Over 77% of companies are either using or exploring the use of AI as of 2024.
This insight will explore the rise of AI, a basic breakdown of how AI works, and its impact on content creation in 2024, maybe sparking a few new ideas for your business!
Back to basics
Let’s start right at the beginning. From basic models to independent machine learning, advancements in language models and artificial intelligence are swinging into full force rapidly. But where did this all start?
In 1943 Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts published a paper on artificial neurons, laying the foundation for the future. As time went on new concepts were introduced with the term “artificial intelligence” being coined in 1956, and the first industrial robot, introduced in 1961, kickstarting AI in automation. This took a bit of a turn in 2015 when there was increased interest in the ethics of AI and open-source software. However, as we fly through 2024, AI has become more used than ever.
How does AI work?
AI systems require vast amounts of data to learn and make decisions. This data can come from various sources such as text, images, and audio.
Many AI systems then go through data processing which involves cleaning the data, handling missing values, and transforming it into a suitable format for your purpose.
AI focuses heavily on different algorithms and models.
Machine learning is algorithms that enable computers to learn from data.
Model training involves feeding the preprocessed data into algorithms and adjusting the model parameters to minimise the difference between the predicted and actual outcomes and model evaluation is where models are tested using metrics appropriate to the task, such as accuracy, precision, and recall.
Natural Language Processing also known as NLP. NLP enables machines to understand, interpret, and generate human language. This is key to a lot of the AI that we use in everyday work, such as chatbots, virtual assistants, language translation, and analysis.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is defined as a ‘subfield of computer science and artificial intelligence that uses machine learning to enable computers to understand and communicate with human language,’
What is AI in content creation?
At its core, AI in content creation involves the use of intelligent software that can analyse vast amounts of data, recognise patterns, and produce high-quality content with minimal human intervention. But let’s break this down what do businesses use AI for in particular without having an extensive knowledge of it?
Chat GPT is one of the most well-known open-source AI software. The free tool can generate text from high-quality articles, reports, and blogs to simple social media captions and replies or emails. You can use keywords, and relevant topics to personalise this content for your audience.
A fairly recent feature for design software is AI-powered visual content creation. Tools such as Canva and Adobe Photoshop are examples of the many tools that have integrated machine learning to help users create graphics, visuals, videos, and presentations. Adobe Photoshop in particular has a new feature that allows you to add AI-generated edits to your content. For example, you want to expand an image so it fits the size of your post, website page, frame, etc. Using the generative expand tool, AI can fill in the blanks to suit your image, following brand colours themes, and image style, saving hours of human creators work.
Not only can AI create physical and visual content, but it can also aid in brainstorming ideas, helping with writer’s block, or formalising sentences and emails. AI tools such as Feedly and Curata use algorithms to aggregate and recommend relevant content from various sources. This helps content creators stay informed about industry trends and therefore share valuable insights with their audience.
Social media is a huge venture for almost every company in 2024. It can become time-consuming and has several layers from brainstorming ideas to content creation, to publishing, and finally analysis. AI tools such as Hootsuite or Lately can create and schedule social media posts. They have features that also analyse what time of content performed best and also suggest optimal posting times, hashtags, and even craft engaging captions.
Although there are so many ways AI can be used in content creation, I cannot stress enough how important it is to use this as a collaborative tool. Personalising the content and ensuring it is high quality may involve human interaction, AI software is still being developed and are therefore is not always perfect!
Benefits of using AI in content creation
A pretty obvious benefit of integrating AI in content creation is the significant enhancement in efficiency and increased content produced. Here are a few more benefits to consider:
Cost-effectiveness
Lowers cost by reducing the need for extensive human labor. This can cut down the costs without compromising quality or amount of output.
Consistency and accuracy
AI can help to reduce human errors in content creation, whether this is solely AI content creation or using AI tools to correct and check human work. Multiple AI tools can ensure that content adheres to brand guidelines, maintaining a consistent voice, style, and tone across all platforms.
Creativity and innovation
AI can generate multiple perspectives when it comes to content. This may be through analysing trends, user performance, and existing content.
Accessibility and inclusivity
AI translation tools can make content accessible to a global audience by translating it into multiple languages accurately and efficiently. There are also a range of platforms that offer AI voice generators and transcripts. This ensures content is accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments.
Challenges and ethical considerations
With many benefits, there are also many challenges to the rapid growth of AI in businesses and content creation. Let’s explore a few:
Quality control
With a lack of human intervention, AI tools may generate content with outdated info, factual errors, or a lack of emotional depth that human creators can bring.
Originality
Messaging is so important for a business. Your brand’s personality is what stands out and wins your clients. Often AI content is repeated across sites, very generic and let’s be honest sometimes pretty obvious.
Addressing issues of plagiarism
The use of AI in content generation has blurred the lines and challenged the understanding of plagiarism.
Bias
AI systems can maintain or even exacerbate existing biases if they are trained on biased databases. This can lead to limited perspectives, stereotypes, and discriminatory practices in content marketing and personalisation.
Job displacement
This is a huge topic being discussed with the rise of AI. AI in marketing can have a huge impact on employment in particular content creation and data analysis. AI can have cost-saving and labour-saving benefits which appeals to employers. However, companies need to consider strategies for workforce transition and upskilling.
Building a brand story
Every business has its own unique and personal brand story, messaging, personality, and tone of voice. Understanding cultural context, emotions, and your personal story is only something a human can do. Building a story to resonate with your audience relies on experiences and sensitivity which AI lacks to achieve. Whilst consistency can be a benefit of AI it can also be a challenge. The tone of voice is something hard to master through automation and developing software. Effective storytelling is dependent on a strong brand voice and this needs to be maintained across all storytelling content.
Conclusion
So what does the future of AI look like? It is crystal clear that AI will continue to be integrated into businesses and content strategies. Whilst it can be a powerful tool to free up creatives to do what they do best- innovating, it should not replace the human touch of your marketing. Consider how the role of human creators can evolve alongside AI to maximise efficiency whilst utlising human creativity and personalisation.
