Features | January 31, 2023

AI-Driven Content Generation: A Primer

By Alyssa Alford

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a technology created to imitate human intelligence in subjects such as thought, decision making, language, creativity and even emotion. This technology has revolutionized the way many create, edit and publish content, and we’re just on the precipice of what AI will make possible.

You may have noticed the recent increase in popularity of AI content generation, as it has taken social media by storm. From DALL-E to Chat GPT, influencers are posting incredibly inspirational use cases for this new technology. On the flipside, many are calling out the dangers of such a technology, warning of the potential for AI to make some roles obsolete.

As potential business uses for AI unfold, many companies are turning to this technology to increase the efficiency of content generation for marketing campaigns. It’s become incredibly easy to ask a computer to generate emails, articles, blogs or imagery, saving hours of labor. Beyond the time you save creating content, inserting AI into the creative process also mitigates typical typographical and grammatical errors, further shortening the editorial cycle.

AI Content Generation for Business

AI has tremendous potential within the workplace — and we’re not just talking about future possibilities. AI-generated content is already being leveraged by tens-of-thousands of businesses, and the number is growing exponentially. Companies just like yours are already using AI to help them with the following tasks:

Generating unique artwork and imagery
Creating websites
Authoring blogs and new articles
Developing documentation
Authoring emails
Writing complex scripts and code for software applications
Chat and conversational customer assistance
Report generation

As our understanding and experience with AI develops, the uses for it continue to expand. Over the next couple of years, using AI in your business will become a commonplace activity. If you’re not using AI yet, don’t be surprised if you find yourself exploring uses for it in the near future.

AI will only provide exactly what you ask of it. If you ask a program to “draft an article about the rising cost of paper in North America,” its response might return fairly bland and robotic, to be honest. If you want content that’s richer and more captivating, your instructions must be clear.

**Is It Really That Intelligent?**

On the surface, AI seems too good to be true. Is it really as simple as “ask the computer and ye shall receive?” Well, that’s partially true, but a creative approach is key.

If you ask it something like “draft a 5-paragraph article about the rising cost of paper in North America, using a semi-casual voice, citing examples and quotes from experts, providing examples, links and references,” you may receive output more closely related to your desired goal. It may take several revisions to get that shiny new article you’re craving.

Despite the fear this technology may someday replace the need for writers and content experts, AI is nowhere near being able to intelligently and meticulously create content with the same freedom as the human mind. These programs need ideas, information and other human input to function. Some writers have actually found AI to be a useful tool in their work. AI-written content can spur inspiration, save time and make the writing process easier in the long run.

The Disadvantages

Although grammatical errors are typically reduced by AI writing, most programs do not have the ability to provide accurate or up-to-date information on your topic of choice. Emotion and tone — two necessary keys to keeping your audience engaged — may also be lacking in AI-written content. Be prepared to correct such errors, edit for readability and provide research if needed for your project.

Some AI writing tools may use plagiarized content, so it’s imperative that you double-check any text through a plagiarism checker before releasing it to the public. It’s very possible that some of the content generated for you came from an internet source or even copyrighted material the AI used to assimilate your answer. Be sure the AI platform you choose is truly equipped and programmed to write original content.

How Do I Get Started?

It’s easier to leverage AI than you might think. Consider checking out Chat GPT. Start by asking it to write you an article on your favorite subject. Explore asking creative questions and see how it replies. After a few tries, you’ll see how incredibly simple it can be.

While we could have mentioned this at the beginning of this article, we must confess the entirety of this article was generated by AI — Chat GPT, to be precise. Only a few edits were made to the content of this article to provide clarity and more direct correlation with the reader.