Our stance on AI copywriting and how we're using it

Generative AI will reduce demand for freelance copywriters in the coming years. It can already do a few simple tasks and it’s likely to get better with time.

The quality of AI’s output isn’t great at the moment, but that isn’t really important. The fact is businesses want it, and they’re willing to pay for it - so long as they believe it’s more efficient than engaging a person. The hype around AI today also means businesses want to show they’re keeping up.

As a copywriter with 15 years of experience in all kinds of writing projects - some worth the time and attention of a skilled human being, others not so much - I appreciate why AI is a way forward for some jobs.

These AI-friendly tasks include parsing information, generating ideas, and writing simple, functional copy.

Is AI ready to handle large and creative projects? Commentators say not yet. GPT-4 still “hallucinates” false ideas and English is one of the few exams it has consistently failed.

But with supervision, AI can accelerate simpler copywriting projects, reducing costs and improving quality in areas like grammatical consistency.

New AI-supported services

That’s why in 2024, Wheatleys Copywriting will start to offer new Writer-Supervised AI services for smaller projects. Content will be generated by GPT-4, but the AI will be operated by a skilled copywriter who can make sure it doesn’t go off piste.

What is the human supervisor’s role in our AI service? They will…

• Provide human understanding needed to create the right prompts and oversee the project
• Check for false information and other problems
• Do manual rewrites, typically needed quite often when using AI to write copy
• Take away the risk of relying on AI and a non-writer operator

With the help of AI, we’ll meet our clients’ needs for reduced costs and faster turnarounds. Or maybe we’ll become the ones assisting the AI?

Want to talk about AI copywriting?

If you’d like to know more, if you want to try an AI copywriting service without the risk, or you’d just like to chat about AI in writing, my inbox is open - email me at neil (at) wheatleys.co or use our contact form.

Thanks for reading.