I Used AI for 30 Days and Here’s What I Found…or Lost

Before I can wholeheartedly endorse or condemn AI, I decided to use it. Use it like other people use it. True, AI capacity for churning out copy and content has left me with some time on my hands. As a writer, I’ve been replaced more than once by a bot, an intern, or some combination.

Full disclosure: I've used the robot for a few things here and there. It helps me understand a contract or the results of my MRI, but not for writing. Certainly not for any writing pieces that I plan on charging a client for.

As I mentioned, I decided to commit to the bot for a period so I can make some decisions about how to proceed with or against it. I did not use it for any client work without first obtaining full disclosure and agreement from the client. I also used it for a few past assignments to see what I got.

So here goes. Read to see what I learned and what I lost. This little ditty was 100% human-composed and spell-checked by an app.     

Voice

If you've spent any time branding, you know that maintaining a consistent voice is key. AI doesn't really give a shit about your voice. And even the best prompts can't guarantee your voice is coming through.

Even when I asked AI to model new content after the examples I provided, it doesn’t quite get it right. It’s like asking for a steak medium rare and getting it just on the edge of that. It knows what steak is, but doesn’t have the skill to get it just right.

In one instance, the prompt I wrote was more well-received than the content that the AI produced (prompting a client to ask, "Do we need AI?"). Am I the best writer ever? No. But I pay attention; I've learned how to write in a client's voice, and my human brain can do better. So, take that.

Connection

The lure of AI is its efficiency. I get it - saving money and time is a great benefit. Who wouldn't like that? For this experiment, I would arm the bot with clear, well-written prompts and some examples of the content voice. I turned it in to the client without proofreading or editing. Yes, they were aware of the situation. The results? I was informed that this wasn’t my best work. And, among the criticisms, "it's ok but it's a departure from our usual." It was not a hit.

So, think about that for a sec. It was fast and affordable, but it did not resonate with your current and future audience, so it's essentially worthless.

For the record: I did a rewrite using the AI piece as an outline. This didn’t save us any time or money.

The lesson: Good enough is not really good enough anymore. Put quality over quantity, and it’ll pay off.

Authenticity

Directly related and likely overlapping with your authentic tone is your voice and connection. Authentic content is crucial for establishing trust with your audience. Do you think anyone would have taken the time to traverse the entire internet to land on your site and read content that you got for free? I doubt it. You gotta be real.

As much as I tried, the AI tools that I used could not come close to mimicking an “authentic” voice. Makes sense, right? As a tool without memory or lived human experience, it stands to reason that AI would stumble over the authenticity hurdle.  

Critical Thinking

Not to be too dramatic, but as I turned to AI for assistance in writing content, something happened to my brain. I didn’t have to think. There is really no critical thinking involved in tapping out a simple prompt and waiting for your words to appear. Part of writing – sometimes the BEST part – is gathering information, understanding other perspectives, drawing conclusions, and creating coherent thoughts on the page. I'm not willing to compromise critical thinking to save time or money.  

I think we should turn to automation to do the stuff you hate to do, not the fun stuff. And – this part is not my opinion - MIT has just published results about what using AI is doing to your brain. And it's not good news. Thinking for yourself shouldn’t be optional.

Privacy and Copyright

I have some questions about AI and privacy. If I ask the bot to write my website, who owns that content? Me or the bot? And, will it be using the content I asked to create for others? And, there is no agreement from anyone about this point. From Reddit to Quora, and to insurance companies and law firms, opinions are split on ownership and copyright. I say "opinions" because I couldn't find any case law or facts to support them.

To put it simply, I'm carefully navigating these issues, as a misstep could cost a client.

Credibility

If AI is alluring because it can produce content quickly, you should be using the time you save to check facts. On more than one occasion, the bot-generated content included statements that were inaccurate or just plain not true. Initially, I uploaded my resume and asked for it to be tweaked. It added a bunch of skills I don't have and more things that didn't make sense. I have also heard from colleagues that it will provide links that are irrelevant, inaccurate or non-existent.

So, what’s the point of generating content if it is only going to weaken your credibility? Exactly, there is no point. See what I mean?

In the end, I did not find that using AI to generate written content saved me any time or money. To obtain semi-usable content, I had to write prompts. And even then, the content produced needed work – human work.

AI is simply not equipped, on its own, to generate content that is as good as what a person can provide. A person knows how to research, find information, and write compelling arguments–and, best of all, a human can draw on lived experience to inject their copy and content with personality and wit.