If your brand relies on AI-generated content alone, you’re doing it wrong.
Yes, artificial intelligence — despite its detrimental environmental impact — can be an effective tool for augmenting human intellect and boosting productivity. But AI has shifted the writing and content creation approach for too many people.
“Why write some copy when a robot can do it quickly for me?” they ask. Tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and others promise to help you work faster, spitting out seemingly polished content. But for communicators and brands looking to genuinely connect with audiences, pure AI copy remains far from ideal — offering speed but often lacking the nuance, personality and real-world experience that meaningful storytelling requires.
Exploring the challenges and limitations of AI-written content can provide actionable insights for brands and details about thoughtfully integrating AI into your communications strategy.
What Makes AI Content Different from Human Writing?
If you’ve used AI writing tools, you’ve likely noticed that AI-generated content, compared to human writing, often feels … formulaic — even if it kinda sounds like a human wrote it. AI relies on patterns in training data (well-written and not) to generate text, spawning outputs that seem generic and overly structured.
Humans — like me — tend to write more dynamically than robots, using our own voices and vocabulary. Heck, we even occasionally make typos or errors, but it’s our very human fallibility that machines cannot yet replicate. Forget emotions, personality and creativity!
But that rightfully begs the question: Can AI-generated content rank well on Google? That’s robots writing for robots, after all.
Can AI-Generated Content Rank on Google?
The answer, according to a study by Semrush, is yes — but with serious caveats. While AI tools quickly produce content, it’s not guaranteed to rank without meeting specific quality standards.
Findings show that AI content can rank on Google if it adheres to SEO best practices, but Google’s algorithms prioritize what the company calls E-E-A-T: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
Why does this matter? AI content is only as good as its input. To produce rank-worthy content, the AI prompt must be specific, thoughtful and well researched. Even if AI-generated text is well structured and includes keywords, it can’t replace the unique perspectives and storytelling elements that human writers bring.
Given the recent explosion of AI tools, communicators must recognize when their content sounds a little too AI-generated to break through to the audiences that matter.
AI-Generated Content Red Flags
Fortunately for those more discerning among us, AI-generated content often features a few common indicators:
1. Hallucination of Incorrect Information
AI can make stuff up, producing text that looks good but contains inaccurate or outdated details. This phenomenon, “hallucination,” occurs as much as 27% of the time, with factual errors present in 46% of generated texts.
Takeaway: Fact-check AI-generated content. Always. Misinformation runs rampant and can damage your brand’s credibility, especially when trying to position your organization as a brand authority.
2. Lack of Depth and Personality
Without personal experiences, opinions and the ability to understand complex topics, AI generates content that feels shallow. I mean, can ChatGPT really think about how disparate audiences might interact with different stories? Would it include that blurb in this blog’s introduction about how bad AI can be for the environment?
Skilled journalists and copywriters can uncover unique insights, personal stories or even inflammatory opinions during interviews with subject matter experts to give a piece its necessary connector. Conversely, AI generates text without genuinely understanding topics, just generating the next most logical word in its attempt to hit the mark.
Takeaway: Use human writers for storytelling and thought leadership. AI can help with outlining and brainstorming, but take care of the initial draft yourself. Your ability to connect emotionally with audiences endures as invaluable in an era increasingly shaped by AI.
3. Repetitive Language
AI tools often reuse the same phrases, keywords or transitional devices, creating a predictable tone. Depending on the kind of writing, cliché or trite phrases like “In the world of,” “game-changer” or “revolutionizes” drown out punchier copy.
You’ll frequently see this issue when the initial prompt lacks substance, so the AI falls back on the minimal messaging provided. And regurgitates it again. And again.
Takeaway: Comb through AI content to avoid repetition, incorporating your human touch to refine language and add original flavor throughout the content.
How to Detect AI Content
Once you see AI’s common ploys, identifying its patterns becomes easier. Like AI writing tools, no AI-generated content detector or plagiarism checker is perfect. Sure, these tools can help you identify AI-written text. Inconsistently. You still need a critical eye.
Consider the following strategies in addition to tools like Grammarly, Copyleaks or QuillBot:
- Cross-checking claims for accuracy.
- Injecting lacking personal anecdotes or detailed analysis.
- Watching for repetitive patterns or overly cautious language.
Remember, AI content creation tools are just that — tools. They’re only as good as the human communicator wielding them.
Integrating AI Thoughtfully into Your Content Strategy
AI tools can be constructive for brainstorming, generating drafts and scaling repetitive tasks. But our jobs as communicators remain safe … for now. These technological advances still work best when paired with human creativity and oversight.
For brands and communicators, AI can complement, not be a replacement. Use AI to handle labor-intensive tasks (summarizing data, generating outlines, etc.), but rely on skilled writers and strategists for shaping the narratives that genuinely reflect your brand.
And this concern goes beyond writing. I shudder to think where we’ll be when most of us let the robots do the thinking for us!
At Comprise, we believe that human expertise tells the most impactful stories. Whether refining campaign messaging or developing a comprehensive communications strategy, we work with you to help your brand stand out from the AI-generated drivel flooding the world of business.
Still not sure where to draw the line between the right mix of technology and human expertise? We can help you find the right balance, meeting — even exceeding — your communications goals!
