The Advantages and Disadvantages of AI-Generated Content

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AI-generated content is becoming increasingly popular, but many wonder how to use it and whether it sounds authentic.

AI is rapidly advancing in technology fields, including supply chains, food industry, chatbots, and content and image generation use cases. AI-generated images made headlines when critics claimed these AI art systems were stealing intellectual property from large models like OpenAI's Dall-E. People are questioning whether AI will replace artists and illustrators.

OpenAI introduced a similar AI content program called ChatGPT. This bot has more general-purpose applications and provides users with open prompts to ask questions, issue commands, or request observations. The bot answers both broad and specific questions. Professors and educators have noted that the system generates answers comprehensive enough to earn good grades. However, upon further review, sources like Stack Overflow (targeted at programmers and developers) stated the information was incorrect and temporarily banned the system from providing answers. Since ChatGPT's responses are unrestricted—even allowing users to search for instructions on making explosives or shoplifting—it has sparked further controversy. Businesses are exploring AI tools to assist with content creation and copywriting, raising the question of whether AI will replace content writers. While AI-generated content may not suit all copywriting needs, there are effective ways to utilize these tools.

AI-generated content includes machine-written blogs, marketing materials, articles, product descriptions, and more. AI content creators generate content after users input keywords, phrases, and topics.

AI-generated content can accelerate the writing process, and businesses have taken notice. Marketers may consider using AI-generated content to automate content marketing workflows—which can sometimes be time-consuming and expensive.

To generate content, users input the desired text format along with topics and keywords. The AI tool then scours the internet and pieces together copy that fits the requested format. Some tools also rewrite a company's existing content, adding information based on web searches and editing tools. These tools can adapt existing content for other communication formats, such as turning blog posts into social media updates or email drafts.

Free content generators are available, while others charge for more in-depth content.

AI-generated content can provide value in multiple ways. Here are some advantages:

AI can create content faster than humans, which is perhaps its greatest benefit. AI tools can generate an article in minutes, whereas human writers take much longer to complete research and writing.

Multiplying the quick turnaround by the number of articles, AI tools can produce vast amounts of content.

AI also aids in language localization for different geographic regions and can create social media content tailored to various websites.

Cost-effectiveness

Hiring high-quality content writers typically costs hundreds of dollars per project, depending on factors like article length, quantity, and required technical expertise. If the content is well-researched and of high quality, this investment can prove worthwhile.

Some AI writing tools are free, while others charge a monthly subscription fee. Pricing for tens of thousands of words is usually around $100. Considering these factors, AI-generated content may be more suitable for simpler topics rather than those requiring specialized knowledge and authority.

AI content generators scan thousands of online documents to gather information. During this process, they identify keywords to improve search engine optimization (SEO). AI tools can suggest keywords for content writers. By incorporating these suggestions throughout an article—provided the content adheres to authoritative guidelines and is written by a human—it can achieve higher search engine rankings.

Writer's block is a common challenge. Sometimes, writers struggle to create authoritative content on topics they know little about. To help overcome this, AI tools can generate detailed outlines and key points, guiding writers on what to include. These suggestions can help users break through creative barriers and spark ideas to begin writing.

However, there are several considerations when using AI-generated content. Some content is best written by humans. Here are some drawbacks of AI-generated material:

1. Lack of Nuance: AI relies on data and algorithms, covering objective aspects well but often missing subjective or tonal nuances.
2. Plagiarism Risks: Search engines may flag AI content for similarity to published material since it sources from the same references. AI tools stitch together and rephrase content from various websites, which, without proper editing, violates Google's guidelines against "stitching and combining content." Maintaining authority and informativeness is challenging without human oversight.
3. SEO Over Substance: Google's August 2022 "Helpful Content Update" emphasized "people-first content," prioritizing human-written material for cohesive and satisfying SEO practices. AI tools often prioritize keywords over reader value, lacking true understanding of text.
4. Limited Creativity: Engaging content often requires emotional connection and storytelling—areas where AI lacks the emotional intelligence to craft compelling narratives. Its focus remains on factual outlines.
5. Contextual Understanding: AI depends on existing web content and data, struggling to interpret user intent or apply human common sense.

People still need to review AI-generated content. Although AI may save time, humans must continue to be involved in assessing article quality.

AI tools compile information from multiple websites into a cohesive whole. Some confusion may need correction, such as product descriptions involving textures and colors. This often occurs because AI tools don't fully grasp the meaning of adjectives.

Since AI tools use existing data as content sources, they cannot generate truly novel ideas. They particularly struggle with creating content that covers the latest trends and topics.

AI-generated content works best as a writing assistant rather than a technology to be strictly relied upon. Here are some ways to use AI tools for content assistance:

There are many available AI content generators. Below is an example of content generation using a program called LightCreate AI:

Several text options appear. This is content generated by AI based on input information. The first option attempts to mimic the information in this article:

AI is an amazing technology with the potential to change our world and how we live in it. But like any new technology, AI-generated content has both advantages and disadvantages that businesses need to understand before deciding whether to use it.

First, the advantages:

1) AI-generated content allows businesses to produce more content with fewer resources, saving both time and money.

2) It enables businesses to create highly personalized content for each customer, leading to greater customer satisfaction.

3) AI-generated content ensures all information is correct, helping avoid costly lawsuits or negative publicity when business operations encounter issues (for example, if you send an email containing incorrect information).

Now, some disadvantages:

1) AI-generated content can sound unnatural (as if written by a robot), which might make customers uncomfortable or distrustful of your business. No matter how much effort you put into ensuring accuracy, it won't matter if the final result sounds mechanical!

2) If people discover they're reading AI-generated content...

Most information from this TechTarget article is outlined in the AI-generated content above. However, even when selecting a friendly tone, AI content isn't particularly comprehensive or conversational. The TechTarget article provides more detailed explanations and examples. The AI-generated content appears more like an outline requiring additional information to flow as smoothly as a human-written article.

A greater concern exists regarding AI-generated content: students using these tools for cheating. Several professors and teachers have noted that AI-generated content on ChatGPT can produce convincing academic papers.

To help distinguish between human and AI text, OpenAI launched a new AI text classifier on January 31, 2023. However, in July 2023, OpenAI removed this classifier due to low accuracy. Other online tools can help detect AI-generated content by classifying the probability of content being human-written versus AI-written, including Originality.ai, Writing.com, and Copyleaks.

OpenAI is also working on creating watermarks for longer AI-generated texts to serve as direct identifiers.

Apart from running text through online AI content detectors, there are other signs that content is AI-generated, such as: