Hey there, I’m Rachel Powell. I’m a freelance copywriter based in Lewiston, Maine, and I’ve been writing for clients since 2018. I’ve written about everything from pilonidal cysts (don’t look it up) and bakuchiol (you can look that one up) to absinthe and convertible car tops, and I’ve learned so much doing this job. Today, I’m popping in to share my thoughts on AI and its utility in the copywriting sphere. What’s the future of copywriting?
Is AI going to take over for copywriters? Do you (and I) need to be afraid for your job? I think you might like my answer.
And no, this article was not written by AI. Can you tell?
What’s Your Stance on AI, Rachel?
Many of my clients have asked me my position on using AI in my line of work. Honestly, I’ve been avoiding using AI because of the whole “AI could take over the world” debate, and I’ve found that my clients really appreciate a 100% human touch to their content.
That’s all well and good, but here are the problems I foresee:
Dilution of Cost & Quality
As AI starts to generate more and more of our online content, prices for copywriting are going to be affected. Now, we have writers that are spending maybe 25% of the time it used to take them on a single piece and getting paid the same amount for it.
And, there’s no definitive way to prove that it was written by AI.
This is obviously only one small issue that arises when we consider wide-spread use of AI-generated content creation.
Meaningless Content Fueling Meaningless Content
AI can’t come up with brand new ideas — yet. It can only, presently, regurgitate thoughts and expressions that have already been recorded on the internet. It can combine them in ways that might inspire us, but it’s not going to spontaneously come up with a brand new idea about how you can get the most out of your home theater.
This is an important distinction between an AI’s capabilities and a human’s. And Bard, Google’s new AI model, knows this.
BUT, It Has Its Place in the Future of Copywriting
I’m not going to sit here and deny that this technology isn’t incredibly useful and helpful.
In fact, I sat and brainstormed for twenty minutes today about a blog topic for one brand and came up with nothing — we’ve written everything under the sun for them, and I can’t think of anything we haven’t covered.
But Bard, in ten seconds, came up with ten blog post ideas — two of which I hadn’t thought of yet. While a little bit demoralizing (sorry, someone has to say it), this was a huge help.
I’m not going to sit down and ask Bard to write it for me, though. Maybe I’m just too darned stubborn. Oh well.
What Does Bard Think About the Future of Copywriting & AI?
Keep in mind that, when Bard pulls its answer to give us, it’s going to do so from all of the information available to it. This will give us a good idea of what most humans think about copywriters and AI working together. But, it’s still fun to pretend Bard is a real, living, thinking creature — right?
So, What’s the Plan?
As a copywriter who both enjoys writing and loves learning new things, I’m not about to toss my brain out the window and let AI do my job for me. But I will be using AI for those tasks (research, topic selection, header optimization, etc.) that might be tedious on the way to writing that first introductory paragraph for you and your clients.
And, if you’re new here and you like my style, hit me up. We can work on your next project together.
Until next time,
