AI is everywhere, including the world of content marketing. When it comes to creating great content, you can now rely on humans as well as machines. This is uncharted territory for most, but with a lot of opportunity. In this post, we’re exploring how AI can fit into a modern content marketing strategy. 

Search Engine Positions on AI for Content

Most AI tools tout SEO capabilities, but you shouldn’t rely on them for search engine optimization. Additionally, Google doesn’t look favorably on using AI for content creation. Their page on the topic includes this information: “Using automation – including AI – to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies.” 

Remember that you should optimize for people, not search engine rankings. Google is continuously working on enhancing the search experience for all users. Ideally optimizing for both search and humans are complementary and lead to an improved experience overall. However, it can be tempting to take things too far in the interest of higher rankings. If you only consider search engines, it’s possible to actually harm your user experience, which isn’t good for any outcomes. On the other hand, writing only for people while disregarding search engines is also a problem. For example, if you produce a robust piece of content but don’t use schema markup or internal links, it’s less likely to be found. At the end of the day, high quality pieces produced for human consumption with SEO in mind are your best bet. It can be tricky for AI tools to do that (nor should they, according to Google). That being said, there are a lot of things that AI can help with in your overall content creation process. 

Using AI for Content Creation

Again, we don’t recommend relying exclusively on AI for writing content. There is definitely an art to drafting compelling material that resonates with people. It would be pretty risky to assume technology can find that balance just yet. However, content creators should consider using AI for the following purposes: 

Content Research

ChatGPT has seriously leveled up the AI playing field. AI tools have been around for a while, such as Clearscope. However, ChatGPT has made AI more accessible to the masses. You can use these tools for researching topics and creating content briefs. The features will vary based on what platform you use, but you can try analyzing top-ranking content for a keyword term or topic and getting insights on word count, subheadings, number of images, and internal and external links. This is also a great way to get ideas of related topics or keywords. Additionally, you can use these tools to get inspiration for titles, headings, or other elements for SEO. AI tools are a great resource for finding additional information such as frequently asked questions or commonly linked sources. It’s also worth noting that ChatGPT uses a data set that ended in 2021, so research performed there may not be as relevant. 

Certain Parts of the Writing Process

Machine-generated content can be useful in a variety of ways, but it’s not ideal for thought leadership. However, AI does a great job of categorizing information, creating summaries, and analyzing data. News wire service Reuters, for example, uses AI to analyze data, generate story ideas, and write simple copy. It’s viewed by their journalists as a sort of “copywriting assistant” who happens to have advanced data science skills. Specifically, you can try to leverage an AI tool to analyze anonymized customer data to create performance benchmarks for your clients. Or, you might rely on AI to write brief practice area descriptions that your writers take another pass through. 

Data Reporting

A big part of a content creator’s job is to research, analyze, and report.  When you need to pull data manually, it can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Using AI-generated reporting can make these research operations a lot easier and give you real-time insights into sophisticated performance metrics. You can also use AI to create custom dashboards tailored to individuals or groups. Plus, it’s faster than doing all of this manually, which can result in a competitive advantage when it comes to releasing thought leadership. There are a lot of ways to integrate AI-generated reporting into your process. For example, BrightEdge’s AI tool allows you to compile data from traffic based on device, organic search appearances, and content listings on a universal search to glean insights for a content team. By analyzing this data on a wider scale, you can identify opportunities and focus more time on other creative initiatives. 

Related: The Law Firm Guide to Content Marketing eBook

Takeaway: 

We haven’t achieved a complete symbiosis between marketing content writers and AI – but that is the future. The possibilities for using AI in your content creation process are exciting and constantly expanding, if you take the time to learn. As you work toward achieving a great balance with AI, remember that both humans and machines can make mistakes – so having another set of eyes on anything you produce is essential. 

For now, AI is best used as only a part of your overall creation process, with plenty of human input and oversight. Look for ways to augment your current processes with AI, and you will free up time and resources for other projects. If you are curious about AI for content creation because you are overwhelmed with current demand, let us support you. Our experts can help you to create content that people actually want to read. Contact us now.

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