AI

AI and Copywriting: embracing the benefits

In the field of digital creative, the last frontier for AI is copy. For writers, this means we can scale our craft to meet the ever-growing demand of personalization.

As the need for hyper-specific messaging increases, AI is the solution for how we keep up and keep iterating for the customer. Bots and copy automation tools will allow us to scale communications so that we don’t lose the one-to-one, consumer-to-brand interaction. 

Additionally, AI liberates us from human bias in our copy. When we write, we are self-selecting all the time—choosing our words, the way we arrange them, the punctuation we use, etc. And, all of those choices make it difficult for us to write the same message hundreds of times without our opinions and perspectives baked in. Copy AI can generate countless variations of a subject line, for example,  with no inherent bias—meaning, we can ensure that we’re connecting with the maximum number of individuals in any given audience. 

We're ready for the next step

AI also gives us opportunities to improve the way we create our content. In terms of the tools at our disposal, digital copywriting has been left in the dust by other creative disciplines. All we need to do is look at what tools are available to our graphic designer counterparts - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, CorelDRAW, etc. The list goes on and on, and there are similar lists for photographers and re-touchers. But copywriters have been making due with spell-check, a few grammar checkers, and most recently, some basic autofill functionality as our go-to professional aides. It’s time that we add some new tools to our belt so we can deliver work at the level of our creative counterparts. 

And, it’s important that we start using these tools now in order to teach them how to get better quicker. Machine learning depends on our human inputs, and who better to help the tools learn language than copywriters? If we want to ensure that ads don’t sound robotic, emails don’t seem spammy, or onsite copy isn’t flat, we need to be the ones editing and QAing the content going in and coming out of these tools. 


It's better for business

The benefits aren’t just for writers, however. Copy AI can help businesses and brands optimize in meaningful, productive, and profitable ways. Here are a few opportunities organizations can embrace when they invest in copy AI: 

1. Shorter turnaround times

Minimizing the time writers need to spend on production-oriented copy means faster delivery of assets. 

2. Heightened creativity

With more freedom in their day, copywriters can devote some serious headspace to complex and involved messaging problems. And, we can expect more creative and innovative solutions to come from this focus. 

3. Optimizing for performance where it matters

The smartest marketing approaches will incorporate copy AI in the right places. For campaigns that require deep strategic planning and carefully crafted messages, a professional copywriter will always be necessary. But, for those instances where bias needs to be removed (like multi-arm bandit testing for email subject lines) or multiple assets need to be replicated quickly, AI is the answer. 

4. Future-proofing and marketability

Avoiding copy AI or language generation tools might seem like a viable option right now, but that approach is going to be detrimental in the near future. Businesses are turning to copy technology more than ever, and this practice is only going to get more ubiquitous. For companies and copywriters concerned with their influence and longevity in the market, now is the time to start accepting and adopting AI. If not, future opportunities and agility are at stake. 

5. Reinvention and recovery.

2020 was a year unlike any other, and it forced many businesses to rethink how they want to operate. Adding copy AI tools to the mix could be a new way for agencies to market their offerings, for online retailers to meet sky-high demand, or for innovative brands to attract analytically minded, tech-savvy writers (or writers who want to be!). Now is the perfect time to reimagine what copywriting looks like in the digital space, and those who are will shape the types of marketing messages we see for years to come. 

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