When AI Steals Your Copywriting Gig

I was a damn good copywriter. My job revolved around crafting catchy slogans, impactful product descriptions, and meticulously honed sentences designed to inspire. There was pride in taking something ordinary and injecting it with enough spark to grab attention. It was a modest career, and most importantly, it allowed me to work as a writer… at least until the rug was unceremoniously pulled out from under me.

After being made redundant from a full-time marketing position for “reasons unknown”, other agencies I once had solid working relationships with mysteriously cut ties. Promising job leads fell off the map. Even the freelance scene began to feel foreign, packed with unrealistically cheap offers that screamed more of automation than human effort. The cold truth was undeniable: AI had muscled its way into my profession, and I was facing its consequences firsthand.

There’s a sense of unease that has infiltrated the world of wordsmiths lately. Whispers about AI and its rapid infiltration into our profession hang like an ominous cloud. But it’s not just a worry about the future — for many writers, it’s already a very tangible reality.

The AI Advantage: When Machines Outsmart Us

Platforms like Rytr, ChatGPT, free AI slogan generators like AHREFS, and others like Jasper.ai are transforming content generation before our very eyes. These more recent AI models, like those in the GPT-4 family, are surprisingly good at interpreting context and producing text in specific styles or voices. They don’t just write; they analyze massive datasets, follow marketing formulas, and generate endless variations, all at speeds that leave human writers in the dust.

Suddenly, my years of understanding target audiences, honing persuasive language, and crafting creative concepts feel… obsolete. When an AI tool can spit out hundreds of slogans, social media posts, promo emails and EDMs, or website copy in the time it takes me to brew a cup of coffee, where do I fit in? This is where the brutal self-assessment comes in — a process many writers are likely grappling with right now.

The notion of “being replaced” isn’t a theoretical concern anymore; it’s a harsh reality. If digital agencies see my work as something a machine can replicate (or improve upon), what does that say about how they value the human element of what we do? To quote an anonymous creative director: ‘Why pay a human copywriter when this is so much cheaper and faster?’

The Truth About AI Content: Do people care?

The perception of AI-generated content is transforming at a remarkable pace. In 2020, a study by the University of Helsinki’s suggested AI lagged behind human creativity and would not be convincing enough to replace human copywriters. The article also suggested that AI might struggle with the nuances of language or understanding a brand’s unique tone, and that the gap between human writers and AI would remain significant for the foreseeable future.

Fast forward to more current breakthroughs, and the picture changes drastically. In a study by Quality Logo Products in 2023, the company challenged an AI program to rewrite slogans for 50 top companies. In a survey of 1,007 Americans, the AI-generated slogans and and campaign pitches won out 46% of the time—consistently scoring higher with readers, even when they knew an algorithm, like GPT-4, was the author. Not to mention, the most popular AI-crafted slogans replaced the originals for Google, Facebook, Samsung, Adobe, GoPro, and Microsoft.

Consider a recent MIT study where AI-generated slogans often tested as well as, or even outperformed, those created by professional copywriters. While lacking a certain human spark in some cases, AI’s ability to mimic persuasive language and tap into consumer preferences was alarmingly effective. Even more surprising, human readers preferred AI-generated content over human-written content in a significant number of cases.

These studies raise a crucial question for anyone in marketing: do people ultimately care who writes the content — human or AI? Surprisingly, even after knowing content was AI-generated, reader preference was minimally affected. The hard fact? When it comes to clear-cut tasks, AI can now produce persuasive content that rivals — and often surpasses — the work of skilled writers.

The Shifting Landscape: Fact or Fiction?

It’s undeniable that a sense of unease is settling over the copywriting community. A cursory glance at job boards reveals a noticeable decline in advertised positions, particularly for full-time, in-house roles. This, coupled with the rise of AI content generation tools, paints a picture of a profession on the verge of obsolescence.

The numbers speak for themselves. Klarna, a massive payments company, revealed its AI assistant — powered by OpenAI — now handles the work of 700 full-time employees. In just one month, this assistant managed a staggering 2.3 million customer service conversations. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, predicts even greater disruption: “95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today will be handled by AI…nearly perfect, and at almost no cost.”

Altman’s enthusiasm for AI is understandable, but let’s be real — 95% of marketing magic replaced by AI? That’s an oversimplification. While AI holds promise for automating some tasks, it’s crucial to approach its capabilities with a dose of realism. Many agencies and businesses, initially dazzled by the speed and affordability of AI tools, are now encountering unexpected challenges.

A growing concern in the industry involves the ethical implications of AI-generated content. Should companies and individuals be transparent about using AI-written copy? Is it disingenuous to present machine-made content as the genuine voice of a brand? And how widespread is creative deception in other areas of authorship? These are questions the industry needs to grapple with before blindly jumping on the AI bandwagon.

Sure, AI can handle a lot of complex tasks, but can it understand your brand’s voice, tap into what makes your audience tick, or come up with that next viral campaign idea? Reducing marketing to “nearly perfect” output and cost-cutting ignores the messy, human element that can actually drive great results.

The Human vs. Machine: A Race We Can’t Win

The relentless pace of AI development is what keeps me up at night. It’s a battle of attrition, and the odds aren’t in our favor. We, as human copywriters, offer something unique: years of honing our craft, the ability to strategize beyond keywords, and a knack for tapping into the emotional core of a message. But when a client sees AI generate passable content in a fraction of the time and cost, it feels like my skills are becoming obsolete.

It’s not even about healthy competition anymore, where another writer is jockeying for position, or winning over an agency with their impressive portfolio—this competitor is an unblinking algorithm that doesn’t need sleep, coffee breaks, or even a moment of creative blockage. I can brainstorm five solid tagline ideas, but in the same timeframe, AI has spit out fifty decent ones and a hundred more it’s already refined based on data insights. It’s an impossible race to win. Or is it?

“5% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today will easily, nearly instantly and at almost no cost be handled by the AI… Again, all free, instant, and nearly perfect. Images, videos, campaign ideas? No problem.” — Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

The Human Touch: Our Weapon in the AI Content Wars

Machines can analyse data and trends, but can they truly connect with the cultural anxieties and aspirations of a target audience? Take Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign. Its power stemmed from showcasing relatable women of all shapes, sizes, and ages. This struck an emotional chord that no algorithm could have predicted. The campaign’s focus on celebrating authenticity and challenging unrealistic beauty standards resonated deeply with consumers, sparking conversations and empowering a movement towards self-acceptance. This kind of human-centric impact is where AI-generated content often falls short.

Beyond emotional resonance, human copywriters possess the invaluable asset of niche expertise. Consider technical copywriters for the medical device industry. They don’t just write marketing blurbs; they translate complex engineering concepts into language easily grasped by surgeons, technicians, and patients. This requires specialised knowledge that can’t be simply ‘data-mined’ by an algorithm, ensuring these skilled writers remain in demand.

AI might follow templates, but can it generate the kind of ‘lightning in a bottle’ idea that spreads like wildfire? Think of the Old Spice Guy “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign with Isaiah Mustafa. Its absurd humour and over-the-top delivery were a sharp departure from conventional advertising, making the brand unforgettable. This unique, unexpected approach is difficult to program into a machine, as it requires a willingness to break the mould and tap into something that is purely human… our spark of imagination.

So what can we copywriters do to ensure we remain relevant in an ever-evolving industry?

How Writers Can Adapt:

• Specialise: Become the undeniable expert in a specific area (healthcare copywriting, humorous social content, etc.)
• Strategic Thinking: Go beyond words, offering insight into consumer behaviour and campaign goals.
• Embrace the Unexpected: Don’t be afraid to take risks and offer truly original concepts.
• Build Your Network: Connect with other writers in your niche, and with potential clients in your target industry. This makes you the “human face” of expertise, not just a name on a job board.
• Master Data Analysis (to an extent): You don’t need to become a data scientist, but understanding how to use basic keyword research and campaign analytics makes you a more informed writer for clients who do use AI tools.
• Focus on Long-Form Content: While AI is good at short bursts, in-depth articles, white papers, and thought leadership pieces still require a human touch for structure, nuance, and analysis.
• Emphasise Editing and Revision: Many businesses will likely use AI for first drafts. Become the expert who elevates that raw output into truly compelling work, offering an invaluable final step in the process.
• Highlight Your Creative Process: Don’t just present the final product. Explain your thought process (even briefly) to clients, demonstrating the value of your approach compared to simply clicking “generate” on a tool.

In closing, the landscape is shifting, and writers would be foolish to ignore the impact of AI. However, this doesn’t mean we should panic — writers just need to adapt to survive.

Don’t lose sight of what makes you irreplaceable. To add value or individualism to your work, consider how you can harness your distinct perspective, personality, and creativity in ways an algorithm cannot. Embrace the opportunity to refine your craft further. Own your unique voice, cultivate strategic thinking, and hone storytelling skills that no AI can truly replicate. Become a writer who transcends AI-generated content.

Advertising author Eugene Schwartz once said:

“Copy cannot create desire for a product. It can only take the hopes, dreams, fears and desires that already exist in the hearts of millions of people, and focus those already existing desires onto a particular product.”

My question then is: Can these AI language models know our dreams, desires, and hopes? Can they truly understand the human condition to write not just catchy sentences and slogans, but to use words that resonate with our deepest emotions in just the right context?

I think not, not quite yet anyway. And those replacing human expertise with AI may learn a hard lesson down the track. Either way, the AI revolution demands adaptation. Will we let it define us, or will we use these tools to redefine ourselves?

The challenge for writers in the age of AI is clear: we must find new ways to demonstrate the value of our humanity in our work. The key lies in adaptation. By honing our unique skills, embracing deeper critical thinking, and specialising in areas where human insight, emotional intelligence, and intuition are irreplaceable, we can navigate this changing landscape and ensure our voices remain indispensable.

Originally published in The Start Up on Medium.