Is AI copywriting worth it?
I was checking out what search terms lead people to my website at the moment, and one query stuck out: “Is AI copywriting worth it?”
Chat GPT or that pricey copywriter I follow on LinkedIn?
It’s a strange time to be working as a creative and a copywriter. Are the machines taking our jobs? Why didn’t we set the machines doing the boring stuff like laundry and chopping onions instead of the stuff that makes us human: writing, drawing, creating? These are the questions those of us in the industry are asking ourselves. As someone who hires copywriters, you’re probably thinking: am I being mugged off hiring someone to write for me when I could get it for free off ChatGPT? And, by extension, is what ChatGPT is telling me any good?
Big questions. And ones that matter. Because we all have a budget to stick to and we all have goals, targets, KPIs to hit. So sure, if you can save money on your copywriting, your boss is going to be pleased. But if that copy then fails to deliver the goods it’s not going to be an easy day at the office. But the trouble is, chances are if you’re outsourcing the writing in the first place, you might not be totally confident in your ability to assess the quality of what you’re getting, from AI or from a human.
Now, let’s address my natural bias. Of course I’m going to tell you that humans write better copy than AI. Because we do. You already know that’s true. But is AI copy passable? Or, as the person who searched and ended up at my website phrased it: “worth it”? That depends on so much: your business, your goals, how you use the machine, what you do with what it gives you.
AI’s strengths and limits
Let’s say you’re writing a page of web copy for your business. Here’s what AI copy can do:
It can help you process lots of information and deliver summaries and highlights. Super helpful if you want to check what your competitors are saying and stand out.
It can give you ideas of what to say on your page or flag if it thinks something is missing from the information you’re sharing.
It can help you organise your information into a logical structure.
And, yes, it can write ‘copy’ for you. The result will be vastly improved the more information you can give it, for example tone of voice guidelines, sample copy. (If you want to give those to the machine…)
But here’s the thing:
By getting AI to summarise for you, what do you lose by not doing the reading yourself? Is reading a summary of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ the same as savouring the novel itself in all its glory?
Its ideas are based on what’s already out there. The joy of you is that your ideas are your own and they’re unique to you. Relying on AI means your thoughts don’t see the light of day.
Yes, it can organise information, but again, it’s based on things that already exist. Maybe it’s not totally right for your customer or your product.
The ‘copy’ it produces will never be as subtle, nuanced, considered, culturally aware, funny, clever or thoughtful as something written by a human. It just won’t.
So is it worth it?
But is it worth it? Well, chances are your AI tool is free or very inexpensive. All it’ll cost you is your time and effort. Give it a try! See what it spits out. But take what it gives you with a heavy dose of discernment.
And if you’d like me to take a look for you, I’d be happy to let you know where it might need work. No, I’m not going to turn you away, tell you off or gab about you on LinkedIn if you bring me some AI copy to check over. Remember that time your regular hairdresser was fully booked and, in a pinch, you booked that random stylist the other side of town? You came out looking like Robert Smith when you were shooting for Anna Wintour. At your next appointment with your usual salon, they said nothing, fixed your do and earnt your loyalty for life? Well, same. No shame, no judgement. Just give me the chance to show you what real writing looks like.
But what about if I just use AI as my assistant?
What about this idea that AI can perform as your assistant? Absolutely. AI can be a great sparring partner in the very early days of a creative brief. But in my experience it takes a lot of work and time to find the right prompts and questions to get it past the obvious initial ideas. The ones your dad would suggest over Sunday lunch. And even more time to sift through the shite to find the gold. Then you still only have a starting point. You need to take them forward. And to do that, you need to know what you’re doing. The trouble is that unlike a lovely human junior team member, AI doesn’t take any initiative. It doesn’t have any skin in the game. It wasn’t sitting on the tube this morning, face in a matcha latte, thinking up headlines for your new campaign.
And remember, AI is the world’s world sycophant. It will tell you what you want to hear. Not sure if the ideas are good? AI will tell you they are even if they’re not.
Now, there’s so much more to this. And I’m sure I’ll be adding to this post as and when things shift and develop. If you’d like to continue the conversation, I’d love to hear from you.