AI has been around for many decades but it can feel like it just popped into the chat a year or two ago. The reality is that it’s been on our phones, on our computers, used in video game consoles, part of our smartTV’s and everything in between for decades. When you pull out your phone on an airplane to text your partner, “I love you” but you only had to type, “I lo” and your phone suggested the whole phrase, “I love you”...this is a form of artificial intelligence. Or perhaps when you were doing some online shopping and the place you were buying from recommended just the right item for you. This is a form of AI. See, you’ve been using it long before AI was a common term. It’s been around for many years and whether we recognize it or not it’s value has already been proven before it came into our awareness and it’s here to stay.

The real question is, are you using it in your brand well or is it putting your brand in jeopardy? Earlier this week my team and I came across a handful of blog posts that were clearly written by AI and it showed. They weren’t structured well, made silly points that didn’t align with the main thesis of the article and didn’t conclude well or drive traffic tactfully with a thoughtful CTA (Call To Action). Now, if you’re looking for an article to dog on AI, this isn’t it. We use AI internally as an agency and you should likely be using it in your organization too. Not because I said so but because it can save you time and be a really useful tool, however it does not fully take the place of people. At least not yet.

There’s nothing wrong with using AI to generate ideas or concepts, to produce research or even to help you refine something that you’ve been working on already. But when folks use AI without a final pass by a person, AI might be jeopardizing your brand. See, at this point, it’s not wise to ask an AI tool to create something and use whatever it produces without giving it a once over. Others have previously said that AI produces the culmination of the internet. Meaning it’s not creating new ideas yet but rather taking everything on the internet and synthesizing it into one succinct place. That is not to say that at some point AI or machine learning wont or isn’t capable of creating new ideas. Even if this was true, for your brand, it is crucial that whatever it comes up with is still in alignment with your overall vision, tone and voice.

All AI generated work still needs to be vetted, reviewed and edited by a human. Think you’re not being noticed when AI is writing your copy? Think again. Search engines, social media platforms and creative software are all learning how to notice and in some circumstances can cause AI created content to be ranked lower than human generated content. Further, if you do a decent bit of reading, it’s pretty easy to notice poorly written AI generated content. So using any AI tool without a final once over and review by a human to ensure it’s in alignment with your brand is likely a mistake.

So this is just my opinion right? Not quite. To get the truth, I went right to the source. I asked ChatGPT themselves what the dangers are to taking a copy and paste approach to using AI for your brand. Here’s the 7 things they said to watch out for:

“1. Quality and Accuracy

Misinformation: AI might generate content that is factually incorrect or misleading.

Lack of Depth: AI can struggle to provide deep insights or nuanced analysis compared to human expertise.

2. Originality and Plagiarism

Repetitive Content: AI might produce content that is too similar to existing materials, risking plagiarism issues.

Lack of Creativity: AI-generated content can sometimes be formulaic and lack the unique voice or creative flair of a human writer.

3. Ethical Concerns

Authenticity: Readers may feel deceived if they find out content is AI-generated, potentially damaging trust and credibility.

Bias: AI can inadvertently incorporate biases present in the training data, leading to biased or insensitive content.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Algorithm Penalties: Search engines like Google may penalize sites that rely too heavily on AI-generated content if it’s deemed low quality or spammy.

Ranking Issues: Poorly optimized AI content may not rank well, reducing the visibility and effectiveness of your blog.

5. Legal and Copyright Issues

Intellectual Property: Unclear copyright status of AI-generated content can lead to legal complications.

Liability: If AI-generated content infringes on someone’s rights or contains harmful advice, it could lead to legal repercussions.

6. Dependence on Technology

Over-reliance: Relying too much on AI can reduce the development of human writing skills.

Technical Issues: AI tools can malfunction or produce unusable output, leading to wasted time and resources.

7. Cost and Accessibility

Subscription Fees: Many advanced AI tools require paid subscriptions, which might be a barrier for some users.

Learning Curve: Effectively using AI tools can require a significant time investment to learn and master.

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate these risks, consider the following strategies:

Human Oversight: Always review and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and quality.

Diverse Data Sources: Train AI on diverse and reliable data to minimize bias and improve content quality.

Transparency: Be transparent with your audience about the use of AI in content creation.

Legal Advice: Consult legal experts to navigate intellectual property and copyright issues.

Using AI can enhance productivity and content creation, but it's essential to remain vigilant about these potential dangers to ensure the content remains high-quality and trustworthy.”

So what’s the take away? We do recommend using AI but you need to ensure that the content it produces is:

• Aligned with your brand tone & voice.

• Structured well.

• Does not jeopardize your brand.

In whatever capacity you use AI, it needs to be used in such a way that a human on your team puts their eyes on all work before it gets released.

For any copy that I (Luke) write, I typically get nearly 90% done with a writing project then pump it writing into an AI tool for some feedback and critiques to clean it up. In my experience, I typically disregard the AI’s feedback about 10-20% of the time because it missed the essence of what I was seeking to say or the feedback was simply unhelpful. However, for the other 80-90% of the time, it is super helpful in improving the clarity and structure of my writing. No matter what, I always do a proof read of whatever I am about to publish. I would recommend this approach because it will keep you sharp as a writer, help you to get better but doesn’t put you in a position of leaning too heavily on AI.

Not sure how to utilize AI thoughtfully in your company? We’re here to help you think through how you might use it strategically for your company and also to keep you from looking silly by taking what AI says as the gospel. You can reach out below!