Was it Written by AI? How You Can Inform, Based on HubSpotters

In class, I realized the fundamentals of excellent writing — preserve it brief, concise, and grammatically appropriate. 

By that definition, AI-written content material must be good, proper? But, after I mess around with instruments like ChatGPT, I discover a couple of pink flags. 

Certain, it is grammatically appropriate, nevertheless it provides off severe “company converse” vibes. It follows a logical sequence, nevertheless it usually goes on prolonged tangents. And whereas its responses could also be correct, it usually lacks a singular perspective.

This is not to recommend AI-written content material is inherently unhealthy. However for those who plan to leverage AI for content material creation, it is essential to know the place it falls brief, and find out how to repair it.

4 Indicators It Was Written by AI

1. It is not skimmable.

As a author, it is good to think about that individuals dangle on to each phrase I write. The fact, nonetheless, is much totally different.

Gone are the times of leisurely studying the newspaper on the breakfast desk. Within the digital age, folks need info, and so they need it rapidly. 

However for those who’ve ever tinkered with an AI-writing device, it’s possible you’ll discover it hasn’t mastered the artwork of brevity. For instance, after I ask ChatGPT to put in writing an intro for an article on find out how to write higher headlines, it generates the next:

This intro is not essentially unhealthy, nevertheless it’s a tad wordy and much too lengthy. Now evaluate it to a weblog publish from Neil Patel on the identical subject:

See the distinction?

Patel begins with a fascinating query, instantly piquing our curiosity. He additionally writes in brief, one or two-sentence paragraphs. Each these methods make content material simpler to skim and take in.

2. It is lacking experience.

Which article would you fairly learn: “The way to Go Viral on TikTok” or “How To Go Viral on TikTok, From 3 Creators Who’ve Accomplished It”?

I am prepared to wager the latter. That is the facility of experience — it immediately elevates any piece of content material with real-world expertise.

The issue? AI does not have any expertise. 

As Kaitlin Milliken, HubSpot Weblog’s Program Supervisor & Content material Editor, places it, “AI chatbots repackage info that we have heard one million instances earlier than. In the event you’re searching for a contemporary perspective, you may wish to attain out to a human knowledgeable.”

She provides, “Specialists have entry to the most recent developments and newer knowledge than AI. Plus, they’ll pull from their real-world expertise. If there is a distinctive strategy to clear up an issue or strategy a scenario, nothing compares to listening to from individuals who have lived via it.”

Moreover being an knowledgeable (or consulting one), you possibly can weave experience into your content material in different methods.

For example, right here at HubSpot, lots of our articles embrace real-world examples, unique knowledge, and “professional ideas.” These parts not solely improve the credibility of our content material but in addition pack extra worth for the reader.

3. It is outdated.

Once I requested ChatGPT to put in writing an article about BeReal, a preferred photo-sharing app that launched in late 2021, right here was its response:

This is not only a ChatGPT downside; all AI chatbots have data cut-offs. In the event you use AI to put in writing about subjects exterior its scope, you danger producing outdated or irrelevant content material. 

Plus, when you think about that solely 45% of execs imagine they’d be capable to inform if ChatGPT gave them mistaken info, it creates loads of room for error.

For Clint Fontanella, HubSpot Weblog Supervisor, one workaround is to make use of AI to summarize analysis, not search it out. 

He advised me, “While you need AI to put in writing about knowledge that’s exterior its database, my advice is to repeat content material from an present on-line supply and ask it to summarize and rewrite within the model of your selecting.”

As for Milliken, she provides a fact-checking step into her modifying course of. In her personal phrases: “Earlier than you publish something written with AI, fact-checking is crucial. If AI references a sure enterprise or individual, you should definitely double-check and see in the event that they nonetheless exist. ChatGPT can get these particulars mistaken.”

4. It sounds generic or bland.

“The primary time I ask AI to put in writing something for me, it often provides me essentially the most company, templated response you possibly can consider. One thing that is tremendous impartial and seems like a robotic wrote it,” Fontanella advised me.

That is relatable for a lot of AI customers, myself included. For instance, after I ask ChatGPT to “sound extra participating,” it usually writes in its signature corporate-y model, however with double the exclamation factors.

For Fontanella, the bottom line is tinkering with totally different styling prompts till you land on an output you want (e.g., “Sound extra lighthearted” or “Write within the tone of a HubSpot author”). Nevertheless, as he additionally factors out, this is not at all times an ideal resolution. You continue to have to do some editorial heavy lifting earlier than taking your content material throughout the end line.

This might imply including humor, injecting private anecdotes, referencing popular culture, forming a singular opinion, or adopting a sure perspective. On this approach, you are utilizing AI as a basis to construct upon.

In Fontanella’s personal phrases: “Basically, AI cannot write a chunk that is on par with our customary of content material. Nevertheless, it will probably positively write a couple of good sentences right here and there that may be the muse of your argument or paragraph. I extremely advocate cherry-picking sentences from paragraphs that you simply like after which rewriting the paragraph round that sentence.”

Again to You

AI provides a wholly new strategy to create content material, nevertheless it is not with out its limitations. This doesn’t suggest it’s best to keep clear of those instruments. Nevertheless, it is best to leverage them as writing assistants, not as precise writers.

As a writing assistant, AI can suggest new concepts and angles, gather and summarize info, rephrase content material, and generate primary outlines, which you’ll then elevate along with your creativity, experience, and perspective.