How to use AI so you don't end up with boring (or bad) content

Easy, right? Get ChatGPT to generate some content. Give it a tweak. Add a few personal flourishes. Then you’ve got some quality content for your website.

Well, not quite.

AI is a powerful tool for transforming content output. It can help you streamline content production and reduce your team’s workload. But you need to learn how to use it properly.

Otherwise, you can end up with content that is:

• dull
• uninspiring
• factually incorrect

Like I did.

How I wrote this article using AI and what went wrong

Originally, I wanted to write an article about how to use AI to create high-quality content.

To do it, I followed these steps:

1. I prompted ChatGPT with questions surrounding ‘How to generate and manage your content using AI.’
2. I copied and pasted the results into a document.
3. I did online searches to cross-check information and make sure it was correct. (It was, although some of it seemed a little out of date).
4. I rewrote the article, removing anything that didn’t sound right (or sounded too much like generic ChatGPT – for example, sentences beginning with “In today’s digital world …”) By the way, there are also apps which you can use to flag and remove obvious AI phrasing from your work.
5. Then we did a content crit, where other team members looked at the article and criticised it.
6. That didn’t go well. While the content touched on all the important points, we found it was generic, flat and dull.

Even after I’d spent good time sculpting the content provided by ChatGPT, the content lacked warmth, character and engagement. Basically, it sounded like tired marketing spiel.

Also, while the thrust of the content followed a logical pattern, it didn’t speak to a specific audience.

So what could I have done differently? Here’s what I learned.

Identify your audience’s needs

Always identify your audience’s (“user”) needs before you use AI to create content. This ensures you put your audience first and speak to them directly.

You can’t expect to engage people if you don’t know who they are. People need to have a reason to engage with your content.

You need to understand what they’re looking for to give your content a purpose.

Give AI clear instructions

Always provide clear instructions when you ask AI to generate content or ideas. AI tools don’t always grasp the context or cultural nuances of the prompts you give them.

Review the output of AI tools so it’s consistent with the intended meaning and context.

How to use AI so it doesn’t use you

Use an active voice in your content

Get your audience to sit up and take notice by using a clear, direct voice that demands action.

AI tools such as ChatGPT have a habit of parroting tired or clichéd phrases (spoiler alert: “in today’s digital world …”).

So it’s up to us to turn this uninspired language into the kind of thing that other humans actually want to read. On that note …

Don’t lose your human touch

AI tools can streamline processes, but they lack a human touch. Content that lacks a personal touch or emotional connection won’t resonate with your audience.

As I’ve found writing this article, human experience is the one ingredient that you can’t leave out.

Qualities such as empathy, humour and critical judgment are the spices that give texture, body and flavour to your work. They’re vital for crafting something that people want to read.

Finding the right balance between automation and human involvement will ensure you can still create high-quality content (“in today’s digital world”).

Get in touch to find out how we can help with your content strategy.