The Truth About AI Copywriting: Enhancing Efficiency Or Replacing Human Writers?
I'm sure you remember Lensa AI-generated art taking social media by storm in late 2022.
Some people's avatars looked cool, so I jumped on the bandwagon, thinking this will be a fun experiment. I uploaded my photos and waited 20 minutes for an AI program to create digital art of me (foolishly with high expectations).
Staring at the images afterwards, they were truly laughable. I didn’t even want to share them, because 90% were not flattering and did NOT look like me. What had sounded easy and convenient translated into a wasted investment of unusable content.
I shared a small selection on Instagram if you want to take a peek, not only to highlight my not-so-fun experience, but to normalize the unpredictable outcome for others (countless people thanked me after the post, because they too had bad results, but no one was showing those pics online).
I also posted them to share my opinion on the popular doom-and-gloom view of AI taking over creative industries (and it's honestly affecting every profession — doctors, lawyers, teachers, assistants, you name it). Because there are AI tools and technologies for countless tasks these days — there are already robots delivering food at restaurants in my home city of Calgary, Canada. But the question I keep hearing over and over is: Will AI put me out of business?
As a copywriter and founder of a boutique marketing agency, I was immediately curious and standoff-ish (simultaneously) about AI copywriting. Should I be worried? Will AI replace human copywriters? As a passionate writer at heart, my first instinct was to resist at all costs — but the marketer in me started to go down the research rabbit role.
I'm not pretending to be an expert, as I'm only just dipping my toes into the AI world, and let me tell you… it's evolving FAST. Anything new is often polarized, and I can tell you there are passionate people on both sides.
So I'm here to start the conversation, explain what I've found, and share my opinion. Let’s start with the basics — what is AI copywriting, and what *can* it do?
AI Copywriting Is A Tech Tool Used By Humans
Neil Patel defines AI copywriting as “the use of artificial intelligence to write copy for your website or marketing campaigns.” It’s a broad definition, but it includes assets like social media captions, blog posts, landing pages, and conversion-focused copy (the latter is questionable in my opinion, I'll explain below).
These tools search the internet, rework what they find, and spit out copy. And they're so popular now, I could find at least 20 different AI copywriting tools if I searched on Google — including ChatGPT, Jasper, Copymatic, the list goes on.
Now while these tools CAN write copy and you COULD use it directly from their platform, I wouldn't recommend it. Here are three ways I believe AI copywriting can benefit your business, followed by six things it simply cannot do:
1. AI Can Save You (Some) Brainstorming Time
Idea generation is where many business owners and creatives get stuck. What should you be talking about? From what angle? Including what info? AI copywriting tools can provide you with ideas as a starting point, from new hooks to emotional benefits. This can get the gears turning for your new blog post or upcoming lead magnet.
2. Create A List Of Content Ideas
As there are innumerable social media posts on the internet, AI copywriting tools can easily generate a list of 10 (or more) post ideas. I’m not too impressed with this idea though, because you can already get plug and play social media caption tools that perform the same function — many of them for free. AI copywriting is simply filling in the blanks for you (with non-targeted copy).
3. Write A Rough Draft
These tools can write an entire social post, blog post, email, essay, you name it. Again, I believe this technology can be used for initial ideas and rough drafts, but the copy will not be in your brand voice, incorporate your values, target your audience or even include information that makes you an authority figure in your industry.
What Do The Experts Have To Say About AI Copywriting?
Personally, I've only used AI copywriting tools for initial exploration (...my experience with Lensa left me less than impressed), so I've turned to a few experts for their opinions on this up-and-coming technology.
StrategiQ, a marketing agency, put five AI copywriting tools to the test to create product descriptions. They summarized that, “The AI generated results were fairly plain, with nothing too eye-catching.”
Neil Patel said, “Although they’re a useful starting point, you still need to add your own voice, check facts, and add stats and other content to make it unique and offer value to your audience.”
My mentor and Marketer of the Year 2022, Alex Cattoni, sums it up best by saying, “Automated copywriting will never *completely* replace real copywriting skills possessed by a human.” (In fact, all these AI copywriting companies ALSO employ human copywriters.)
So why do I agree that human copywriters will never be fully replaced? Well, because of what AI copywriting CAN’T do —
1. It Doesn’t (And Can’t) Write Original Copy
AI copywriting programs are scraper tools, making them re-writers, NOT actual writers. It’s a cookie-cutter method to create quick copy, meaning nothing is truly original. Critical thinking is key when it comes to trusting these tools, as we all know how much fake news and false data there is on the internet.
Because of this, AI isn’t *always* grammatically correct, doesn’t pick up “awkward” phrasing, and can’t adapt to your voice or audience. Do you have a particular dialect? Like to use slang? What about specific phraseology? It’s very likely AI won’t include those, because it isn’t all-knowing. AI copywriting isn’t a writing service, it’s a rewriting service.
2. It Can’t Replicate Human Emotion
Spoilers: robots aren’t humans. They aren’t (yet) capable of feeling or accurately replicating human emotion. AND, emotion has been proven time and time again to sell. Let’s face it, people aren’t stupid — they can detect a robotic tone a mile away. And you know what turns someone off faster than a bad pick-up line? Not talking to a real human being — we've all been on those phone calls or help chats. So remember: your audience, your list, your following — they're real people and want to be treated as such.
3. It Misses Key Elements Of Conversion-Focused Copy
Great copywriters aren’t just word-pumper-outers. There’s a strategy to writing copy that actually converts. AI often misses these conversion strategies, like including a call to action (CTA), using power words, embodying your brand values and tailoring it to your audience. It sure doesn’t advise you on optimized wording, design pairings, or how to lay out your Facebook ad copy, like a human copywriter would… The list of missed opportunities goes on and on.
4. It Doesn’t Sound Like “You”
I've talked to SO many business owners over the years who are frustrated that their messaging doesn’t sound like “them.” That disconnect can drastically reduce conversions, because your audience doesn’t know who YOU are — and statistics prove that we buy from brands we know, like and trust. Since open AI copywriting is rewritten from words that already exist, what the program spits out won’t sound like you — surprise, surprise. You need a pair of human eyes to infuse your tone, voice, values, and more throughout it.
5. Everyone Will Be Using The Same (Or Similar) Copy
If AI copywriting tools spit out copy based on prompts, it’s spitting out similar, if not the same, copy for everyone else too. Re-hashed copy, from already existing copy, means it’s duplicated, and then duplicated again. When it comes to ads, for example, your ad will simply blend in with pre-existing ads. It defeats the purpose of having an ad in the first place — to grab attention. It’s the easiest way to NOT stand out from the crowded online space.
6. AND, AI Isn’t Always Reliable
I went on to experiment with this tool a few months after it launched, and look at the message I got — the platform was at capacity and I couldn't use it (this happens allll the time). Imagine the sheer panic I would be in if I depended on this tool for my business and for my marketing strategy (instead of a real person I could connect with and book into their calendar whenever I needed).
There also aren't regulations surrounding AI content yet, but they're coming. So not only is this tool reusing other businesses' copy, but it's not a reliable one-and-done solution for your marketing strategy.
So Is AI The Future Of Copywriting (Or Content Writing)?
AI copywriting isn’t perfect, and it's evolving every single day. As we've discussed, it doesn’t write anything truly original, it can’t authentically replicate human emotion, and it misses the key element of what makes copy, well, copy — conversion focused. So what does that mean for human copywriters?
It means that mediocre copywriters might find themselves priced out.
But for GREAT copywriters?
Sure, the new technology has some useful applications in brainstorming content ideas, but that *aids* a writer. Much like spell checking software has been helping us when we miss a pesky comma or Google helps us research faster than poring over books at the library.
Because even if you use an AI copywriting tool to start your copy, you still need a set of human eyes to look it over, proof it and make it sound like you — the alternative of emotionless, unoriginal, robotic-sounding copy that doesn't rank or convert.
Plus, many businesses already have a "no-AI-copy-tolerated policy," and even Google has said copy created purely with AI will NOT rank in search (yes, there is AI to detect if you're using AI). So use it wisely.
The proof is in the pudding — AI isn’t replacing (good) human copywriters anytime soon. It's a tool, and we can decide how and when we want to work with it.
Curious what working with a good human copywriter can and should look like? Get in touch to see how we can support you & your brand with high-level copywriting and marketing to increase your impact through conversion-focused copy that attracts your audience. Book your free call now.
