AI-Generated Content Market Can’t Replace Humans

Artificial intelligence (AI), or artificial intelligence, is the imitation of human intelligence by computers. AI was once a science fiction concept, but AI is now part of our daily lives. It is used in many ways that we may not realize, including digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa and facial recognition which allows us to access devices and smart household appliances.

Even more AI-powered writing is visible when Google (and others) complete sentences for us while we write emails.

What about AI-generated content marketing, however? Are machines capable of creating quality digital content that engages human customers?

The short answer is yes. It's complex.

It is clear that AI-generated content marketing writing has become more intelligent and “humaner” with each passing day. We have all likely read articles written by machines, at least partially, without realizing it.

However, if you ask Google and other content marketing industry professionals, we are still a long way from AI replacing human authors. Empathy is the X factor that AI-powered machine writers can't duplicate (and probably won't)

Companies can use AI-generated content marketing to improve their content strategies.

We'll be covering all aspects of AI-generated content marketing in the sections below. We'll cover:

• History and definition of AI-generated content marketing
• Google's view on AI-generated Content
• Why humans are still so crucial to content creation (and will continue to be)
• There are many ways to make AI-generated content work for you without compromising quality

Let's get started.

Quick Take-Aways

• OpenAI's GPT tool has seen a huge increase in AI-generated content marketing.
• Google categorizes AI-generated content as spam because it violates its Webmaster Guidelines.
• AI-generated content tools may sound human but cannot create brand personalities or empathy for customers.
• GPT and similar tools can be powerful in enhancing content creation strategies and strategies but they are not able to replace human writers.

AI-generated content: Definition and brief history

What is AI-generated Content?

AI-generated content, as its name implies, is content that has been created using AI-powered tools. AI-generated content is based on natural language generation (NLG), and mimics human writing by its ability to scan the internet looking for data (existing material) and summarise it in the same way as a human writer.

We have been hearing about AI-generated content marketing for a while, but it wasn't easy to grasp. OpenAI's Generative Pre-trained Transformer tool (GPT), was released in 2018. This changed everything. The GPT tool generates large volumes of AI-generated text with very little input.

Each version of GPT Tool brings new capabilities and higher intelligence. GPT-3 was the most significant release, as the tool saw its greatest leap in skill and accuracy.

Image Source: SEMRush

OpenAI's GPT tools evolve

GPT-1 demonstrated that AI-generated content can be made with zero-shot performance. This means the tool can classify data it hasn't seen in training models and then use it for tasks. GPT-2 added more parameters and a larger dataset to enhance its language processing capabilities, such as summarization and translation.

The GPT-3 model is more advanced than any of its predecessors because it has a massive size. It had more than 175 million parameters and was 100X more complex than GPT-2. It was able to create unique content that looks like it was written by a human, which gave it an unmatched ability.

This is a visual comparison of that number to other NLG tools.

Image Source: TechTarget

To give you an idea how advanced GPT-4 will be, it will feature 100 trillion parameters. Although it has not been released yet, it is expected to arrive sometime in 2022.

What does all this mean for us ordinary people who don't have any technical knowledge about AI?

Each GPT tool has essentially increased its knowledge base — the data it has stored, the variables it uses to draw conclusions and “learns” — and so the sophistication of the content it produces with each version.

It remains to be seen if it will ever reach the same level of sophistication as humans.

Google is a great place to start for information. Google is the master of content marketers' fates in many ways. It decides which ranking factors will position our content at the top SERPs, and it evaluates what we post with human-like ability. Google is most concerned about content that is human-first, as we all know.

John Mueller, Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst, put any doubts to rest with his recent Google SEO Hangout.

Let's see what he said.

Google's thoughts on AI-generated content

Google's SEO Hangout – A Recap

John Mueller's comments about AI-generated content were prompted by a question regarding his recent Reddit posts, in which he stated that creators shouldn't be using AI to create content.

Rohan Chaubey, Reddit Moderator, asked Mueller to elaborate on the topic. Mueller replied:

“[AI-generated content] would still, in essence, fall under the category of automatically generated contents. This is something we have had since the Webmaster Guidelines were inception. . . For us, using machine-learning tools to create your content is essentially the same thing as if we were just looking up synonyms or shuffling words around.

“My suspicion is that maybe the quality of content is a little bit better than the really old-school tools, but for us it's still automatically-generated content, and that means for us, it's still against the Webmaster guide. We would consider this spam.

Mueller answered the question “Is Google capable of recognising AI-generated content?”

“I cannot claim that. However, the web spam team can take appropriate action if they see that an item is automatically generated. While I am not sure how the future will unfold, I think there will be some cat-and mouse games, just like any other technology, where people may do something and get away with it. The web spam team then catches up and solves the problem on a larger scale.

“But from our recommendation, we still see it as automatically-generated content. . . . It's currently against the Webmaster Guidelines. From our perspective, it would be spam if it were discovered.

John Mueller's complete remarks on AI-generated content can be found in the video below at the 22 minute mark.

The Takeaway

This is a very clear position on this subject. This is not surprising considering that Google has always stressed the importance of putting the human audience first over any attempt to please the algorithm. This is why keyword stuffing has been so severely punished and why Google released guidelines such as E-A-T/YMYL, and the Page Experience update.

Google wants their users to have a positive online experience. Google believes that authentic content is created by humans. These comments indicate that this human element is not negotiable, and will not be soon, when it comes down to how Google evaluates content.

Empathy is the X factor in content marketing

GPT tools and others like them are so adept at creating content that sounds human-like, why shouldn't they be able to replace humans?

Empathy is the key to content marketing success.

Helping people is the ultimate goal of content marketing. Content solves problems and addresses needs. Before a user makes a purchase, it provides value.

It establishes a relationship that encourages people to learn more about your brand, and eventually, become paying customers. Because they know their lives will be better or easier because of it.

It is crucial to be able to empathize and understand users in this age of information overload.

AI-generated content marketing tools are able to assess all existing content and generate high-quality, (and yes, even human-sounding) content based upon what's available.

These tools can't get to know your customers or the nuance required to make content resonate with them. They can't understand your brand personality or the tone and voice that will make you unique. These are the tasks you still need humans for.

You risk publishing inaccurate, generic, or worse tone deaf content that isn't relevant to your audience.

These powerful tools can be used in a variety of ways to improve your content strategy and provide a starting point for your writers to create the content they need.

Let's look at four of these useful use cases.

Use AI-generated content marketing tools without compromising quality

Idea generation

GPT tools can help you generate ideas around topics that are important to your brand. You can provide the tool with some information such as focus keywords and ask it for blog titles or other ideas based on existing content on the internet.

AI-generated content marketing tools are a great way to achieve skyscraper content or edge out your competitors on certain topics.

Here's an example I made using the tool for content marketing blog post ideas. The simple query “List of blog posts ideas for keyword content marketing” can be seen at the top. It generated 10 ideas in less than a minute.

Image Source: Marketing Insider Group

First drafts

The GPT tool's ability to generate long-form texts is one area where I have found it lacking. Although it can produce content that is grammatically sound it doesn't have the same nuance as long-form content generated by a human.

This can be a useful tool to give writers a starting point, and ask them to build on the AI-generated draft by adding brand-specific content (like real examples or expert opinions on a topic).

Data curation

AI-generated content marketing tools are able to quickly search the internet for statistics about the topics you write about. This is what I got when I asked for “Listen to statistics on content marketing in SaaS”:

Image Source: Marketing Insider Group

This use case has one problem: the statistics don’t come with any sources. However, I was able easily to find the original sources of most stats using a Google search.

Editing

This may not be the most important use case, but word processors automatically correct grammar and spelling as you write. It is important to remember that the tool can be asked to modify text you have written. This takes only seconds.

To test it, I copied the intro to my blog post with some spelling mistakes. The tool picked them all.

Writer's block: Fighting

Human writers love the use of AI-generated content marketing tools that can help with writer's block. This is the dreaded feeling that comes with a blank page and a blinking cursor. To help you get started when writing on a topic, enter your keyword and/or title into the GPT tool. To get more ideas, you can enter the topic multiple times.

It all comes together

The big takeaway from AI-generated content marketing for 2022 and the future is that it should not be used as a substitute for human writers.

AI tools have the potential to generate new ideas and help brands understand their competitors' content better. They can't capture brand personalities, messages and audience needs. You run the risk of being ignored by search engine giants (AKA Google), and of losing your customers.

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