In the last few years, we’ve seen major advances in the capability of generative AI tools across all kinds of industries. It’s been exciting to see (or super worrying, depending on who you ask).
When it comes to content marketing, AI models are being trained to do just about everything for us. From writing content and creating images to summarizing reports and responding to emails, there’s a ‘friendly’ robot ready to lend a helping hand.
And as AI tools improve, the better they’re able to replicate human creativity, and the harder it gets to tell AI-generated content from the real deal. Independent creatives and digital agencies alike are starting to wonder if there’s still a place for human creativity in the ever-spreading tech jungle. Understandably so! Experts estimate that up to 90% of online content could be AI-generated by 2026. That would leave a whole lot of creative digital marketers scrambling for a piece of the remaining 10% of the market share this time next year.
But here’s a hot take: AI-generated blogs, articles, images, and websites may be on track to dominate the internet. But it’s that 10% of human-generated content that will continue to get the lion’s share of engagement.
AI has its place in the world – even in creative processes. But in industries like digital marketing, where human-to-human connection is key, authentic content driven by human intelligence will always outperform the artificial stuff.
Let’s sort it all out: how generative AI can make your marketing job a lot easier, the risks and limitations involved, and how, in the end, genuine human creativity is still the key ingredient in successful content marketing.
How artificial intelligence can help human creativity
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and OpenAI have seen a boom in popularity over the last few years. Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT’s monthly visits have gone from 152.7 million to 3.8 billion as of November 2024. That’s impressive growth by anyone’s standards!
And while tools like ChatGPT are relatively new, artificial intelligence has been around for quite a while. Even if you’ve steered clear of generative AI, you’ve probably used other kinds – maybe without even realizing. If you’ve ever asked Alexa or Siri to set a timer or remind you of an important task, or talked to a customer service chatbot, or used spell check to edit a document? Yep – that’s all AI.
And there’s no shame in using it! …for certain things, at least. AI is great at many of the tasks that eat up a lot of time and energy, and that, frankly, we don’t necessarily love to do ourselves (and sometimes struggle to do well).
Here are a few of the routine tasks AI could take off your plate:
- Data analysis
- Scheduling
- Transcribing meetings
- Sorting and managing emails
- Organizing files
AI tools can handle repetitive tasks like these quickly and accurately – leaving you more time and energy to focus on creative tasks and strategies.
That said, you might still be pressed for time. And these days, the competition in the digital marketing space has never been fiercer. If you’re under pressure, you can use AI to support both your admin and creative processes.
When it’s time to get creative, AI can help:
- Generate ideas
- Create blog outlines
- Check for grammar and spelling mistakes
- Summarize large amounts of research
- Simplify and explain complex topics
The limitations of generative AI
As useful as these tools can be for laying a foundation for your project or running a quick spell check, when it comes to creating engaging, high-quality content, even the most advanced generative AI systems fall short.
Why is that? The short answer is, AI lacks the creative skills and critical thinking needed to match human innovation.
Sure, ChatGPT can write a blog post and Midjourney can create art – at little cost and in only a matter of seconds. But the content lacks authenticity and emotional depth. These systems process vast amounts of material they’ve been trained on to churn out something that (hopefully) matches the prompt they’ve been given. But they don’t produce new ideas. Because everything they make is based on existing data, AI-generated content is generic at best – and pure plagiarism at worst.
Here are a few ways human creativity will always outperform AI:
Emotional intelligence
Think of some of the best movies you’ve seen or books you’ve read. Did they move you? Make you feel something? They came from human creativity. Generative AI will never be able to replicate human emotions in any real way.
As humans, we can understand the depth of how we, and others, feel through our empathetic instincts and lived experiences. A robot simply can’t do that.
Divergent thinking
Creative thinking is experimental at its core. New ideas and innovative solutions take complex, divergent thought. This kind of outside-the-box thinking comes naturally to humans while computers excel at the opposite – convergent thinking – providing a single logic-based solution to a problem.
Nuance
Have you ever read an AI-written joke? Or poem? It takes a more complex level of creative thought than you might think to do this well. AI lacks the ability to understand context, humor, and subtlety – all of which play a role in making genuine human-to-human connections in everything from day-to-day conversation to marketing content.
Ethical considerations
There’s a large gap between AI and human creativity when it comes to ethics. A creator with integrity wouldn’t blatantly copy someone else’s creative work and pass it off as their own. But AI is trained to do just that.
Based on the human-made material it’s been fed, an artificial intelligence tool can emulate, imitate, or straight-up steal from others. This can lead to allegations of plagiarism or theft and land you or your agency in some serious hot water.
The power of human creativity
AI is a great tool for taking care of routine admin tasks and kick-starting your creative process. But it’s missing a fundamental aspect of creativity – a unique viewpoint.
And while generative AI might be quick and cheap, no matter how advanced the technology gets, no amount of training data or development can match human input.
As human creators, we have the capacity for complex, divergent thought and a wide range of real experiences to pull from. As we move towards a future where AI will be used for almost everything, our creative ideas, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence will become our most valuable assets. And it’s our human creativity that will continue to attract, engage, and connect with other humans – in digital marketing and beyond.
Guest article written by: Abby Wood is a content strategist and copywriter for over 13 years and the founder of The Content Lab (a white label content agency) and Content Goodies (providing white label content templates for agencies). She’s also co-founder of Ireland Website Design (a full service eCommerce agency) and LearnRight (a white label LMS solution). Originally from Cambridge, England, Abby now lives in Ireland with her partner Nick and their border collie Bosco.