When it comes to the old machines-taking-human’s-jobs anxiety, AI copywriting is perhaps one of the weirdest.
The reason I think that, is because unlike automating a process as some tech does, writing something for our brains is a lot more nuanced. And before you say, well, you would say that you only need to ask Siri something obscure to see him get his knickers in a twist. The question is, does AI copywriting encounter the same glitches? And does it have a place “v” people?
What is AI copywriting?
AI copywriting tools uses natural language processing to generate copy. If you want to create a whole load of content, say a raft of product descriptions for your website which would take a mere human days to produce, you could do it in a snap.
There have been tests in their effectiveness too which have revealed positive results. And what about the glitchy things, like awkward phrases or (and I struggle not to capitalise every word here) complete absence of empathy. Well, that is certainly an issue. No one wants to be spoken to or sold to by a robot.
But the pros remain. A computer can spit out copy without typos or human errors in nanoseconds. You can fill your content calendar with a few clicks. I mean, yay! Perhaps I need to get on this and stop spending hours (painstakingly) crafting every piece of content.
Will AI replace copywriters?
Ah yes but circling back there are those damn glitchy things. The emotional disconnect. The weird phrasing. The total lack of originality. I mean, those drawbacks hit all kinds of wrong notes, not least by putting reader’s off.
Perhaps this is best demonstrated by the Lexus advert back in 2018. As fellow copywriters have already levelled, although the AI software pulled on 15 years’ worth of ads to create this idealised version, it’s lacking in emotional depth. And then there’s the sheer joy and quirkiness that fuels the minds of a creative copywriter that can’t be boxed and packaged and churned out by a machine, no matter how intuitive it is.
Lexus AI written advert
Can us copywriters learn a thing or two from AI tools?
The funny thing is the reason I decided to write this is that I’ve been marketed to by AI copywriting tools. The emails I’ve received have told me that I can improve my writing by using these shortcuts. This begs the real question; while AI is gobbling up our data to learn about the ways of us humans, can we learn a thing or two from AI?
As a digital copywriter, I already use certain tools to improve my writing. I rely on things like Grammarly which harness the powers of AI to improve the readability of my work and correct little technical foibles.
If you’re offering SEO copywriting services, chances are you will have come across a few AI-powered tools to help condense your keyword research too. this isn’t a far stretch, because to be real, SEO copywriting is all about the data.
So, do copywriters need to make friends with AI?
AI is here to stay. Trying to avoid that inevitable outcome is futile, but this doesn’t have to be as us versus them. Them being the bots we’re often so afraid of.
AI copywriting tools can offer much, but they focus on ticking a load of technical boxes. On the other hand, if you hire a copywriter, you can be sure to get a very human response to brief. But if that person also dips into copywriting tools to improve their writing, you’re getting the best of both worlds.
Personally, as a lifestyle copywriter and a web copywriter that concentrates on SEO content, I can see the value in joining forces. But for me, this will never be a case of allowing a machine to do all the heavy lifting. That has to be the writer. And if those intuitive tools can act as an editor to polish and perfect, well, I’m in.