Can AI create all our content now?

Ah, the question that’s on everyone’s minds lately.

Whether you’re a fan or a sceptic, there’s no denying it – generative AI tools are here to stay. People are using them every day to make life simpler, to create meal plans and workout routines, to assist in marketing campaigns and business planning, and even for therapy.

But when it comes to content creation for SEO, where does artificial intelligence (AI) actually fit in?

And, more importantly, should you hand over the reins entirely?

Why so many businesses are turning to AI for content generation

Demand for fresh, engaging content seems insatiable. There are over 198 million active websites in the world (1.2 billion altogether). In a world that craves fast, original content through social media posts, blog articles, and videos, businesses and individuals are struggling to keep up. The competition is vast!

This constant need to capture attention and deliver value has naturally led many to ask, Can’t AI just create all our content?

The growth in generative AI, with tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Midjourney, has made headlines. These sophisticated algorithms can churn out text, images, videos, and even compose music with remarkable speed, but as with most technology, they come with limitations.

The Pros of AI Content

AI tools are impressive, particularly in areas like speed, pattern recognition, and data analysis.

Speed and efficiency

There’s no denying it, AI content creation is fast. What might take a human hours or even days, an AI can often draft in minutes. This speed is invaluable for:

• Generating product descriptions or routine updates at scale.
• Brainstorming new ideas, outlines, and headlines to kickstart the writing process or first draft.
• Repurposing content across channels (e.g., email, social media, video scripts).

Data-driven optimisation

AI tools are good at analysing large datasets to understand what resonates with audiences and performs well in search engines.

• SEO alignment: With the right prompts, AI can suggest relevant keywords, headings, and meta descriptions to support your SEO strategy.
• Personalisation: AI can tailor messages to specific user behaviours and characteristics for more engaging and relevant experiences.

Expanding creative horizons

Beyond text, AI is making significant strides in other content formats.

• AI-generated images and videos: AI image generators can produce artwork and illustrations, while video AI tools can assist with editing, adding subtitles, and even generating short video clips from images.
• AI audio content: AI can be used to generate voiceovers for videos or even compose music.

The Cons of AI Content

Despite the hype, AI is not a magic bullet for all content creation. There are still many areas where human input is a must.

Lack of genuine creativity and emotional depth

AI writes based on patterns and the data it has been trained on, rather than lived experience. You may find it often sounds generic, repetitive, or just a bit… off.

• Authentic voice: AI can mimic tone, but it struggles to create a brand voice that genuinely connects with an audience. That requires human intuition and a real conversation that draws out a brand’s personality.
• Emotional resonance: AI-generated content can often feel generic or “too perfect” and lacks the flow and personality that makes human writing relatable.
• Niche knowledge: AI can summarise information, but it may struggle with complex industries (like law, finance, or trades) where genuine expertise and critical thinking are required.

Imagine if everyone who reads this blog asked ChatGPT to create an article about “how to make a cup of tea”. We’d all get a very similar response. It would lack the emotion and alternative perspectives that we as individuals can each bring.

Accuracy and bias

AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. This can lead to issues with factual accuracy and the propagation of biases.

• Hallucinations: AI can sometimes present incorrect information (and it does so with absolute confidence), which can lead to misleading or factually inaccurate information.
• Inherent bias: If the training data contains biases, AI-generated content can unintentionally replicate or reinforce them, raising serious ethical concerns. Human oversight is essential to review and rectify such issues, as we’ve seen with the recent ethical problems with Grok.

Strategic insight and adaptability

AI doesn’t fully understand your business goals or market position, and it lacks the ability to anticipate content trends or react to sudden changes.

• It can’t build a long-term SEO strategy
• It doesn’t know your target audience or their pain points like you do
• It can’t react as quickly as humans can when faced with sudden consumer shifts or news

How can we use AI going forward?

The future of content creation isn’t a battle between humans and machines, but rather a collaboration. AI will increasingly serve as a powerful assistant, augmenting human capabilities and freeing up creators to focus on higher-level tasks.

At Targeted SEO, we use AI to support early-stage tasks like:

• Competitor analysis
• Keyword research and content planning
• Drafting headings or outlines
• Bouncing ideas off it
• Checking for spelling and grammatical errors
• Speeding up repetitive processes

Don’t switch content briefs for content prompts just yet

So, can AI create all our content now? The short answer is no. Well, not entirely.

While AI has changed many aspects of content generation, it’s not a complete replacement for the human touch. The nuance, emotional intelligence, strategic insight, and genuine creativity that humans bring to the table are still irreplaceable.

Instead, we are entering an era of powerful partnership in SEO content generation. AI will continue to evolve, becoming an even more sophisticated tool in the content creator’s arsenal. By understanding its strengths and limitations, we can use AI to streamline our workflows, amplify our reach, and ultimately, produce more compelling and high-quality content than ever before. The future of content creation is not about AI taking over, but about humans and AI working together to achieve extraordinary results.

Here’s what Harry Scanlan, our SEO Strategist, says:

“AI has helped with lots of tasks, but sometimes it seems to lose grip on reality. I worry there may be many who use it and take the answers as 100% facts, or reshare without careful consideration to what it has produced and how that then reflects their brand. It is certainly getting better and it’s exciting to see how it evolves.”

Here’s what Alicia Paginton, our SEO Content Writer, says:

“I recently answered a question in a survey that said: ‘If you could push a button that eradicated all Gen AI from the world, would you do it?’ I said ‘yes’. But I know that magic button is probably never going to come along, and I know I won’t be able to press it and transport back to a time where feather quills, parchment, and imagination were the only tools you had (or needed). We’re humans, and we naturally have a lot to say and a lot to pass on. We’ve been creating content since the Stone Age, where we drew on cave walls with natural materials like charcoal, ochre, and chalk, and that process has significantly evolved over the years. We’ve swapped out cave walls with blank Word docs and webpages, and our writing tools are now keyboards and software systems. I don’t think we’ll ever stop wanting to share content, but I do think we need to seriously think about what we’re sharing.

So, while I have struggled to come to terms with the fact that a literal robot can now produce content that people can pass off as their own, I’ve realised that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

We’ve seen that when it comes to SEO, Google really isn’t interested in websites that push generic AI mush, and your audience doesn’t want to see it either. Yes, AI can be a handy tool to aid the content creation process, but it shouldn’t be relied on for producing authentic, helpful, engaging content. Would you want to read a blog that’s been entirely made by AI? Probably not, right? Why would you when you could go straight to the source and have a whole conversation with the chatbot itself?

So, while you technically could get AI to write content for you, that doesn’t mean it will be any good! If you’re trying to climb those search rankings, then you need to remember who you’re actually writing for. You’re the expert on your topic, so show it off. Tell your audience your story. Answer their questions. Give your point of view. And, if you’re going to use AI, use it carefully. Bounce ideas off it, ask it to change certain words that lack oomph, use it to find what’s missing from your content. Then use your own imagination and passion to connect with your audience. I promise you it’s way more fun!”

Worried your content isn’t speaking to your target audience?

If you have been producing AI content that feels a bit robotic, misaligned, or simply isn’t performing, it might be time to drop the bot and bring in some human support.

At Targeted SEO, our content team knows how to blend human creativity with strategic SEO to create content that does well in search engines and speaks to your audience.

Contact Targeted SEO today to rejuvenate your content and ease those quality concerns.

Fill out our enquiry form for a friendly chat or give the office a call on 0800 2062673.

Frequently asked questions about AI-generated content

Can I sell AI-created content as my own intellectual property?

This is still up for debate in the UK. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 states that:

“In the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated, the author shall be taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken.”

The problem here is that we don’t have clear guidelines on who that “person” is.

Is it the user who prompts the AI? Is it the AI software developer? Is it the owner of the original data that trained the AI algorithm? Who knows?

So for now, it may be very tricky to gain intellectual property rights for content produced entirely by AI.

You may also be interested in:

• Using AI to write SEO content
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