In the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, someone asks the android Data if he considers himself superior to humans. Data’s reply is “I am superior, sir, in many ways. But I would gladly give it up to be human.”
Besides getting him called Pinocchio, this sets the main theme of Data’s story, through seven series, four films and a recent return in Star Trek: Picard. Over and over, Data shows his superiority by accessing vast amounts of information and performing tasks with a speed and accuracy the rest of crew can’t come close to. Yet he constantly longs to be able to do the things humans can, from using intuition to understanding humour.
Does that sound familiar?
AI, as it exists today, might be nowhere near as powerful as Data, but it excels in being able to perform many tasks far more quickly and accurately than a human could hope to. There are areas, though, where AI is as lost as Data trying to get a joke.
One of these is any kind of writing that requires imagination and creativity — and that includes marketing content. So in what ways is a human copywriter superior to writing AI? And what can AI do better?
What Can a Human Do Better?
- Each human copywriter is an individual, bringing a unique perspective to what they write. Writing AI such as ChatGPT, on the other hand, works on the basis of consensus across the internet, so that what it writes will simply be a synthesis of what everyone else is saying.
- Where AI will simply give the facts, a human can use their empathic abilities to appeal to the reader on a deeper emotional level. This is crucial for marketing, since people normally buy on emotion, not on logic.
- A human can bring an ethical dimension to what they write. It’s crucial when promoting the client’s brand that everything written is entirely aligned with their values and world-view — a concept AI may struggle to understand.
- Machines that think do so by comparing existing examples and calculating what should logically be the best solution. Humans — especially children and very creative adults — often make utterly irrational leaps of imagination that provide far better solutions than anything logic can achieve.
- Marketing is all about storytelling. Humans are programmed to respond to stories on the deepest level, and the best messages tell a story. While AI can create stories, they tend to be very much “by numbers” and need the input of human imagination and empathy in order to resonate.
- As I mentioned earlier, AI simply produces a synthesis of what it finds online, which runs the risk that it will trip Google’s plagiarism alert. While even the best human copywriter might use the same research materials, the actual content produced will be unique.
- A good copywriter will learn to understand and be enthusiastic about your brand. They’ll feel part of your business, enabling them to reproduce your passion for what you do. AI might be able to analyse your brand, but it doesn’t have the capacity to “feel” it.
What Can AI Do Better?
So does this mean writing AI programs like ChatGPT are useless? Absolutely not. They can undertake many tasks that make producing marketing content quicker and more efficient. For example:
- Generate ideas — the right prompt will give you a list of topics to write about.
- Research — AI can give you a digest report and relevant quotes in a fraction of the time it would take to read through the materials.
- Outline — Whether it’s an article or a presentation, AI can provide an outline, as long as you add storytelling and the human factor yourself.
- First draft — Although it will need a lot of alterations, AI can provide you with a first draft that you can work on.
- Project strategy — AI can provide a template for an effective strategy for your project, which you can add your own inspiration to.
- Polishing — You can use AI to polish your spelling, grammar and style, but make sure it doesn’t polish your voice and identity out of it.
It’s important to remember, though, that AI always follows the GIGO rule (garbage in, garbage out). This means that you’ll only get the best out of it if you learn how to make very precise, accurate queries.
Humans and AI — Getting the Balance Right
In Star Trek, Data is a vital member of the Enterprise’s crew, often saving the day when no-one else can. However, we’re left in no doubt that a ship full of androids would be disastrous. The crucial decisions are always made by flawed, intuitive humans like Picard or Kirk.
In the same way, AI can be a great tool, making it quicker and easier to create marketing content. But it’s only a tool. For genuine creativity, there’s still no substitute for a human mind.
Let’s have a chat if you want to discuss the best ways of getting great written content — with or without using AI.