AI vs. Human Content Creation (How to Strike the Right Balance)

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in content creation has been nothing short of revolutionary. Go back just three years and it’s unlikely that you were using AI in your content strategy. Now, for many businesses, it’s hard to imagine not using it in some way – and this is while AI is still in its infancy, so imagine how we might use it in the future.

From AI-powered chatbots to sophisticated content generation tools, we now have access to technology that can produce articles, social media posts, and even marketing copy at an astonishing speed (quite literally, seconds!).

It’s easy to get carried away by the speed and ease of AI content generation, but we mustn’t forget the power of human creativity. These days, the best content strategies harness the best bits of both.

The strengths of AI-generated content

AI can generate large volumes of content in minutes, making it ideal if your business needs quick turnaround times or you want to publish new blog articles or social media posts on a super-regular basis.

And this speed means that AI content creation costs a fraction of the price of hiring a human content creator. There’s no denying that, suddenly, businesses are able to consider high-frequency publishing, even with a limited budget.

In addition, many AI tools integrate keyword research and on-page SEO suggestions, potentially helping businesses improve their search rankings.

The limitations of AI-generated content

As mind-blowing and convenient as AI tools can be, AI-generated content is generally pretty easy to spot.

AI-generated copy, for example, tends to be formulaic, too perfect, bland, even. It lacks the emotional spark and nuanced storytelling that a human writer brings to the table. Yes, you can brief an AI tool to mimic your preferred brand voice or feed it story details, but it will usually still struggle to consistently capture a unique tone and personality or to tell a story that really strikes an emotional chord.

Ultimately, many AI tools are working from the same data sources or learning from a pool of content that’s generated by their own users. This means you can end up with middle-of-the-road content, the average of all the source data. There’s a very real danger of sounding exactly like everyone else, rather than having a unique voice to stand out from the crowd.

And while AI-generated images and videos are impressive (some more than others!), they usually have some obvious flaws that give them away – check out these AI picture fails on Bored Panda if you don’t believe me 😊

Did you know too that Al can hallucinate facts?! These inaccurate or misleading results – known as AI hallucinations – are typically the result of insufficient training data, inaccurate assumptions made by the model, or biases in the data used to train the AI tool. We have to remember that AI is a human creation, therefore it includes human errors, omissions, prejudices, and misunderstandings.

This means that all AI-generated content should be meticulously fact-checked and edited to include links to high-quality sources.

AI hallucinations highlight that AI is only as good as the data it’s built on, but it lacks real-world experience, making it less effective for content that requires deep subject matter knowledge or expert insights.

The strengths of human-generated content

This leads me to where humans excel. For all the apparent magic and marvel of AI, it continues to need a human touch to truly shine.

Human content creators bring a level of emotional intelligence that AI lacks. Yes, it does an excellent job of mimicking human thoughts and feelings but dig a little deeper and the content can be shallow, even if it can be hard to put a finger on why it reads that way.

As humans, we can put ourselves in the audience’s place and create content that calls to them in some meaningful way. Indeed, humans have been learning how to tell stories for at least 30,000 years, sharing experiences through compelling narratives, humour, personal insights, and cultural references. Ultimately, AI struggles to replicate this inherent wisdom.

And because human creators have this age-old, instinctive knowledge, they understand how to tailor content so that it fully aligns with a brand’s personality, values, and mission.

With so much noise in the marketplace, you need to stand out as unique and memorable to potential customers – and the only way to do that is to inject more of your voice into your content, not less of it.

The limitations of human-generated content

Of course, there’s no denying that creating content the old-fashioned (i.e. human) way takes time. There’s usually a process of research, editing, and creative refinement behind the scenes, which can be as, if not more, time-consuming as creating the content itself.

We humans have dips in energy and days when creative blocks hit hard, whereas AI can power on regardless.

And because of the time, energy, and experience needed for humans to create great content, there’s a financial cost to businesses. Skilled writers and content strategists require investment, making human-generated content more expensive than AI-assisted alternatives.

For businesses with a small budget for content, it makes sense that AI tools are so appealing.

How AI can support business owners

AI can do a solid, if slightly uninspiring job, of creating content, but its offerings tend to be fairly generic. Businesses need to consider what this might mean for their reputation or identity within the marketplace.

In my experience, AI-generated content usually needs more personality and differentiation, less jargon, and more emotion and urgency. It needs to be benefit-driven rather than service-driven, and it doesn’t always get that right – even with great prompts.

The most successful approach is to view AI as a powerful tool to support human creators – a jumping-off board rather than the endpoint.

AI tools can be exceptional for:

• Brainstorming & idea generation: AI can help in developing topic ideas, creating outlines (much like I did for this post!), and spotting gaps in content – in this way, it’s the ultimate antidote to writer’s block.
• AI-assisted drafting: If you are going to use AI to generate content, use it for a first draft that a human writer can refine and improve, not least with your business’s unique voice.
• SEO optimisation: In many ways, AI is simply another SEO tool that can help you to conduct keyword research to find high-ranking search terms to incorporate into your content. It’s excellent for gathering information that a human expert can use to develop a campaign unique to your business.
• Content repurposing: AI can help you make the most of your content (and budget) by summarising long-form text into digestible snippets – for example, turning blog posts into social media updates, email newsletters, or video scripts.

AI + Human: A balanced approach

When we do come across great AI-generated content – check out these fantastic videos, for example – it’s significant that the concept and creative brief have come from a human team.

It’s these humans who will push the capabilities of AI – and themselves. AI doesn’t inherently have that drive, that curiosity or need for self-improvement.

This is why the most effective content marketing strategy blends AI’s efficiency with human creativity.

To strike the right balance, businesses should consider:

• Using AI for efficiency: AI can handle data-heavy reports, first drafts, and content repurposing to save time.
• Human-led refinement: Writers should edit and refine AI-generated content to enhance the quality, coherence, and originality. This should be approached with caution. Some writers aren’t great editors (that’s why they are traditionally different job roles), so it’s vital to still give your human writers some creative freedom and space to develop your brand voice.

An alternative, but often equally effective approach, is to use AI as an editor further into the creative process.

• Fact-checking: Since AI can make errors (hallucinated facts are surprisingly common), you should always have a human fact-checker who doublechecks and references every claim. Ideally, your content should link to reputable sources for information. While you can ask AI tools to provide their sources, the results are still hit-and-miss.
• Maintaining brand voice: Human creativity ensures that all of your content aligns with the company’s messaging and audience expectations. Creating this consistency can be a subtle and instinctive thing, but it’s a clear human strength.

Google’s Guidelines on AI Content

Google wants to give its customers the best possible answer to a search query. As a result, the search engine has clarified that AI-generated content is not inherently problematic — provided it is high-quality, helpful, and original.

If you do decide to use AI to generate content, either entirely or to help your human team, be sure to focus on:

• E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Content should reflect real-world experience, expert knowledge, and credible sources.
• Quality over quantity: AI content must be edited and enhanced to meet Google’s standards for valuable, user-focused content.
• Avoiding spammy tactics: Low-quality, unedited AI content may be penalised, so it’s vital to prioritise quality and relevance. Google says, “If you see AI as an inexpensive, easy way to game search engine rankings, then no (don’t use it)”.

Best practices for using AI in content creation

To get the best results from AI, these are best practices to follow:

1. Use clear, detailed prompts

With AI tools, the better the prompt, the better the output. Many business owners don’t realise this.

Here are some examples of good vs. bad prompts:

Social media posts

A bad prompt would be: Write an Instagram post about my bakery.

The prompt is bad because it doesn’t mention what the post should focus on, who the audience will be, or what the purpose of the post is.

I tried this prompt in ChatGPT, and it did a fair job of creating a post with no information, but the output is fairly bland:

A better prompt would be: Write a fun and engaging Instagram caption for my bakery, highlighting a new seasonal pumpkin spice cupcake. The tone should be warm and inviting, and the post should include a call to action encouraging customers to visit this weekend.

This focuses on a specific product to promote, the tone of voice, and a call to action – i.e. what people should do after seeing the post.

The suggested post would still need some editing (look out for Americanisms!) but it has a specific message and far more energy than the “bad prompt” output, so it gives a better starting point.

Blog post ideas

A bad prompt would be: Give me blog post ideas for my dog grooming business.

This prompt is so broad that the results are bound to be generic and possibly irrelevant to the business.

A better prompt would be: Suggest five blog post ideas for a mobile dog grooming business that specialises in natural and organic pet care. The topics should focus on educating dog owners and positioning the business as an expert.

This highlights the business type (mobile dog groomer), the unique selling point (organic products), and the purpose of the blog ideas (to build authority, educate dog owners).

Writing a blog post

A bad prompt would be: Write a blog about fitness.

Again, this is far too broad. What area of fitness? Who is the audience? How does the business connect to fitness?

A better prompt would be: Write a 1,000-word blog post on ‘5 Easy At-Home Workouts for Busy Professionals.’ The tone should be friendly and encouraging, and each workout should require minimal equipment. End with a call to action inviting readers to sign up for my free workout guide.

As we can see, this narrows down the topic to something that’s clear and relevant. The prompt highlights the audience, the tone of voice, and the desired call to action.

Email marketing

A bad prompt would be: Write an email to my customers.

As with the other examples, this prompt is too broad for anything usable to come from it. Who are the customers? What does the business want to promote? Why will the customers care?

A better prompt would be: Write a warm and engaging email to my subscribers announcing a new handmade candle collection. Highlight the eco-friendly materials, mention a 10% launch discount, and include a CTA to shop the collection on my website.

Other scenarios

The advice above applies to any conceivable prompt that you might give AI, whether you want it to draft a story, generate a brand image, compile a report, suggest hashtags for a campaign, produce a TikTok script, or more.

If you’re in doubt about whether your prompt is good enough, you can even ask your chosen AI tool to improve it for you! Here’s an example:

2. Always edit and fact-check

As we’ve seen, AI-generated content isn’t always correct because it’s working from data that may have errors, biases, or omissions. AI looks for patterns on which to base assumptions, but this means it can jump to conclusions.

Something I’ve noticed is that AI tools may even give a source for a claim, but when you read the source, it’s clear that AI has inferred a meaning based on context rather than quoting an explicit statement.

For the sake of your business’s reputation and the hard-earned trust of your customers, it is vital to always check AI-generated content for accuracy.

3. Add personal insights and expertise

Human perspectives, case studies, and anecdotes make content more memorable, interesting, trustworthy, and relatable. One business coach I follow regularly uses stories about her rescue chickens to illustrate her advice, while another shares the lessons learned from the great love of her life – tennis! I might not personally share their passions, but each analogy brings their marketing advice to life.

What could you include in your content that is unique to you and/or your business?

4. Maintain brand voice and authenticity

AI should support your brand’s messaging rather than dictate it. Make sure your prompts always reflect your brand’s voice and values and that you edit and refine whatever the AI generates until it feels right.

If you find it hard to edit someone else’s work (even if that “someone” is an AI tool), you could always create your own content and ask AI how you can strengthen the messaging or tone for your audience.

5. Use AI as a tool, not a replacement

AI can enhance content creation by being a sounding board, offering a different perspective, or providing a jumping-off point for new ideas. I tend to use it as another search engine or research tool.

“Tool” is the important definition here. AI can be an impressive tool to support human creativity, but it isn’t close to being a replacement. Now, more than ever, we need unique voices.

Conclusion

The future of content marketing isn’t AI versus humans – it’s AI plus humans. AI brings speed and efficiency, yes, but it cannot replace the creativity, emotional intelligence, and expertise that only humans have.

Think of AI as your helpful assistant – it can speed up content creation and take care of the heavy lifting, but the real magic happens when you add your human touch. Your expertise, personality, and understanding of your audience turn a decent piece of content into something truly valuable. When you blend AI efficiency with human creativity, you get content that not only ranks well on Google but also connects with people in a meaningful way.

Striking the right balance between AI efficiency and human creativity is the key to success in modern content marketing.

Your content should be unique, engaging, and on-brand – AI can help, but a human touch makes it shine. Need help to craft content that is not only helpful to visitors and search-friendly but truly connects? Get in touch with me here.

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