AI writing tools have made stunning advances in the last few years, and with that progress they present major opportunities, limitations, and concerns.
On one hand, AI writing tools can enable all sorts of highly valuable use cases across writing functions. Used intelligently, these tools can dramatically improve your productivity and performance as a writer.
On the other, they also have plenty of limitations, limitations that any writer using these tools must be familiar with if they want to succeed at AI-powered writing.
And on top of it all, AI writing tools are raising concerns around how they are used—and how they should be used—by individuals and brands. Understanding the very real issues raised by this technology is key to adopting it in a responsible way.
In Episode 32 of The Marketing AI Show, Marketing AI Institute founder/CEO Paul Roetzer talked to me about the capabilities, limitations, and concerns around these tools.
1. AI writing is here.
If you’re unfamiliar with AI writing tools, you should know that their capabilities today are formidable.
Today, AI tools can write articles, ads, webpage copy, and most any other type of writing you can think of, in any type of tone or style, at a reasonably high level of quality.
Thanks to recent advancements and developments, these tools are also extremely simple to use: You can simply use text to instruct a machine to generate language in any form you want.
2. But don’t fall prey to misconceptions.
However, the misconception at the moment with this technology is that it produces publish-ready drafts, says Roetzer. That’s the wrong way to think about it. These tools produce very solid first drafts.
You still need a human in the loop to take what the machine produces and get it publish-ready. You still need editors and writers to work with the writing produced by the machine and create their own writing to arrive at an output up to standards.
3. And be aware of the major limitations.
AI writing tools also have some serious limitations you need to be aware of from the start.
First, they don’t produce factual content, says Roetzer. AI writing tools write content that sounds amazing, but can contain completely wrong information.
That’s because these tools aren’t being trained on facts. All they do is predict the next word in a sequence based on what sounds like natural language.
For example, we asked an AI writing tool to create a press release about our AI for Writers Summit. It produced a professional-sounding output…with facts that weren’t correct. It made up key details about the event, like the city where it was taking place. (It’s virtual.)
Second, and related, AI writing tools don’t cite where they got information from. In the case of our press release, we knew the facts were wrong, because we knew the facts in the first place. But what if you don’t? This is where this limitation becomes dangerous.
If you’re producing content on a topic you’re not very familiar with, AI writing tools won’t tell you where the information came from. It could be accurate, if the AI tool’s training data included it. Or, it could be made up. Either way, there’s no way to tell.
At all times, you need to have a domain expert check the factual accuracy of outputs from AI writing tools.
The best way to figure out AI for writing
The best way to quickly and effectively figure out how to use AI for your writing is to attend our AI for Writers Summit, a virtual event that will be held on March 30, 2023, from 12:00pm - 4:00pm EST.
The event features talks from experts like Ann Handley, Wall Street Journal bestselling author; May Habib, Writer co-founder and CEO; and Paul Roetzer, Marketing AI Institute founder and CEO.
When you attend, you will:
- Discover the current state of AI writing technologies, including capabilities and limitations.
- Uncover how generative AI can make writers and content teams more efficient and creative.
- Learn about dozens of AI writing use cases and tools.
- Consider emerging career paths that blend human and machine capabilities.
- Explore the potential negative effects of AI on writers.
- Connect with presenters and attendees on the online platform.
Two registration options are available.
- A FREE Sponsored Pass is for attendees who agree to share their contact information with the presenting sponsor.
- A $99 Private Pass is for attendees who want their contact information to remain private and not shared with the presenting sponsor.
Regardless of which option you pick, you can also choose to add on-demand access for an additional $99.
We view the AI for Writers Summit as a way to bring the industry together at a critical time to figure out the way forward—together.
Don’t wait for the writing and content worlds to get smarter around you. Become a next-gen writer now.
