How AI is Revolutionizing the World of Content Marketing

One industry where artificial intelligence (AI) is having a noticeable impact is content generation. AI is shaping content creation significantly, impacting how marketers, freelancers, copywriters, and small business owners approach content strategy.

In this deep dive, we’ll discuss how AI is revolutionizing content marketing, including its benefits and drawbacks. 

The Key Takeaways

• Generative AI can be an incredibly effective tool for content marketing, as it speeds up the research and preparation phases.
• AI content has also begun to appear in Google search results, with the percentage of AI-generated results increasing notably.
• An overreliance on the capabilities of generative AI can lead to issues such as search engine penalties and disinterest from an audience.

What Is Generative AI?

Let’s take a second to quickly define what generative AI is. After all, with the term AI rising in popularity, it’s important to understand specifically what the term ‘generative’ AI means.

Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that uses learning patterns from existing data to produce new content. 

AI tools range in capabilities and may include video generation, AI writers, and sound or audio generation.

In the world of content marketing, generative AI tends to be used in automating the content creation process, or in some instances, for writing content (although there are pros and cons to this).

How AI Is Revolutionizing Content Marketing

With that in mind, let’s compare some of the ways (both benefits and drawbacks) that generative AI is impacting the world of content generation.

Benefit: Improved productivity

One of the trending ways that generative AI has changed content marketing is by improving productivity.

Content managers may choose to use AI for:

• Setting up content plans.
• Creating briefs.
• Researching sources for writers.

Using generative AI as a support in these ways opens up time for content managers to focus on creating high-quality content and further optimizing articles so that they continue to perform well.

Drawback: Google penalties

Google’s recent people-first, helpful Content updates have led to Google penalties for websites that use too much AI and don’t offer readers insightful, valuable content.

Google needs to prioritize its search results, so that they offer the best user experience. If it shows AI content spam results to its audience, it can dampen audience trust. So, it’s best practice to keep a human editor or content manager in the loop to evaluate and review content.

Benefit: Quicker research potential

When it comes to expanding knowledge on a subject to improve writing, generative AI is fantastic.

With the right prompting, generative AI can:

• Summarize complex subjects in an easy-to-understand manner.
• Expand on topics further to help you understand them in greater detail.
•  Offer insight into other perspectives on a subject.

Using generative AI in these ways allows you to provide an audience with a much more in-depth piece of content, which factors in other viewpoints for authenticity and balance.

However, it’s still important to fact-check content. AI doesn’t always generate correct facts. It can hallucinate and produce errors. So, make sure to include fact-checking in the editorial process.

Drawback: Lack of user engagement

A risk of over-using AI writing is that it can provide readers with lacklustre content. One common comment on AI adverts on social media is, “If you’re going to generate content with AI, I’m just going to get my AI to read it then!”

Of course, the comment is a little silly and tongue-in-cheek, but the sentiment is very real. People don’t want to read formulaic, bland, unoriginal content.

They want something fun. They want something new. They want something that inspires them to read more of your content.

Benefit: More detailed brainstorming 

Content strategists can also use generative AI as a sounding board, which is particularly useful for those who work alone or in a small team. 

It’s a brilliant brainstorming tool for content ideation, helping strategists map plans, expand content pillars and article ideas, and create a logical and well-crafted content schedule.

Drawback: Lost brand voice

Last but certainly not least, an overreliance on generative AI can lead to a noticeable drop in brand voice.

Trying to build a brand’s image and consumer trust can take many months and years. Publishing AI content rather than providing your readers with original human-written perspectives can alter brand voice in published blog posts and change an audience’s perception of brand voice.

Final Thoughts 

Generative AI has been incredibly beneficial for content marketers, as it greatly speeds up the planning and preparation phase of all content creation.

However, it’s important not to rely too heavily on generative AI for content production. After all, your audience comes to your website to read your opinions and perspectives. If they wanted to read an AI-generated answer, they could easily use an AI chatbot.

Looking to evaluate the presence of AI-generated content on your website? Use the Originality.ai AI Website Scanner to scan your entire website for AI content in 1 click.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is generative AI?

Generative AI refers to AI systems that produce new content, most commonly in text format, but also for imagery and sound. 

How is generative AI improving productivity?

When used effectively, generative AI can greatly improve productivity by automating repetitive tasks, generating ideas, and allowing creators to focus on the writing aspect of their work.

What are some of the drawbacks of over-relying on AI for content creation?

Over-reliance on AI for content generation can lead to Google penalties, a lack of engagement with your audience, and a change in brand voice.

How does AI-generated content impact search engine rankings?

Poor quality AI-generated content can lead to brands getting penalized by search engines, resulting in lower rankings.