Why Authentic Storytelling Matters More than Ever in an AI World

AI is everywhere, and it is here to stay. In fact, most of us were using it well before it became the latest buzzword, think the auto-correct function on your phone or computer. As more people get comfortable using AI technology we will see more and more AI-generated text, image, video, and audio content being pumped out. AI is also getting cleverer by the day, so the ability to produce sophisticated content in seconds is making it harder to tell what is real and what isn’t. And this is where the challenge of using AI and creating authentic content occurs. So, the question is how do we take advantage of time-saving AI technology yet keep things real?

Now that the hype has settled, marketers and content creators are getting a clearer sense of how to make the most of this technology. It all comes down to retaining the authenticity of our humanness by not becoming reliant on the technology. AI may have its advantages, but it cannot replace the human-centred experience. The phrases, emotions, gestures and quirks that make us who we are. This is what writers, professional copywriters and content creators who are focused on creating authentic content understand.

If you are producing blog posts, creating website about me pages, captions for social media posts, and so forth you are creating content and AI is being promoted as the wonder tool to generate this content in seconds. The advantage of speed is what makes AI attractive. I mean who wants to spend 3 hours writing and editing a blog post when with a few prompts ChatGPT can give you a search engine-friendly 500-word article complete with sub-headings, examples and bullet points in under 3 seconds?

It sounds too good to be true, and while AI delivers what it has been created to do, on closer inspection it is the quality of ‘good’ and generic-sounding copy that concerns ethically-minded content creators. At the time of writing, AI can only pull and generate information from what already exists, based on what its creators and their algorithms have fed it. This means that whatever content an AI tool generates is already stale. And by using this content we are simply regurgitating the same content as every other user rather than creating our own fresh content.

In fact, Google, which has Gemini -its own AI tool- has updated its algorithm to reduce low-quality or unoriginal content showing up in search results by 40%, and that includes auto-generated content. (Google Blog) So if you are not careful using AI to create all your content could harm your content marketing efforts. Also, if you AI generate your content be aware that you may not own the copyright. This has the potential to create all sorts of future legal problems.

Does this mean you shouldn’t use AI? No, of course not. AI is a big help for creating content, and we admit that we do use it for ideas and prompts, but like with any powerful tool, you need to use it responsibly. That means:

Don’t just copy AND paste AI Text

Generating AI content is just the first step. Unless you want your brand to sound like a clone AI results need to be edited, fact-checked, re-written and given a ‘voice’ before the content is acceptable to use. This process can take hours, and by the time you’re done, the content is completely different to what you started with.

Use it for ideas and prompts

AI content generators work well as search engines. If you are stuck for ideas it can offer up suggestions that you can then use to craft your own authentic copy.

Whether or not you choose to use AI to create your content when it comes to crafting the stories about your work remember that AI is no substitute for the person behind the craft. So let’s Keep . It. Real and put in the time and effort to create our own authentically-us content.

– The Wonderfully Well Made Team

[Image credits: The image shown belongs to Karolina Grabowska via Pexels. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]