The Good, Bad and Ugly: AI Writing vs. Human Writing

The rapid growth of AI in content creation has sparked a significant debate in the marketing world. While many businesses lean heavily on AI to generate content, others are taking extra measures to maintain human content writing. Both AI and human content writing have their strengths and weaknesses, and understanding these can help your business make informed decisions about your content strategies.

A Quick Overview of AI Content Writing

As we all know by now, AI content writing involves using artificial intelligence to generate written content. This technology relies on algorithms and vast datasets to produce text that mimics human writing.

How AI Content Writing Works

AI content writing is powered by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning. These technologies enable AI models to understand and generate human language. The process involves training AI models on large datasets, which helps them learn patterns and structures of language. AI content writing is used in various industries, including marketing, journalism, and e-commerce.

Examples of Some Popular AI Writing Tools

Some of the most popular AI writing tools include:

• Chat GPT by OpenAI: Known for its advanced language capabilities.
• Jasper: Offers various templates for different types of content.
• Copy.ai: Focuses on marketing copy and content generation.

Advantages of AI Content Writing

As you can imagine, using AI to write your content can have some benefits compared to keeping it 100% human. Here are a few to keep in mind:

• Speed and Efficiency - AI can produce content much faster than humans, making it ideal for businesses that need large volumes of content quickly.
• Cost-Effectiveness - Using AI for content creation can be more cost-effective than hiring human writers, especially for routine or repetitive tasks.
• Tone & Style - AI ensures consistency in tone and style, reducing the risk of errors that human writers might make in these areas.
• Reducing Human Errors - AI's ability to follow set patterns and rules can minimize spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.
• Personalization and Scalability - AI can tailor content to specific audiences and scale production to meet increasing demands without compromising quality.

Potential Limitations of AI Content Writing

Even though the advantages seem exciting, it's not all sunshine and rainbows when relying solely on AI to create content. Here are a few potential pitfalls to consider:

• Challenges in Producing Unique and Creative Content - AI often struggles to generate truly unique and creative content, relying on existing data patterns.
• Difficulty Grasping Complex Contexts and Subtle Nuances - AI may miss the subtleties and complexities of human communication, leading to less engaging content.
• Risks of Biased Content Based on Training Data - AI models can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in their training data, resulting in biased content.
• Ethical Implications of Replacing Human Jobs - The increasing use of AI in content writing raises ethical concerns about job displacement for human writers.
• Potential for Duplicate Content - AI can unintentionally generate content that is too similar to existing material, leading to issues with originality and possibly putting it on the wrong side of search engines.
• Cases of AI Making Things Up to Satisfy Search Queries - It's not out of the realm of possibility for AI to fabricate information to complete a text, which can lead to inaccuracies and misinformation.
• Potential for Large Numbers of Websites to Have Similar Content - As more businesses use AI for content creation, the risk of homogenized content across websites in similar industries increases.

A Quick Overview of Human Content Writing

Human content writing involves individuals using their creativity, knowledge, and experience to produce written content. This is how we've known it for as long as we can remember and the way that makes us most comfortable.

A Rich History of Writing

Needless to say, we humans have been writing for a very long time, evolving from ancient scripts and manuscripts to the digital content we consume today. Human writing has always been valued for its ability to convey complex ideas and emotions.

Unique Qualities of Human Writing

Human writing is characterized by creativity, emotional intelligence, and cultural understanding, which AI cannot fully replicate.

Advantages of Human Content Writing

Before we all jump on the AI bandwagon and leave the human element behind, let's not forget about the incredible benefits that human writing has to offer.

• Ability to Generate Original Ideas and Creative Content - Human writers can produce original and creative content, offering fresh perspectives and insights. However, it's essential to remember that AI is generates ideas from information that humans have produced in the past.
• Building Rapport and Connection with Readers - Human writing can build rapport and establish a connection with readers through personalized and empathetic communication.
• Understanding Complex Contexts and Nuances - Humans excel at understanding and conveying complex contexts and subtle nuances, making their content more engaging.
• Higher Ethical Standards and Accountability - Human writers adhere to ethical standards and are accountable for the accuracy and integrity of their content.

Potential Limitations of Human Content Writing

While the benefits of human writing make us comfortable, there are some limitations that should be pointed out.

• Longer Timeframes and Higher Costs for Content Production - Human content creation is typically slower and more expensive than AI-generated content.
• Variability in Tone and Quality - Human writing can vary in tone and quality, depending on the writer's skill and experience.
• Potential for Mistakes and Inaccuracies - Humans are prone to errors due to fatigue and other issues, which can affect the accuracy and reliability of the content.
• Inability to Scale at the Same Pace as AI - This is one of the main reasons many writers and marketers have turned to AI to create blogs, web pages, emails, and more. Human writers cannot match AI's scalability, making it challenging to meet high-volume content demands.

Is a Hybrid Approach the Best Way to Go?

As with most things, going completely one way or the other may not be the best course of action. For the best results, you might want to balance the strengths of each one of these content creation methods.

A hybrid approach, combining the strengths of both AI and human writing, may offer the best results. AI can be used as a tireless assistant to generate initial drafts, perform data analysis, and handle repetitive tasks. Human writers can then edit and refine the content, adding creativity, emotional depth, and ensuring accuracy and ethical standards.

Google values people-first content, prioritizing the reader's needs and providing valuable, trustworthy information. By blending AI's efficiency with human creativity and empathy, businesses can create high-quality content that meets these criteria.

Examples of Effective Hybrid Approaches

• Routine Content: AI can handle routine content like product descriptions and data-driven reports, while humans focus on storytelling and in-depth analysis.
• SEO Optimization: AI can assist in keyword research and initial SEO optimization, with humans refining the content to ensure it remains engaging and accurate.
• Editing and Proofreading: AI tools can quickly identify and correct errors, but human editors ensure the content aligns with the intended message and tone.

The critical thing to remember is that AI tools are called tools for a reason. They are here to enhance what we can do as humans, and while no one knows what will happen in the future, it's probably best to combine the best of both worlds right now for optimal results.

If you'd like to learn more about crafting content with the help of AI, contact us today. 

About the Author

Ken McCarron is a Co-founder of The Content Company, with more than 15 years of copywriting and digital marketing experience.