The internet is flooded with headlines about Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered writing tools and how they’re going to eventually replace writers.
But…will they, though?
I have a lot of thoughts on this, so let’s start at the beginning.
The rise of AI-powered writing tools
AI-powered writing is nothing new. In fact, the first AI-written poem dates back to 1967, when artist Alison Knowles used a programming language called FORTRAN to write poems. They…weren’t very good. 🤔
“A house of steel / Among high mountains / Using candles / Inhabited by people who sleep almost all the time.”
We’ve come a long way since then. Today’s tools use a combination of AI, predictive analytics, and Natural Language Processing to generate original content.
Then we have the rise of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), which rolled out a whole new chapter for AI-powered writing tools. Launched in May 2020 by OpenAI, GPT-3 uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
Today, many AI-powered writing tools deploy ChatGPT to help users create ad copy, article titles, social media copy, blog posts, job descriptions, and more. Playing around with them, you see how they can be deployed in many different contexts…and they’re actually pretty advanced!
In fact, I spoke with a fellow freelancer last week who shared that by using one of these tools, he was able to cut down a writing process that would normally take six hours to a mere 45 minutes. 😲
That’s…worth paying attention to, yes?
However, maybe you’re thinking: “Okay, cool. But how long before these tools put me out of work?”
The question remains whether or not AI writing tools will threaten content marketers' jobs. So let’s talk about that next.
Will AI-powered tools be the death of freelance writing?
Here’s the thing: AI writing tools are great for help generating ideas for social media and website copy, titles, and breaking through writer’s block. They can add a ton of efficiency to writing processes. They do WONDERS for folks who are not native speakers of the language they’re writing in.
But when it comes to long-form content, we still need our specialized writers with deep subject matter expertise. AI-powered tools can only do so much. They’re still incapable of creating thought leadership pieces and understanding the nuance around complex topics. The content they do generate often needs quite a bit of editing to get it publish-ready.
AI-written content also often lacks authenticity and a personal narrative (obviously), and it can’t understand complex human sentiments, which makes it hard to emulate human writing. Will we get to a point where this isn’t true? Honestly, probably sooner than we’d all like to admit. But we’re not there yet.
As a result, the tools we have right now have their places. They’re well-suited for short pieces of copy, headlines, and very rough drafts. They help generate ideas. They give you something to work with on the page. Several of the more advanced offerings are also priced for enterprise-level use cases, which means they may be out of the price range for smaller-scale operations (so...most of us.)
So, no. I don’t think we need to be worried about how they’ll impact our job security right now.
If anything, we, as writers, can use these tools to our benefit. We can use them to write more efficiently (which is great, because often time = money.) Anything that helps free up more time is good news, right?
The future of AI-powered writing tools
As part of this conversation, we of course have to look ahead and think about how these tools will continue to evolve in the future.
For one thing: OpenAI’s next release is just around the corner, and new iterations will bring significant improvements to these tools.
While writers don’t need to worry about a career change any time soon, I think the emergence and growing popularity of AI tools make a strong case for specialization and niching down. The more specialized you can be in your skills, subject matter expertise, and the industry you serve, the more valuable you'll be with a unique, highly marketable skill set.
If you’re wondering where to start, think about the qualities that make great writers irreplaceable:
Original research
Data storytelling and synthesis
Counter-narrative opinions
Bringing new viewpoints to a topic
Sourcing fresh expert quotes
Think about how you'll cultivate a signature style, voice, tone, and point of view as a writer.
AI-powered writing tools still don't have that edge on real, human writers...so now is the time to think seriously about what you'll do to put a stake in the ground and cultivate what makes you worth investing in as a writer.
Instead of spending too much time worrying about our dystopian future, focus instead on sharpening your writing skills by learning to break the fourth wall in writing, writing in a reader-friendly way, and understanding the secrets to writing great copy.
There’s no doubt AI-powered writing tools will shift the role of content marketers. But maybe not in the way you’d think. This actually may be good for all of us. Wouldn’t that be nice?
