The short answer: In the current version – no.
Replacing a copywriter with a computer is not a simple task. A good copywriter does a lot more than write text. Anyone can write text but a copywriter can take a complex topic and break it down into words that anyone can understand.
How AI works
AI is different. AI has learnt what it knows from previously written documentation. This means you will not get anything new and different from AI. This is fine if you don’t want new and different, but Google loves original work and something that is not just a rehash of content that already exists will perform a lot better in the search engine result pages than anything ChatGPT can create.
This does not mean AI, like ChatGPT, doesn’t have a place in the world and it certainly doesn’t mean these tools can not help with copywriting. ChatGPT is amazing for research and can cut down the time your copywriter spends reading about a topic to truly understand what they are writing about.
I am picking on ChatGPT here as it is the new kid on the block getting all the hype but it is not the only tool around. AI from copy.ai has been claiming to replace the copywriter for a few years. There is a reason this hasn’t taken off and there is a reason copywriters are still among some of the highest-paid freelancers around. It all comes down to how AI works.
AI at its core is a predictive technology leaning on a very large database of knowledge and past searches. By recognising patterns and understanding language AI can predict what you want next and produce content that follows the pattern to answer your question. With the knowledge of language, AI technologies can summarise vast amounts of knowledge into a concise answer for you but none of this will work with the knowledge first being written.
Why a copywriter is still needed
As we have already touched upon, with a copywriter first writing the content AI has nothing to learn from. Secondly, a copywriter will always outperform AI in search results pages when they are properly trained in SEO copywriting. But there are other reasons a professional content writer is needed for business.
Your business is unique, let’s admit it you have said this a thousand times in your marketing copy. Shouldn’t a truly unique business have its own tone of voice and ways of using language to help its customers understand why it is different from the competition and has unique content?
We have covered in the past how content marketing is the start of a whole lot more than just a blog post and can be the centre pin of your marketing operations. This same content can also be the centre of your sales tools as well.
Now you would never let AI take over your sales staff. You would tell me, Matt you are crazy, sales is a people thing. And you would be right. I am here to tell you that marketing is also a people thing. Marketing is the start of sales, without marketing your sales team is left with cold outreach and no pre-warmed leads to contact. Marketing makes sales easier.
Conclusion
So, can AI replace your copywriter? No, it can help them produce better content in less time but it can not replace them. Replacing a member of your marketing team with a robot is just as bad as replacing your sales team with AI – you would never do it.
It is not just a case of the technology not being ready yet, the technology will never be ready and this is down to the way AI tools like ChatGPT work. It will always need copywriters to write the source material that it uses to learn from.
