The Unexpected Truth About AI: Why Embracing It Could Change Everything You Believe
So here we are, standing at the curious intersection of creativity and automation — where AI isn’t just knocking on the door; it’s practically moved in for coffee. You might find it puzzling, or even a tad scary, to imagine a robot helping churn out content that used to be the sacred ground of writers. But hey, if a ChatGPT draft can cut down hours of toil into minutes, who’s really to complain? I’ve seen firsthand how embracing these digital co-writers can be a game-changer in the commercial world of content creation — with a touch of human flair still essential to bring dry topics alive. The real question is: With AI tools now firmly part of our toolkit, how do we pick our battles and keep our unique voices shining through? Let’s dive into this evolving dance between bytes and storytelling. LEARN MORE
AI is not going away, so content writers have to embrace the benefits of generative tools and pick their battles
Before I start, a few caveats. First, I really don’t know very much about AI. Also, I’m only really talking here about Chat GPT. And I’m only talking about the world of commercial content, not creative writing.
I start with all that because pretty much everyone I know who is a creative type is violently against AI in all its forms. I get all that. But I also work in the very commercial world of marketing for brands and businesses. It’s not a very glamorous place, but it’s where many aspiring writers go for the bread-and-butter work that funds their creative dreams. And over there, nobody has any qualms about using AI tools at all.
Let me give you a couple of recent examples:
- A client asks me to write an ebook based on a webinar about IT security they’ve recently delivered. They provide a version of the eBook done by ChatGPT with the expectation I will simply edit that. I listen to the full webinar out of curiosity. The AI version is well structured and covers all the key points. It misses out a few things I now add in, notably anecdotes and examples that help bring a rather dry topic to life. But it has basically done a good initial job.
- Another client asks me to write a series of blog posts to promote their digital marketing agency. As I know this client is very AI-friendly, I put this request to ChatGPT with a brief explanation of context, topics and audience. Back come a dozen ideas, most very relevant. I sort through them, tweak the ones I like and add a few more of my own (though many of the ones I’d have come up are already there). The client loves the ideas and commissions four on the spot.
- Again out of curiosity, I ask ChatGPT to draft the blog posts for me. The results are frankly incredible. In about 5 seconds, I have four crisply professional, well-informed pieces. I sense-check the content, adding my own thoughts, making some small tweaks for tone and structure. Each post has taken 20–30 minutes to complete rather than 2–3 hours.
Now some may deplore the above, but the genie is out of the bottle and brute economics…
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