AI writing tools are starting to grow in popularity as the technology grows more sophisticated and easy to use. It can seem like a great way to save time, money and energy on creating content for your beauty brand, right?
Not necessarily. While AI can be a useful tool that can support content writing and help with inspiration, there are some issues to be aware of too.
I’ve tried a couple of AI writing tools, and read a lot about there use, and here’s what you need to know before you decide to solely rely on AI writing tools.
Google probably doesn’t like it
Google have updated their content guidelines to take into account experience as well as expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. This is in addition to the Google’s Helpful Content update that hit earlier in the year.
This means that Google will reward, rank and show content that its algorithm defines as trustworthy, valuable and with expertise/experience in the subject. It’s likely that this has been added to combat the rise in mass-produced AI content, as this could affect search experience.
While they haven’t specifically said, it’s likely that AI content will be affected by these changes. Particularly where content isn’t unique to just you and your brand. Keeping Google happy is important for SEO and continuing to appear in search results.
AI content isn’t always optimised
A big reason to create content for your website is search engine optimisation (SEO). AI tools aren’t always able to do this in a useful, meaningful way that doesn’t look spammy. Sure you can ask it to, and you can go back to edit, but it isn’t really a match for proper keyword research and well-written, researched content.
Plus as I’ve pointed out above, it sounds like Google are already onto it. It seems likely that they’ll be implementing some algorithms that can detect AI in the not-too-distant future (if they haven’t already).
Tools can only work with what you put in
While the technology is certainly more intuitive than it has been, it isn’t a mind-reader. You’ll need to have an idea of what you want to write, how you want it written and who it’s written for. Getting the brief right is just as important as it is for a human writer.
If you get it wrong, or you don’t have the right expertise to create briefs and guide the technology, then the output will be wrong too. This can get frustrating and lead to content that doesn’t align with your audience.
AI content is unlikely to be unique
AI content is being created by trawling the content that’s already out there. Whether it’s using synonyms, changing sentence structure or doing some other type of swap, it isn’t original content to start with.
Also, if you trial AI content tools and ask it to do a few similar pieces of content – say product descriptions for three skincare products – you’ll usually find that the intro and conclusion paragraphs are the same for each one. This can be tweaked or manually updated, but it just goes to show that the technology isn’t where it needs to be just yet.
You’re the expert
Experience, expertise and authority matter when it comes to content. If you’re an expert in your industry, brand or technology then it makes sense to utilise your skills and expertise in your content. And that isn’t something that AI can replicate. It can’t recreate your opinion, intuition and knowledge that comes from really knowing something inside out – like you do as the founder of your brand.
Take the opportunity to showcase your knowledge, add an extra layer to your content and raise your profile as an expert in your field. AI can’t hold a candle to you on that front. Nor can it capture your personality.
It’s an IP grey area
The AI tools you use are getting their ideas from somewhere. And that somewhere is content that already exists. While it isn’t copy and pasting or just spinning content, it is a grey area when it comes to intellectual property.
These tools are also trained using existing content, which may also include copyright data. While that isn’t your issue as the end user, it does pose questions about ethics and IP infringement.
AI content will still need edited
If you were hoping to type in a command and have an AI tool spit you out a perfect final version, then that isn’t the case. You absolutely will need to run through and edit the content to make sure it’s good to go. And while that sounds easier than writing, editing isn’t a skill that comes naturally to everyone at all.
And while it’s true with a human writer editing and changes are sometimes still needed at the end, by working with an expert content writer this will be a lot less.
Looking to work with a specialist beauty writer with experience in SEO, content and copywriting? Get in touch to find out how I can help you and your brand (no robots required).