When it comes to getting your brand out there, content is still king. Everything from blog posts to social media updates can be considered content businesses publish to engage with their audiences.

But as the business landscape gets more competitive, the demand for content rises. Keeping up with the demand is already a tall order. But, adding the need to maintain quality and brand consistency can make creating content that works even more challenging, especially when doing everything from scratch.

Fortunately, today’s digital world doesn’t just bring additional workload and mounting expectations. It also provides tools that help us work more efficiently and effectively, like Artificial Intelligence (AI). Let’s look into how AI, specifically AI writing tools, can help marketers create quality content.

What is AI writing?

You may be familiar with ChatGPT, a generative AI tool launched by OpenAI in 2022. It’s a popular tool for the general public. People use this in different ways, ranging from more formal output like corporate emails to more humorous ones like asking it to tell a joke or a funny story.

But ChatGPT is just one of the many AI writing tools out there. Most use similar tech like natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to produce text-based output. They analyze data from various sources to formulate a response to the prompt a user inputs.

AI writing tools can be a valuable tool for content marketers. They can use their AI writer of choice to generate content for various purposes, including blog posts, social media captions, product descriptions, and more.

Benefits of AI writing

Knowing how to use artificial intelligence for writing can help you reap several benefits, including:

• Time-saving: With the right prompts, AI writing can generate content quickly so that you can save time and resources.
• Consistency: When you are familiar with how to use AI writer features like tone and writing style customization, you can consistently produce on-brand content. This helps solidify your brand’s voice and improve brand recall.
• Cost-effective & scalable: Outsourcing content writing, increasing the hours of current writers, or adding new ones to your team will all require additional resources. But with AI, you can scale up your content creation efforts without overshooting your budget.

Make the most out of the AI movement with an AI prompt engineer. Learn more about this and other virtual assistant services by booking a free consultation with our Growth Experts.

What can AI tools do for content marketers?

Marketers can use AI tools as their partners in developing ideas and writing content. Here are some practical applications of AI in the content marketing field:

Brainstorming topics

If you’re stuck or just need a little push to kickstart your brainstorming, you can use AI to help. Generative AI tools have the ability to go through large datasets, including trends and web user behavior, to find relevant topics you can cover.

Finding new angles

Using suitable prompts can help uncover fresh perspectives and content ideas you can build on. AI tools can suggest different ways to revamp your content marketing efforts—partnered with fact-checking and research, of course.

Creating content outlines

You can use AI generators to create outlines you can use for written content such as blog posts and ebooks. They use information from across the web to craft what they find to be the most apt flow for your chosen topic. Don’t fret if it doesn’t provide exactly what you’re looking for. You can always ask the tool to generate a new one or tweak the original outline.

Generating complete drafts

AI writing tools can also be used to generate complete drafts. If you need keyword-optimized articles, you can also add this requirement to your prompt before asking your AI writer to start generating. This can be great for teams looking to increase their capacity.

However, content marketers should not be quick to post. They need to review and edit the drafts as needed, making sure it’s void of grammatical errors and inaccuracies. Another important lookout should also be ensuring that the content follows internal guidelines and is consistent with the brand’s voice. In a sense, AI tools can help with increasing the quantity. But in the end, humans (or, in this case, content marketers) are the ones responsible for ensuring quality.

An AI Content Writer virtual assistant (VA) can help ensure the quality of your AI-generated articles. Book a free consultation call for more information.

Tips for Using AI to Write Content

While AI writing tools can be a valuable asset for businesses, it’s essential to use them responsibly and correctly to get the best results. Here are some tips on how to use AI for content writing effectively:

Choose the right AI writing tool and features

According to Francis-Xavier Pierrel, Chief Data Officer at JCDecaux, “AI is a game-changer. But [it didn’t start] last month or six months before. We’ve been doing AI for a long time.” The main difference is that Open AI and other key players have made generative AI more accessible and user-friendly. This is why such tools are becoming more and more widespread.

There are several AI writing tools available in the market, each with its unique features and capabilities. It’s crucial to choose the right tool for your specific needs. Some tools are excellent for SEO content writing, while others are better suited for generating copies for social media updates or product descriptions. It’s essential to identify your goals and choose a tool that can help you achieve them.

If your focus is on creating content like blog posts, make sure to find tools with the following features:

• Outline builder: An outline builder function can help you organize your thoughts and add structure to your content before you even write it. Your AI writing tool should be able to scour the web and suggest the most suitable and logical flow for your written content. Having this feature can help you save time and craft a more coherent and easy-to-follow piece.
• Grammar checker: Grammar checkers help avoid grammatical and spelling errors that you may have missed when manually checking your work. This is a must-have feature not just to avoid embarrassing mistakes but to make your content seem more polished and professional.
• Plagiarism checker: A plagiarism checker can be used to ensure you release unique content. It also helps maintain the integrity of your brand while avoiding potential legal issues.
• Tone customization: Different types of content may call for different tones. This can depend on the topic, target audience, and, of course, your brand’s personality. Using an AI writer with a tone customization feature, you can easily nail your preferred tone and stay consistent with your efforts.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is crucial if you want to rank higher in search engine results pages or SERPs and increase traffic. An AI writing tool that is integrated with an SEO function can be a content writer’s best friend. It can suggest relevant keywords and make recommendations (e.g., blog post length, secondary keywords, etc.) on how to make your content more discoverable.

Maximize your AI writing tools with an AI Content Writer virtual assistant! Book a free consultation call to learn more.

Edit and proofread

Regardless of whether you’re using a paid or free tool, editing and proofreading are a must. While AI writing tools can generate content in mere seconds, it’s up to the content marketer or writer to edit, proofread, and fact-check. 

Make sure to catch any errors or inconsistencies before publishing. Doing so helps ensure that the content is of the highest quality. Another benefit of editing and proofreading AI-generated content? You can make the output more personalized and tailored to your brand’s specific needs. AI writers already sound human-like. But it wouldn’t hurt to integrate the perspective of an actual human, especially from someone who truly knows your brand and the topic being discussed.

Use AI writing as a starting point not the endgame

AI-generated content can serve as your starting point. It can help you build an outline for your article or suggest ideas for content topics. 

Don’t rely entirely on AI writing tools. Instead, use it as a supplement. An aid that can help highlight your writing skills and expertise. Don’t forget to inject your own unique insights and perspectives. These are what Neil Patel describes as “that little extra thing that makes your content unique that you wouldn’t get from AI.” Adding your own touch to what AI tools have suggested helps create more authentic content instead of an article that looks and sounds similar to what you can already find online.

Key Considerations for using AI to write content

While AI writing tools can be a valuable asset for businesses, there are some key considerations to keep in mind when using them.

Quality vs. Quantity

One of the main concerns with AI writing is the trade-off between quality and quantity. While AI writing tools can generate a large volume of content quickly, the quality may not always be up to par. That’s when your talent and expertise come in.

Watch out for red flags. Most AI writing tools are near-perfect and very human-like. But they can sometimes tend to be repetitive. They also have a tendency to invent facts. Finding and correcting mistakes and inconsistencies are crucial in maintaining the quality of your content. 

Cost

While AI writing tools can save businesses time and resources, they do come at a cost. Some tools offer free trials or limited features, while others require a subscription or one-time payment. It’s essential to consider the cost and weigh it against the potential benefits before investing in an AI writing tool.

Human Touch and Real-life Experiences

In an effort to create vast amounts of content, it can be easy to lose touch with what makes your writing you. But the rise of AI only makes the human touch and real-life experiences that much more valuable.

Gail Heimann, Weber Shandwick CEO, emphasizes how the proliferation of AI and tech in general makes the human touch that much more valuable. During the 2023 Web Summit in Rio, she sees that there will be a trend of “going back to the essence of what is human, going back to understanding values and using that as the foundation.”

Even when you’ve perfected your prompts and found a way to make AI-written text as human-like as possible, don’t forget to share your nuanced thoughts and real-life experiences. Doing so can help make your content truly yours. It also helps make it more relatable and unique. Generative AI may have access to everything that’s online now, but it can’t replicate your own experiences and expertise.

Ethical Issues

Generative AI is not completely new, but compared to the tools we’re used to, it is still evolving. Organizations and governments are still studying the ethical impact of using such a human-like tool in business, policy-making, and education.

It’s clear that, just like any technology, there should be clear guardrails for AI. But while those guardrails are still being developed and discussed, it’s up to you, the user, to both protect and police yourself.

Make sure that you are using AI responsibly. Do your due diligence to research and fact-check to avoid spreading misinformation. Use existing tools like plagiarism and grammar checkers to ensure quality. And, of course, make sure that everything you publish is aligned with your personal and company values.

Conclusion

An AI writing tool can be a valuable asset for businesses looking to create high-quality content quickly and efficiently. By following the tips and key considerations outlined in this article, businesses can use AI writing effectively and achieve their content marketing goals. With the right AI writing tool and skilled content writers, you can create engaging and personalized content that resonates with your target audience.

The most important thing to remember is that when it comes to using AI for content writing, or any other process for that matter, the responsibility still falls upon the user. AI tools can master the “quantity,” but the quality and integrity of the output should always be your top priorities.

Learn more about how to use AI to write articles more effectively with an AI Content Writer VA. Book a free consultation call with our Growth Experts for more information.