and compliance concerns. AI tools can accidentally create content that violates best practices or misrepresents information. If you use AI writing tools that fail to meet these standards, you risk being penalized by search engines—and worse—risk losing your audience’s trust.
Because This Is Worth Its Own Headline
Efficiency and effectiveness are not synonymous, especially regarding AI writing.
When competitors in your market cut corners with AI writing tools that regurgitate generic content, guess what happens to your unique copy? It’s far more likely to connect with readers and rank! That means more traffic, more leads, and *hopefully* more new customers.
So… ‘Yay’ or ‘Nay’ on the AI writing Tools?
Google, marketing experts, and the Judicious, Inc. team agree that AI writing is meant to improve the efficiency of human content creation, not replace it. It’s helpful for planning, research, and minor writing tasks. However, when it comes to core content like web pages and branding, humans are much better at making big-picture connections and establishing E-E-A-T.
Are you ready to improve your online presence with well-written, stand-out web content that builds brands and garners trust? Make judicious marketing choices—schedule a call today.
Image Credits: Featured Image, Robot Writing, Sad Robot