AI Writing: Everything You Should Know as a Writer in 2024

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Artificial intelligence is taking the world by storm! In recent years, hundreds of AI writing tools have been developed, and more are continuing to join the market daily.

But why have they become so popular to the extent of replacing some writers? AI has been adopted by many organizations to ease the burden of content creation, spanning from blog posts and email campaign copy to financial reports and social media copy.

So, what does this AI wave mean to you as a freelance writer? Are you worried about AI taking your job, or has it replaced you already? I wrote this post to help you demystify the facts from the myths.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how AI writers work, the best times to use them, how you can use AI to make more money, its pros and cons, and examples of some of the best AI writing tools on the internet.

What’s AI Writing, and Why the Hype?

AI writing is the use of artificial intelligence software and technologies to automate the content writing process. They use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) models to churn out a large amount of content within seconds.

Like the human brain, AI writing tools can generate human-like text, provide grammar and style suggestions, summarize information, and even create entire articles based on given prompts.

AI-generated content is everywhere on the internet. In fact, Statista projects that the global AI market size will rise to $21 Billion by 2030 from only $4.4 Billion in 2021.

Examples of content people write using AI include:

Blog posts
Email newsletters
Marketing copy
Product descriptions
Sales copy
Landing pages
Marketing reports
Social media posts

If you’ve used AI tools like ChatGPT to write articles, you can probably testify to how good it is. Some content generated by AI is way better than a below-average human writer can produce. It could literally blow your mind!

And that begs the question, “Why would anyone still hire a human writer if they can use a machine to write great content faster?” Doesn’t everyone want to save some time and money?

Let’s explore more about how AI writers work and see why they can be better than a below-average human writer:

How Do AI Writers Work?

As mentioned, AI writers leverage machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) models to produce content.

While they may differ in one way or another, here is a general overview of how AI writing tools work:

AI writers are trained on how to produce large datasets, including articles, books, copy, and other types of written content. They are trained to recognize language patterns, grammar rules, sentence structures, and semantic relationships.

AI writers utilize deep neural network architecture to process sequential data like sentences or paragraphs and recognize dependencies between different parts of the text.

To generate content from AI, you must key in a prompt or an initial input for the tool to generate a response. Your prompt could be a keyword, a question, an initial sentence, or a paragraph that needs to be continued.

The AI writer will take your prompt and use its learned language to generate a response or a text continuation.

Apart from creating new content, AI writers can also summarize text, paraphrase, or translate it into a different language.

That’s incredible!

Maybe you’ve never created AI content before and are still skeptical. Let’s explore more about how you can use AI to create content.

How Do You Create Content Using AI Software?

Creating content using AI is a walk in the park. Here are the simple steps to follow to get amazing content in a matter of seconds:

1. Select an AI writer

The first step is to choose an AI writer suitable for your needs. Since there are a bunch on the internet, you have to be very selective.

There are tools specifically designed for creating text output, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, while some, like Pictory.ai, are designed for creating images, video, and audio output.

Before signing up for any AI writing tool, you need to research and familiarize yourself with its features and capabilities.

2. Input a prompt

Once you select an AI writer, give it a prompt for you to get the output. Be careful with the prompts you input or questions you ask if you want the best possible answers.

3. Be specific

The more specific your instructions are, the better the outcome.

Depending on the objectives of your content, you may need to specify how many words you need, the tone, and the content purpose (e.g., whether the text should be entertaining, informative, persuading, or engaging).

4. Review and edit

Once you get the output, review it carefully and take time to edit to give it a human touch. Also, you’ll need to do some fact-checking since AI writers can occasionally produce errors.

Edit and refine the content to ensure it meets your standards and aligns with your desired style and voice before using it.

We’ll discuss how to edit AI-generated content later in the article.

Examples of AI Writing Prompts

Here are examples of prompts you can give an AI writer and watch it generate incredible results for you:

Blog post introduction: “Write an engaging introduction for a blog post about sustainable fashion.”
Product Description: “Generate a catchy product description for a new smartphone with advanced features.”
Creative writing prompt: “Create a short story about a character who discovers an ancient artifact with mysterious powers.”
Social media post: “Write a captivating caption for a travel photo in a beautiful mountainous landscape.”
Essay topic: “Suggest an essay topic exploring the ethical implications of genetic engineering in humans.”

A practical example may do, right? Let’s see what ChatGPT can give us from one of these prompts:

In the screenshot below, I asked ChatGPT to “Come up with a compelling email copy for an email campaign promoting a summer dresses sale in Chicago. Make it short, interesting, and persuading.“

How to Edit AI-Written Content for High Conversion

Once you’ve generated content using AI, you’ll need to review and edit it. Editing involves injecting a human touch for the content to be relatable and authentic.

If you’re wondering how to edit AI-generated content to yield a high conversion, here’s how:

Research and add recent statistics related to your topic
Fact-check and change any cited statistics to ensure they are accurate
Add useful case studies
Incorporate testimonials or reviews (screenshots)
Include quotes from real-life interviews and reports about current affairs
Add a personal story, experiences, or an anecdote to make the content relatable
Add humour to make it more interesting (humans are still better than AI at humor)
Add useful examples to provide depth
Inject your own insights, opinions, and unique perspectives on the topic
Add images and videos to make it visually appealing

Editing the content this way will make it more authentic and reflective of your brand or personality. This lets you connect better with your target audience and drive high conversion.

Will AI Writers Replace Human Writers?

If you do a simple online survey (e.g., on Facebook writing groups), you’ll see many writers who’ve lost clients to AI and others living in fear of losing clients.

Undoubtedly, artificial intelligence has and will continue to replace workers in several industries. The content writing industry is no exemption.

Even though AI cannot fully replace human writers, it can easily replace the average writer who does nothing more than regurgitate content from search engines.

However, it’s important to note that AI writing assistants cannot completely replace human writers since they lack the originality and creativity that comes with the human brain. Also, AI content rarely taps into human emotions and doesn’t include the first-hand experiences that make people resonate with your content.

To remain safe as a writer, you must learn to work alongside AI to create content with the desirable human touch and meets the search intent.

Look at AI as a content writing assistant to help boost your productivity rather than a replacement for your brain!

When Is It Best to Use AI-Generated Content?

Are you wondering what are the best incidences when you can leverage AI in your writing?

AI can be a useful tool in various stages of content creation.

Here are ten ideal instances where AI can come in handy to help you create remarkable content faster:

For initial research and content ideation
To generate outlines faster
To generate compelling blog headlines
To do keyword research and optimize content for SEO
To proofread and edit content
To overcome writer’s block
To expand and repurpose content
To create a large number of social media posts
To create routine and data-driven content, e.g., reports and news updates
To generate short-form content like social media captions and advertising copy.

And that brings us to the next critical question: “Is it good to deliver AI-written content to your clients?”

Should I Use AI for Client Work?

Recently, I’ve seen a significant shift in how clients want me to handle their work.

For instance, my main client recently told me to start using ChatGPT to write social media posts, emails, and outreach messages, among other tasks.

Another part-time client also asked me to start using AI to write their blog posts, and guess what? I can now write three long blog posts in a matter of hours.

Since I’m an experienced marketer, I use my knowledge to tweak the content in a way that produces amazing results. This saves me time and increases my income significantly!

So, should you use AI to handle client work? The answer is ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’

Only use AI if your client asks you to. However, if they don’t, you can only use it sparingly to save time on mundane tasks like creating outlines and optimizing content.

I don’t recommend using AI to write actual complete articles.

Even if you generate content using AI, think of the best ways to tweak it to create useful content that resonates with the target audience and can increase your client’s income.

Should I Use AI to Write for My Blog?

If you run a personal blog that requires you to publish a large amount of content regularly, you can use AI to help you save time.

With amazing AI writing software like ChatGPT, you can write, edit, and publish a whole blog post in less than an hour.

However, remember the essence of blogging is to resonate with your readers and create a lasting relationship with them. Therefore, before you hit ‘publish,’ take time to thoroughly edit AI-generated blog posts so they have the human touch that makes you connect with your readers.

Add your personal experiences, and remove any cliché’ or errors AI may have added. Also, remember to do thorough fact-checking so you don’t present inaccurate information, which can make your audience lose trust in you.

Do AI Writers Boost Productivity?

Yes, AI writers can significantly boost productivity in content creation.

Here are some ways in which AI writers can help enhance your productivity as a writer:

Rapid content creation: AI produces content much faster than a normal human can think and type. It, therefore, saves you valuable time to handle other tasks.
Overcome writer’s block: When you hit the dreaded writer’s block, you can use AI to help you generate content ideas and find new perspectives on an existing topic.
Content expansion: AI can help you expand and enrich existing content by suggesting additional details, examples, or other related information.
Multilingual support: Some AI writers can produce content in multiple languages, enabling you to create content for diverse audiences and markets
Language enhancement: AI-powered tools can also help you check grammar and style, identify errors, and improve sentence structures. This can enhance the overall quality of your writing.
Maintaining an online presence: AI can help you maintain an online presence through engaging social media posts, hashtags, and captions. This can help you connect with fellow writers and even get more clients.

Remember, AI can only boost your productivity when you integrate it with your human creativity and critical thinking.

Is AI-Generated Content Optimized for SEO?

Search engines like Google and Bing will only rank high-quality content regardless of how much content you produce using AI.

According to Google, high-quality content has the right keywords and meets search intent. It must also meet the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) criteria.

So, does AI writing software create content that meets the above quality standards?

Yes. Many AI writing tools are designed with SEO in mind and can help writers create search engine-friendly content.

A marketing report by HubSpot shows that 34% of content planners use AI for SEO purposes like keyword research and optimization.

With the right prompt, AI can generate SEO-optimized content that incorporates:

The right target keywords
Meta descriptions with concise content summaries
Catchy and engaging title tags
Appropriate headings and subheadings
Valuable information with optimal length and depth
Optimal readability/clear and readable content that’s easy to understand

However, AI cannot inject specific ‘Experience’ and ‘Expertise’ into the content. Some weak AI writing software will also not generate well-optimized content for search engines.

You should confirm whether the content you got is optimized for SEO before submitting or publishing. In that case, you can use SEO tools like Surfer (which still relies on AI) to confirm the SEO score of your content.

The bottom line is to ensure you write for people and that your content meets search intent rather than just writing for the search engine.

And that brings us to the next question: “Does AI write with search intent in mind?”

Does AI-generated Content Meet Search Intent?

Some AI-generated content can meet search intent but it is not always guaranteed.

What’s search intent? Let’s ask ChatGPT:

Users may search for content with the aim of:

Finding information, e.g., “Where is Hawaii?”
Making a purchase, e.g., “Buy iPhone 12.”
Solving a problem, e.g., “How to tie a tie.”
Seeking entertainment, e.g., “Latest Justin Beiber song.”

Since they are trained on large datasets, AI tools can sometimes produce content that aligns well with search intent.

For instance, they can provide informative answers to common questions or offer product descriptions based on provided specifications.

However, there are instances where these tools may not fully grasp the purpose of search intent. They may fail to understand the context and intent if the search query is relatively complex. As a result, the output may not be entirely relevant or lack the depth needed to address the search query fully.

To ensure that AI-generated content meets search intent, it’s essential to input clear and specific prompts and take time to review and refine the output to meet its intended purpose.

Pros of Using AI to Write Content

AI is an incredibly valuable tool for content creation.

Whether you’re a hobbyist, a professional writer, or a business owner, there are several benefits you can reap from using AI to generate content.

Here are some of them:

Increased productivity: AI can help you create content quickly and efficiently, saving you time to focus on other tasks that require human creativity and critical thinking (e.g., content editing).
Consistency: With AI-generated content, you can maintain a consistent tone, style, and voice. This helps to ensure a cohesive and professional brand image.
Reduced costs: If you produce content on a large scale or have routine writing tasks, AI writing may be more cost-effective than hiring several writers to write manually.
Get data-driven insights: AI can analyze data and user behavior effectively to identify popular topics, keywords, and trends. This can help you tailor your content to meet the interests and preferences of your target audience.
Improved writing: AI-powered language tools like Grammarly can suggest grammar, spelling, and style. As a writer, this helps you refine your content and ensures it adheres to language conventions.
Reach a wider audience: If you write for a global audience or target international markets, an AI writer can help you create content in multiple languages and enable you to reach your audience effectively.
Personalization: AI can create personalized content by tailoring messages based on user preferences and behaviour, enhancing the user experience.
A/B Testing: AI can help you run A/B tests on different content variations to identify the most effective approach for engaging your target audience.

Cons of Using AI to Create Content

Like any other technological tool, AI has its fair share of drawbacks.

Let’s look at some disadvantages of creating content using AI software:

Lack of originality: AI is relatively limited in creativity and originality since they create content based on patterns and existing content. It may therefore produce generic content that lacks a human writer’s unique voice and perspective.
Misinterpretation of context: AI models may struggle to grasp the context of your query or prompt fully. As a result, it may generate irrelevant, inaccurate, or inappropriate content for the intended audience.
Probability of errors: AI-generated content is not always error-free. Sometimes, if you’re keen enough, you may notice grammatical mistakes, incorrect information, or illogical statements. That’s why AI content always needs human review and editing.
Lack of emotional intelligence: AI lacks emotional intelligence and empathy. Therefore, it can’t create content that taps into the readers’ emotions or address complex emotional topics.
Overreliance derails creativity: As a writer, relying so much on AI to create content without human input can derail your creativity. Over time, it may be hard to write even a full paragraph without relying on AI.

That’s why I strongly advocate for human input so you can maintain your authenticity and genuine human connection in your writing.

As you enjoy the benefits of AI writing software, always keep these drawbacks in mind to strike a healthy balance in your writing.

How to Use AI to Earn More Money as a Writer

While AI is leaving some people jobless, others are using it to their advantage and getting super rich!

Popular writing agencies like WeWriteBlogPosts have been shut down while millions of writers have run out of business, all ‘thanks’ to AI.

But guess what? It’s not going anywhere soon. It’s here to stay! In fact, tech gurus will invent even smarter AI software that can almost work better than humans.

So, how can you AI-proof yourself as a writer so you can continue thriving amid all this uncertainty?

1. Upgrade your skills and diversify services

Diversify! Diversify! Diversify!

For instance, if you’re a writer, you can double in as a virtual assistant, a web designer, a social media manager, or a professional marketer.

Also, study skills like sales, digital marketing (e.g., email marketing and social media marketing), psychology, and business so you can become a valuable asset to your clients.

The online space is wide and unpredictable, and nothing is as risky as depending on one skill only.

Learn one or two new skills every year, so when one is affected, you can rely on the other for income.

2. Build a profitable online asset

Having a source of passive income is one of the best ways to fail-proof yourself as a writer. If you haven’t built any online asset since you started writing, it’s time to do so.

Examples of assets you can build as a source of passive income include:

A website or a blog that you can monetize
A YouTube channel
A mailing list
An online course
An e-book
An online retail store

AI can help you create amazing content that you can use to build these assets (e.g., YouTube video scripts, blog posts, product descriptions, course outline, book outline, and compelling email copy)

3. Market yourself widely

Regardless of the services you offer, you need to market yourself to win clients.

If you’re not a social-media-savvy person, AI is now here to save you the hassle of creating content.

Within a few hours, you can use an AI writer to create emails (if you have a mailing list), Tweets, Facebook posts, LinkedIn posts, or Instagram reels to help you market your services.

You can then schedule them using scheduling tools like Buffer, so you won’t need to post manually every day. In fact, I love SocialBee for social media since I use it to schedule recurring posts.

For instance, last month, I wrote 16+ emails, 20+ tweets, and 20+ Facebook posts using ChatGPT and scheduled them for the entire month as I traveled.

That saved me a lot of time, and I actually earned from it!

4. Apply for more writing jobs

Did you know AI tools can also help you write high-quality proposals and job applications that convert?

Now, you don’t need to spend hours writing pitches or proposals, which can be draining. Competitive sites like Upwork need you to write compelling proposals for you to win jobs.

With AI, you only need to copy-paste the job description and ask the software to write a compelling application tailored to that job. As usual, you’ll need to review, edit, and add your skills and qualifications before submitting.

Now you can send even100 proposals or pitches that convert daily to win more clients and make more money online!

Which are the 5 Popular AI Writing Software in 2024?

New technologies emerge daily in the AI space, and hundreds of powerful AI writing tools currently exist on the internet.

From my experience, here are some of the most popular AI writing tools that are considered among the best in the industry:

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is currently the industry’s most popular and advanced automated article writing software.

It is known for its ability to generate human-like text and perform various natural language processing tasks.

Its versatility and integration capabilities make it a popular choice for various writing tasks. It’s probably the most preferred tool among writers currently.

In fact, soon after its pro version came out, I quickly switched from Jasper to purely using ChatGPT Plus (the paid version of ChatGPT) for various AI tasks. Speaking of Jasper…

2. Jasper

Jasper is another popular AI content generator that helps to generate high-quality copy for ads, emails, website copy, product listings, and blogs, among others.

This tool joined the market in February 2021 and has been used by over 1 million people.

From this comprehensive review of Jasper that I did earlier, you’ll see that Jasper has a ton of features that benefit writers and other creators like artists and graphic designers. You can get a free trial here.

3. Writesonic

Writesonic is a popular AI writing tool that enables users to generate blog posts, social media content, Facebook ads, Google ads, and Shopify ads for free.

It assists users in crafting engaging and SEO-optimized content fast. Writesonic also offers a built-in plagiarism checker to ensure content originality.

4. Rytr

Rytr is another widely known AI content generator that focuses on generating high-quality content, including blog posts, marketing copy, and more.

It aims to assist writers with creative content ideas and to streamline content creation.

5. Copy.ai

Copy.ai is an AI writer designed for creating persuasive marketing copy, ad campaigns, and product descriptions.

It uses AI to generate content that resonates with target audiences and boosts conversions.

In addition to these, you can find several AI writers with a simple Google search. And even Google itself has Gemini which is working wonders.

Note that currently, all sorts of tools use AI. For instance, marketing tools like HubSpot, SEMrush, AWeber, and editing tools like Grammarly, Hemingways, and Surfer, all use AI-powered technology to make work easier for marketers and content writers.

So, how do you choose the best AI writing tool considering that there’s a wide range to choose from?

How to Choose the Best AI Writer for You

Choosing the best AI writer for your needs requires careful consideration.

This is especially true if you’re planning to pay for a premium version and need something to use for the long term.

Before settling for one AI tool, here are some factors to consider:

Your needs: Evaluate and define the tasks you want the AI writer to perform. Do you need assistance with blog posts, social media content, marketing copy, or what types of writing?
Features: Compare the features of different AI writers (e.g., type of content, language support, ease of use, integrations with other tools) and any unique functionalities they may offer.
User experience: Ensure the tool provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface, which will make your content creation process smoother and more enjoyable.
Customization: Look for a tool that allows some customization. It should allow you to edit the content and adjust the tone, style, and language preferences for the content to align with your brand voice.
Pricing: Consider the pricing structure of the software and evaluate whether it’s within your budget. Also, assess whether it offers good value for the features provided.
Reputation: Check user reviews, testimonials, and expert opinions to gauge their performance and reliability before settling. Go for a tool with a positive reputation in the industry and a track record of delivering reliable content.
Customer support: Check the level of customer support the AI tool provides. Responsive and helpful support can be necessary if you encounter any issues or need help along the way.
Trial and testing: Many AI writing tools offer trial periods or free versions. Take advantage of these to test the software yourself before signing up for a premium version.

Do AI Detectors Work Accurately?

As AI tools dominate the content market, other technological innovators are also developing AI detectors to distinguish between AI-written and human-written content.

Some popular AI detectors include Originality.ai (the current best), Copyleaks, and Winston.

However, so far, there isn’t any accurate AI detector on the internet. Articles you wrote manually may show a high percentage of AI content, which can be very frustrating! Even the Book of Genesis showed up as AI-written in a popular AI-detector.

Similarly, an AI detector may fail to detect parts of an article you wrote using AI.

So, what do you do if a client accuses you of using AI on content you purely wrote using your brain?

I’ve heard cases where low-paying clients give writers headaches by accusing them of using AI where they did not.

If your client does that, don’t be defensive. Explain to them courteously that you do not use AI and that AI detectors can be inaccurate. If you two don’t agree, it’s time to start looking for a replacement and fire them soon.

What’s the Future of AI Writing?

And finally, have you ever wondered what the future has for us in this AI-dominated industry?

Since technology keeps evolving by the day, artificial intelligence will likely bring significant transformation in how people create content.

For instance, AI language models are likely to become more sophisticated and able to produce more accurate and human-like content. Soon, it will be extremely hard to distinguish AI-generated content from human-written content.

Another trend we expect is the development of domain-specific AI writers. These tools will be specifically designed to create content on a specific niche, e.g., legal, medical, health and fitness, finance, and more. This will add more authority to niche content and meet the unique needs of the target audience.

AI models are also likely to start producing more personalized and customized content. This will allow businesses to deliver highly tailored content to their target audiences based on their interests, behavior, and preferences.

And finally, we expect to see increased AI-human collaboration in almost every industry that needs content. For instance, more organizations will use AI to analyze data, generate reports, streamline workflow, and enhance creativity.

As writers, we should stay on the lookout and find more innovative ways to use AI to enhance our productivity and increase our income.

FAQs

What is the best AI for generating content?

There are several AI tools that do excellent work in producing high-quality content for writers and content creators. Some of the most popular ones include ChatGPT, Jasper, Gemini, and Rytr. However, the best tool will depend on the type of content you want to generate, your budget, and your specific needs and preferences,

Does Google penalize AI-generated content?

No. Google guidelines do not penalize AI-generated content as long as its relevant and high-quality. If the content provides value and is optimized for SEO, it can still rank high on Google’s SERPs. Content may only be penalized if it’s marked low quality, spammy, or violates Google’s guidelines.

How is AI used in writing?

In writing, you can use AI to get content ideas, create outlines, write first drafts, and generate a large amount of marketing content. You can also use it for grammar and style checking, to summarize content, optimize content for SEO, and translate to a second language.

What is the best free AI writer on the internet?

So far, Open AI’s ChatGPT seems to be the best free AI writer on the internet. This is based on the large number of users that prefer it to other AI tools and its ability to produce better content than a human article writer.

How can I make money with AI writing?

You can make money with AI writing by offering content creation services to businesses, bloggers, and website owners. You can also use AI-generated content for email campaigns, advertisements, and social media posts. Additionally, you can use AI to write video scripts for your YouTube channels, which you can monetize to earn money.

Conclusion

To wrap it up, the AI industry is growing fast, and only those who will grab this golden opportunity and run with it will celebrate.

As a writer, if you remain in your comfort zone and don’t find creative ways to use AI writing assistants to boost your creativity, you’ll soon be obsolete and out of business.

Also, note that clients are now hiring not just writers but thinkers! Whether you write blog posts, marketing copy, or social media content, take time to learn how to use AI to increase results and skyrocket your online income.

Your personal input, creativity, and intentional editing are still crucial for producing high-quality, engaging, and authentic content.

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about AI writing.