With the introduction of the AI service known as ChatGPT just a couple of years ago, the debate surrounding AI vs human content has been both popular and contentious. With students feeling tempted to use AI services to write their essays, the ongoing AI conflict within various parts of the entertainment industry, and the increasing popularity of AI art and content, it only makes sense that there is a similar debate surrounding the use of AI-generated content within digital marketing and content writing. The debate is a complex one.
AI SEO content is not necessarily bad and perhaps does hold some abilities that are not innate for a human content writer. Before reaching any hard and fast conclusions, though, it is important to consider the pros and cons of both AI and human writers in order to understand the ways that the two overlap and contrast.
Written Content
Before specifically diving into an analysis of AI vs Human Content, it is important to understand what sort of content writing can be accomplished by both parties. Written content can take on a lot of different forms, from blogs to social media posts to the text found on the front page of your website. Through a lens focused on digital marketing, all of these forms of content are important to maximizing your website’s SEO.
Content that is written specifically for SEO is curated with a lot of research and focus on elements like keywords and formatting. All different types of content writing could be accomplished by either human writers or could be the result of AI SEO content writing.
Keyword usage is a pivotal element of SEO that helps increase user traffic on your website. Keywords can be words or short phrases that people type into a search engine. The more of these keywords that you are able to integrate into your blog posts or into the informational pages of your website, the more likely you are to be featured as a top result. This will lead to more clicks and more traffic for your website.
It is important to really think through how you use your keywords; making them frequent but not distracting is a tricky line to walk. On the other hand, overcrowding your page with too many keywords could actually become a detriment to the algorithm you are working to please. Keywords are vital, but they must be used deliberately. Keyword research and use can also be done by either humans or by AI programs.
Blogs are an incredibly useful way to boost your SEO and develop content that you can eventually use as a jumping-off point into different forms of content. Posting new content to your website consistently and even on a set schedule will be to your benefit. With new material for people to read, and new keywords to utilize depending on the blog’s topic, you will be able to draw in more readers and create more traffic on your website. These are just two elements of content writing that can be accomplished by both humans and AI.
AI SEO Content
First and foremost, it is important to identify what exactly AI is, and what it can do for writing. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, and it is essentially a computerized program that is capable of learning and adapting to its surroundings or completing the tasks that it is assigned. An AI program can be fed a number of different materials and texts, and then produce a unique piece of content that draws on trends and information from the other pieces of writing.
Depending on what is fed to the program, an AI could create a piece of art, an advertisement, a screenplay, a text message, or any other form of written content that could be used for entertainment or marketing purposes. Some forms of AI are used to predict your next sentences, while others generate a piece of content entirely on their own.
When paired with SEO writing, AI can certainly be very helpful. Connected to the right algorithms, an AI can help you stay on top of keyword research and integrating the most effective phrases into your writing in order to increase traffic to your website.
This is one of the efficiencies of AI, versus human content writers who will take longer to do the necessary research. Writing with SEO in mind is a constantly changing process that requires you to be in tune with algorithms and be constantly attentive to your own page. AI can do those things for you, and very often can do them well.
On the other hand, however, AI is not always the perfect or easiest solution. There are a lot of criticisms put towards AI SEO content and AI-generated content as a whole. While AI does learn from the sources it is fed, it is also sometimes prone to fabricating stories or evidence to support its claims.
It is not a reliable fact-checker on its own and often requires another set of eyes to ensure the information is correct. It is also sometimes considered boring because it does not have a personal, human touch. Because of these factors and others, AI content often requires heavy amounts of editing from the human eye, which might take just as long, if not longer, than having a human write the content in the first place.
Human Content
On the other side of the AI vs Human Content debate is, of course, the side of human content. One of the more obvious arguments for why content should be written by actual human beings is the fact that AI takes these jobs away from people who are not only capable of doing them, but also need them, financially speaking.
Additionally, as stated above, AI programs can often be faulty, and create content that needs to be heavily edited. Instead of needing to hire people to correct work written by an AI, make the process shorter and more streamlined by simply hiring people to write the articles to begin with.
Having humans write content is also beneficial simply because it is easier to communicate with people and have them understand exactly what you are looking for. When you outsource your writing to professional writers who are human beings, you are able to clearly communicate to them what you are trying to achieve in not only the articles or blogs they write for you, but also what you are looking to achieve as a business. If there is any confusion, they can ask clarifying questions to gain a better understanding.
If you find anything within their work that does not quite align with the mission you are trying to convey, you can always explain it to them. A human writer can investigate your business and learn more about your voice as a company, and pair that successfully with professional and commanding language.
Written content that is produced by a human is also going to benefit your business because it will come with a fresh perspective. With the research that your writer or writers will be doing, they will be able to offer new insight into what your website or your business might be lacking. Perhaps they will be able to offer up better or more efficient keywords to utilize for your SEO, or they might suggest some formatting or blogging edits in order to make your website more streamlined and easy to read. When hiring someone to work on your website for you, you are actively hiring people who have been well trained and are capable of doing the work for themselves. There is a sense of reliability that comes from trained professionals that an AI cannot always offer to the same extent.
Is Either One Actually Better?
While AI-written content is not perfect, it does not necessarily mean that AI should be completely pushed aside. In fact, instead of being so focused on AI vs Human Content, perhaps it is more constructive to focus on the ways that AI can support human-written content and make all of us better writers. Grammarly, to use a real-world example, centers its brand around creating an AI that helps people become stronger writers for all sorts of different projects and purposes. They commit themselves to responsible AI that does not replace human writers but rather focuses on supporting them.
AI is not perfect, and often faulty when it comes to creating content that is factual and draws from reliable sources. Human writers are also not perfect, and can always make mistakes of their own. Working in tandem, though, will very likely be the best way to move forward with SEO and content writing. This is an excellent goal to have for all AI and human interactions; embrace new technology, but also let the human mind excel.
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