AI copywriting: Why humans still beat machines

Unless you’ve been living on the moon, you’ll know all about ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot that’s been the subject of countless panicked Zoom calls among marketeers. Is the untested world of AI copywriting really about to steal our jobs? Not quite. 

From real-time technology to virtual production, new technologies are continually reinventing how we do things, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest potential game-changer. AI has been steadily making its way into our lives for some time, shaping everything from our Netflix recommendations to our predictive text messages. And now, AI is increasingly being used in the creative industries. 

Chatbots like ChatGPT can offer speed, and theoretically lower costs, across a range of basic tasks, and they can even help to kick off creative brainstorms. But they simply can’t compete with the human touch when it comes to compelling copywriting.

Customers want to hear from humans, not robots

Language is complex, and it takes years to really master the art of communication. Creating a customer-friendly tone of voice is all about considering the goals and values of each brand, and how they can be communicated to the customer. The subtleties of written copy, from wordplay to sarcasm, are difficult to get right. And that’s why you need a human team to help shape your brand’s voice, not a machine.

Creativity

While AI tools can provide a good jumping-off point for generating ideas, truly original concepts require people. AI can only produce results based on the data it’s trained with, so its output is essentially a repackaged regurgitation of existing ideas. 

Originality

Businesses are competing to be heard, often in a crowded marketplace, so originality is incredibly important. If every company were to use AI-based copy, company communications would quickly become mind-numbingly generic, diluting the voice of the brands they’re supposed to represent. To stand out from the crowd, you need a carefully crafted human voice.

Context

Context is a vital part of copywriting with purpose, and AI simply isn’t capable of spotting the subtly off-brand language or the timely news event that could make your planned social post insensitive and potentially damaging. People bring industry insight and experience to the table, as well as the eye for subtle detail that’s needed to create marketing copy that’s appropriate and inclusive.

Accuracy

Copy should be 100% accurate. And that’s a major problem for AI copywriting, because the tools are largely trained on information from the internet, which we all know includes everything from meticulously fact-checked news reports to wild conspiracy theories based on zero credible evidence. We’ve already seen countless examples of chatbots producing prose that appears to be clear, authoritative, and even surprisingly eloquent, despite the actual content being completely nonsensical. To win the trust of your target audience, you need human talent to write clear, accurate copy.

There’s no question that AI-based tools have the potential to support and augment marketing efforts. But, when it comes to creating compelling copy, the human touch is still unmatched for creating a welcoming and inclusive tone of voice, and shouting about your company in the best possible way.

To find out more about how our team of humans can tell your stories in an original and engaging way, take a look at some of our work.