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Whether you already have some knowledge of AI content or you are completely new to the subject, you are sure to find this guide of interest. In it, we take a comprehensive and in-depth look at AI content: what it is, how the software that generates it works, who is using it and what for, and what the future may hold.
What Is AI Content and How Does It Work?
AI content is any type of content created with software that relies on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This includes software such as ChatGPT, Jasper, WriteSonic, and other similar applications. At the time of writing, there is a growing number of such applications in various stages of development, as more and more people become interested in AI content.
The way in which AI content software works may vary slightly from one platform to another but they all use algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) to generate content that is intended to resemble human-created content. In addition to written content, some AI platforms also produce audio and audio-visual content, along with artwork.
Some AI content creation software utilises special deep learning technologies such as neural networks, which are pointed at large datasets of human-written content. These neural networks analyse all of the content to which they have access, then generate new content that follows similar patterns and structures to those it has discovered through its various analyses.
Some other types of AI content platforms use rules-based systems instead. These systems are designed to follow a set of predefined rules and guidelines when asked to generate any type of content. The type of rules that such a system follows will normally include rules based on grammar, syntax and various other linguistic and literary factors.
Whatever the precise nature of the technologies that a particular AI content platform may utilise, the primary goal is always the same: to produce content that is similar to the sort of content that humans create. There is also however, a secondary goal which is that it is a good source for garnering information on any subject matter in any desired format which can then be used as a first draft to be refined.
What are the limitations of using AI Content?
Despite recent advances, AI content software remains limited in a number of key areas:
- It is Unable to Create Completely Original Content – AI software is unable to create truly original content because it possesses no inherent creativity of its own. It can only mimic what it learns from content that was created by humans, or by other AI software in the past.
- It Repeats Inaccuracies – AI content creation platforms gather all of the facts they need from massive datasets taken from the Internet. Whilst this means that such platforms have access to a mind-boggling volume of information, it also means they are prone to repeating erroneous statements, especially if they are widespread. This means that AI platforms are not at all reliable when it comes to writing factually dense content.
- Can Be Out of Date – Unless the vast datasets that AI content creation software uses for research purposes are constantly updated, the content that this software creates will always, by necessity, be somewhat out of date, especially as far as content about current events is concerned.
The current version of ChatGPT, for example, is still working with data that it was fed in 2021, so it cannot be used to write factual content that relates in any way to events that have occurred in the past couple of years.
- Cannot Replace Human Writers (yet) – In its current form, AI content software is not quite ready to replace human content writers, for a very simple reason. The data that such software uses to create its content is pulled from online sources and is currently almost all human-written. However, if there were no human writers left, AI content creation software would eventually be continually rewriting what it had already written, producing ever less interesting versions of its previous content.
Now we have discussed how AI content works and looked at some of its weaknesses, let’s look at some of its strengths, i.e. some of the most innovative and interesting ways in which people all around the world are successfully using it right now.
What Are People Using AI Content For?
Although AI content software is still relatively immature when compared to conventional content creation software, the content it produces is already being used by people all over the world, for a variety of different purposes:
- New Content Creation – Some businesses and individuals are using new AI content on their websites instead of new human-written content.
- Content Optimisation – AI content software can analyse existing content and make suggestions as to how it can be improved based on your goals. These goals may include readability, SEO Content and visitor engagement.
- Chat Bots – Many online retailers use AI content software to interact with customers who contact them online. Known as chatbots, these applications can provide basic customer support by analysing the messages they receive and making suggestions based on the results of these analyses.
- Translation – AI content platforms are capable of producing human readable translations of a much higher quality than conventional translation software.
These are just a few of the ways in which businesses and individuals are currently using written AI content to their advantage. Others are also making use of the images and audio-visual content that more advanced platforms are capable of generating.
AI Content vs. Human Writers
There are pros and cons associated with both AI content and human-produced content:
- Advantages of AI Content vs. Humans – On the plus side for AI content software, it never calls in sick, it never complains about working too many hours a day and it will not waste time engaged in idle gossip at the water cooler. It is also capable of producing content at a much faster pace than even the most capable human writers.
- Disadvantages of AI Content vs. Humans – On the negative side, AI content is never completely original and, when trying to generate several similar pieces of content, it has a habit of making them too similar. In other words, it lacks the necessary creative skills to put a truly new spin on old content. It may be a wizard at rearranging and regurgitating what has already been written but it won’t be writing a Booker Prize-winning novel any time soon.
In summary, for speed and consistency, you may sometimes favour AI content. However, for creativity and new ideas, human writers are still well ahead.
What do Search Engines like Google think of AI Content?
In a nutshell, Google says it rewards high quality content regardless of how it’s produced. Providing the content demonstrates what Google labels E-E-A-T: (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) and is helpful to people, there is no reason why AI generated content cannot be uploaded and meet all Google requirements. However, it should be noted that every piece of AI generated content will need to be fact checked and edited so the time saving aspect of AI content v human written content may be negligible.
Our Thoughts at Phoenix Media
At the current time, we are continuing to use experienced human content writers to produce premium content for our clients across the globe. However, we are using tools like ChatGPT for a limited number of applications, such as helping to write sales captions for Facebook Advertising campaigns, reviewing existing content and providing suggestions for new content topics.
Looking forward to the future, we shall be keeping a close eye on the development of AI Content, especially on its development of its weaker areas such as creativity and nuanced critical analysis.
If you would like to discuss the content creation services we offer at Phoenix Media, feel free to reach out to us today.
