As goals and budgets are examined, the question arises about whether you should ditch your copywriter and use AI instead.
Sounds tempting, right?
I have seen a few businesses go down this path and when I look at some of their output, I kind of cringe. But to be fair I didn’t know if I was simply being biased.
So I asked Claude 3.5 (a widely used paid AI model) if AI-generated web copy is as good as human-generated. I made clear that the AI model was expertly prompted with information including a tone of voice document, the target audience, product/service details and so forth. And then I asked, “Could the AI model write copy for a website that’s the same standard as that of a human who specialises in copywriting for that field?”
AI’s answer to the question of whether it can replace a specialist copywriter
(I’ve copied and pasted the response largely unchanged, leaving in American spelling]
No, AI cannot fully replicate the quality of a specialized human copywriter, even with detailed tone of voice guidelines and audience information. Here’s why:
Core Limitations of AI Copywriting
Lack of Original Thinking
AI fundamentally repurposes existing content and patterns rather than creating truly original copy tailored to a brand’s unique identity. While it can mimic writing styles, it cannot generate novel ideas or approaches that set a brand apart from competitors.
Emotional Intelligence Gap
AI struggles with emotional intelligence and cannot naturally tap into audience emotions or psychological triggers. Human copywriters excel at:
– Understanding and expressing genuine emotions
– Creating deep emotional connections with readers
– Navigating cultural sensitivities and nuances
Strategic and Creative Limitations
While AI can generate content quickly, it lacks:
– The ability to think strategically about business goals
– True creative thinking and unique concept development
– Understanding of subtle brand positioning nuances
Practical Implications
Quality Concerns
What AI produces is typically closer to a rough draft than polished copy. Even with tone of voice guidelines, AI-generated content often:
– Feels generic and disconnected
– Lacks authentic brand personality
– Misses key conversion elements
Brand Differentiation
In today’s crowded digital space, brands with weak or AI-generated tone of voice easily become lost. A distinctive human-crafted voice is essential for:
– Standing out from competitors
– Building authentic customer relationships
– Creating memorable brand experiences
Best Practice Approach
The most effective strategy is using AI as a tool to enhance human copywriting, not replace it. AI can support by:
– Generating initial content ideas
– Creating rough first drafts
– Streamlining research processes
– Checking grammar and spelling
However, the final copy should always be crafted and refined by a human copywriter who can infuse it with strategic insight, emotional depth, and authentic brand voice.
What does ChatGPT have to say?
I realise many businesses, especially small ones, would be using a free AI model like ChatGPT so I posed the same question to it. Here is its answer (make sure you read through to “Quality of the output”).
Yes, an AI model can effectively write copy for a new website that is comparable to the work of a human copywriter who specializes in that field, provided the AI has access to the right inputs and is used effectively. Here’s how it works:
Tone of Voice Document:
- AI’s capability: If the AI is provided with a well-defined tone of voice document (based on the client’s website or competitor’s site), it can replicate and adapt the tone of the writing. This means it can match the style, language, and attitude the client wants to convey to their audience. AI models, especially those fine-tuned on a variety of writing styles, can mimic this tone across different sections of the website.
- What matters: The more specific the tone of voice document, the better the output. For example, if the document specifies that the tone should be professional but friendly, and aims to convey trust, the AI can incorporate these nuances into the content.
Copywriting and Marketing Expertise:
- AI’s capability: AI models can integrate copywriting and marketing principles, such as calls to action (CTAs), attention-grabbing headlines, persuasive language, and SEO optimization. With sufficient input, it can craft content that is not just readable but also strategically designed to drive conversions, engagement, and search rankings.
- What matters: The AI will perform best when you provide clear input about the goals of the content (e.g., lead generation, brand awareness), and the nuances of the market (e.g., competition, industry trends, customer pain points). AI can use this data to optimize its output for those objectives, though it’s not a perfect substitute for deep, field-specific expertise.
Target Audience and Product/Service Information:
- AI’s capability: If the AI has information about the target audience, product features, customer pain points, and benefits, it can generate copy that resonates with the intended demographic. AI is capable of creating content that speaks directly to the needs and desires of the target audience, provided the data is clear.
- What matters: The more detailed the customer personas and product/service descriptions, the more tailored and persuasive the content will be. AI can generate compelling narratives that align with the brand’s voice and the audience’s expectations, but it requires accurate and clear input to be truly effective.
Quality of the Output:
- AI vs. Human: While AI can produce high-quality copy, it’s important to remember that human copywriters often bring a level of creativity, emotional intelligence, and industry-specific insights that an AI may not fully replicate. For example, a human might know when to push boundaries or craft highly nuanced copy that anticipates customer objections and desires in a way AI might not immediately grasp.
- What matters: AI-generated copy may sometimes lack the deeper strategic intuition or creative spark a seasoned human copywriter could bring, particularly in complex or niche industries. However, for many standard marketing tasks, AI can deliver copy that is grammatically sound, persuasive, and strategically aligned with the target goals.
In Summary:
AI can generate copy that matches a human copywriter’s standards, especially when given clear inputs, such as a tone of voice document, audience info, product details, and marketing objectives. While it may not always have the creative depth of a seasoned human expert, it can provide a strong foundation that can be further refined or supplemented by a human copywriter, particularly for routine or high-volume content creation.
If used properly, AI can save time, ensure consistency, and maintain high standards across large-scale content projects, making it a valuable tool in the hands of skilled copywriters and marketers.
The real impact of ditching your copywriter for AI (with stats)
You can listen to all the arguments about needing human oversight but still not really believe it, right? Because to the untrained eye what AI shoots out sounds okay. And maybe it sounds better than what you think you could have written yourself. But what do studies show?
I went looking so you don’t need to. One study looked at human-written ads versus AI-generated ones and found that the human-generated ones outperformed the AI ones, achieving 45.41% more impressions and 60% more clicks.
Another study compared AI versus human-generated content for things like blogs and articles. It found that human-generated content received 5.44 times more traffic than the AI content. The study concluded that while human content took much longer to produce, that investment pays off in terms of traffic and overall engagement – which is what you want for your business. It also cautioned against an over-reliance on AI tools, saying they should be used for things like research, data collection and analysis, consumer research, brainstorming and first drafts, but not as a replacement for human copywriters.
Yet another study surveyed 2,000 participants presenting them with two articles, one by ChatGPT and another by a human copywriter. It found that 50% of consumers could spot AI-generated content, and more alarmingly, 52% disengage when they suspect content is AI-generated. Consumers are savvy and they’re looking for authenticity and human connection. So it makes sense that AI-generated content would be a turn-off.
A real-life example of AI vs human content
I asked ChatGPT to write a snippet introducing this blog post to my LinkedIn audience. Here’s what it gave me:
Can AI replace your copywriter? 🤔
As budgets tighten and AI tools become more accessible, many businesses are asking the big question: Should we ditch our copywriter and use AI instead?
It’s a tempting idea, but is it the best move for your business? I explored this question by asking two AI models to weigh in on their own capabilities. The answers—and some revealing industry stats—might surprise you!
In this blog, I dive into the pros, cons, and hidden costs of using AI for content creation and explain why striking the right balance between human expertise and AI tools could be your secret weapon.
📖 Read the full post here: [insert link]
#AI #Copywriting #MarketingStrategy #ConstructionIndustry #DigitalMarketing
Now here’s my version:
Ditch your copywriter and marketing team. Use AI instead and save money.
Sounds tempting, right?
I have seen a few businesses go down this path and when I look at some of their output, I kind of cringe. But to be fair I didn’t know if I was simply being biased.
So I asked Claude 3.5 if AI-generated web copy is as good as human-generated. The results might surprise you.
Spoiler alert – it’s not as clear cut as you might think.
Blog post in the comments.
Why the human version works better for my construction industry audience on LinkedIn
Okay, so on the surface the AI snippet sounds okay. But my version taps into what I know about people in the construction industry, what I know about marketing, and what I know about LinkedIn as a platform (I’d write a different post for Instagram). My version:
- Opens with an attention-grabbing statement
- Uses direct, no-nonsense language
- Addresses budget consciousness head on
- Avoids marketing jargon
- Maintains my authentic voice
- Demonstrates platform specific expertise
Human posts win every time. The statistics support this. You don’t want to lose half your potential leads because they recognise your post is AI-generated and switch off. But what if you’re hopeless at writing social media posts or don’t have the time to create content, isn’t AI-generated better than nothing? Yes and no. I would recommend using AI to give you a draft post and then changing it to sound more like you at the very least. Read it out loud. Are they the words you would use in an everyday conversation with someone?
As The Construction Copywriter, my aim is always to make your marketing simple and headache-free. So please read on for my thoughts on you using AI for your construction business (and bypassing a specialist copywriter like myself).
My thoughts on using AI exclusively
From personal experience, Claude’s answer rings true. That doesn’t mean AI tools don’t have a place in your business. AI models are amazing tools and should be employed whenever they can help make your business processes more efficient. Apart from using automation in a practical sense on construction job sites (e.g. monitoring safety), AI models can also be used to help you generate marketing content. But it’s not as simple as asking Chat GPT or Claude to help and them spitting out content ready to publish.
The true cost comparison
While AI offers powerful capabilities for content creation, implementing it yourself effectively requires significant investment:
Learning Curve
You’ll need to:
- Master prompt engineering for better AI outputs
- Learn multiple AI platforms and their strengths
- Understand which tasks AI can handle and which need human touch
- Develop skills in editing and enhancing AI-generated content
Content Strategy and Planning
Success with AI requires:
- Clear brand guidelines and tone of voice documents
- Well-defined target audience profiles
- Detailed content briefs
- Regular review and refinement of AI outputs
Quality Control
You’ll also have to establish:
- Review processes for AI-generated content
- Fact-checking procedures
- Brand consistency checks
- Legal and compliance reviews
So what’s the bottom line – ditch your copywriter for AI or not?
You can ditch your copywriter but it might not be the best business decision. While AI can handle routine automation tasks like safety monitoring and project tracking, content creation requires a more nuanced approach. AI works best as a content assistant, not a replacement for human creativity and strategic thinking. The key is finding the right balance – using AI to handle initial research and drafting while relying on human expertise for strategy, emotional connection, and final polish.
It’s a yes if…
If you have the time and funds to subscribe to multiple AI tools, train yourself and/or staff in their use (100+ hours), and contribute to ongoing supervision and quality control processes, then AI might work for you. But is it the best use of your time and money? A specialist copywriter comes prepared with all those features locked in.
But don’t forget about EEAT
As someone who writes search engine optimised copy for my construction client’s websites, I’m also conscious of EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) – a framework that Google uses in part to inform its ranking of websites. Your search engine optimisation will fall flat if your content can’t demonstrate these features.
An AI model, no matter how hard it tries, and no matter how much it might sound like one at times, simply isn’t human. It hasn’t been out on a job site, it hasn’t got your experience or expertise. Nor does it have the experience of a specialist copywriter who deals with the industry day in and day out. Its output is based on what others have published. So if you want to be better than others and stand out from the crowd, you can’t rely solely on AI for your marketing content.
References
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/humans-vs-machines-ad-copy-content-test-data-study/509942/
https://neilpatel.com/blog/ai-vs-human-content/
https://www.bynder.com/en/press-media/ai-vs-human-made-content-study/