Advances in technology and Machine Learning lead to the production of Artificial Intelligence, or script-based programs capable of emulating some form of human capacity. There’s been hot controversy surrounding AI since its inception, but with the recent rise in AI supposedly writing news articles and posts for online blogs the concern for copywriting as a career has also risen. Is it possible for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to emulate human copywriting skills? If so, are copywriters about to be out of a job? And if not, why is human intelligence so vital?
Using a myriad of codes, algorithms and sample data, an AI can be used to make predictions, decipher complex explanations and transcribe an audio clip with very little input from the user. It saves companies time, money and manpower, but it’s also a perceived threat for job security; while an AI needs management, it eliminates human elements of extraction and organisation.
So how much of a threat is AI?
Great Copywriting skills AI cannot master
The greatest fault of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is the lack of humanity, an elusive component no programmer has been able to configure. But what does humanity in the copywriting field look like? How can you tell if an article was written by a human, or a machine?
Storytelling Capabilities
AI struggles to create engaging articles that evoke emotion, producing sterile, informative pieces that sit in sharp contrast to human storytelling and this is perhaps their greatest weakness. An AI cannot weave a story from data, only reproduce it factually and without embellishment using further resources searched out on its own, while humans often do this to flesh out articles.
Human Ingenuity
An AI can find, understand and rehash information already in existence, but can’t add to it. A human can curate, understand and interweave new data into old, adding new interpretations. They can think for themselves, uncover inferences and connections to more data and bring the connections into their work seamlessly.
Genuine Integrity
A human can turn their passion and emotion into words, resonating with the reader on deeper levels than AI can manage. An AI cannot emulate honesty or sincerity, is trapped with data over ideas and interpretation and cannot connect with a reader in the same way a human can.
Can AI be a reliable brand representative?
It’s one thing to want to save money, but another whole story entirely to allow the future of a company to hang on the creations of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. You can feed an AI a variety of information and specifics on your brand, but there’s guaranteed to be things they do not know or misconstrued, which risks defaming your brand and affecting sales.
In contrast, a human copywriter can query a manager when unsure, reference outside data as well as any they’ve been provided with and create individualised, informative responses to any questions or feedback submitted through social media. This in itself endears more customers to your company, but also eliminates robotic replies and potentially unchecked misinformation.
Is SEO still relevant without human Copywriting?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and is used to boost traffic to your site or article in a standard web search engine. It’s aimed at consumers and potential clients, involves weaving key words and phrases into a document or description to boost search and website hits.
Even configured for keyword inclusion, they aren’t likely to favour them over others and often do not understand the continual use. Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning programs see SEO keywords as like most other words; they’re as important as their meaning, not their weight.
The limitations of AI in Copywriting
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the process by which an AI converts audio to text, runs programs to decipher the meaning of the created text and recreates the topic using organised strings of words drawn from a database. This is a program copywriters could be replaced by, but the limitations AI suffers from are crippling.
Content Strategy
Artificial intelligence follows a program and a strict set of rules, creating what a creator asks for. They cannot receive, interpret and respond to feedback, nor alter their tone, content and style, producing reliably organised and collated information. A human can adapt their vocabulary, style and even their content to better fit their audience, driving sales and engaging consumers.
Emotional Intelligence
An AI has no imagination, and no resonance with readers to evoke emotional responses. An AI cannot understand why an emotion was felt, cannot sympathise with experiences and has no empathy to draw from, leaving attempts to write sentimental pieces flat or soulless. Human experience is deep and profound, which is easily reflected in their writing.
Final Thoughts
While Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have come a long way in the last decade, it’s important to remember the limitations of a program consisting of strict boundaries and data to manipulate. AI cannot replace humanity in any form, may that be ingenuity or emotionally. They are, for all intents and purposes, still a tool more suited to product descriptions than engaging a reader through copywriting.
AI isn’t a threat, but it’s useful.
(A passionate writer and a successful business strategist at Literature Review Writing Service, Lauren Groff, is the provider of this article and she’s ready to help you with finance, marketing, and development).
Be the first to comment