Can AI replace copywriters? JANA DU PLESSIS MÜLLER investigates.
We copywriters often bristle at the mention of AI and its role in our profession – and with good reason. Company leaders have been asking an uncomfortable question: ‘Why should I hire a copywriter when AI can generate the content for me?’
Of course, the intention behind that query stems from genuine concerns about staff overheads and company costs, which is understandable. But that’s just the thing: a human writer understands intention, emotion and nuance; AI does not.
Yes, there’s a place for AI in content generation. Any writer who understands the power of having a diverse toolkit will also grasp how AI models like ChatGPT can enhance their workflow.
But will AI ever replace copywriters? Will it generate words that encapsulate your brand promise? Will it immerse itself in what that promise means and translate it into a slogan that connects with your audience? Can AI do that authentically and meaningfully?
Because that’s what copywriters do. Day in and day out. We essentially become the brand we’re writing for. We talk like it and walk like it. It becomes part of our fibre, allowing us to create stories that captivate and enthral the audience. And that’s just our day job. When we’re not conjuring words that weave and connect, we’re reading, thinking, dreaming and creating.
Which raises an important question: when you’ve closed your laptop for the day, is your AI tool dreaming up new ideas? Is it mulling over potential slogans while cooking dinner? Is it jotting down new words and crazy phrases before it falls asleep at night? Do storylines come to it in the shower while it listens to its favourite Spotify playlist? I don’t think so.
Putting AI to the copywriting test
For the purposes of this article, I put the world’s most popular AI tool, ChatGPT, to the test. I fed it a prompt based on one of the assignments from the Writers College Copywriting Course and then assessed the quality and emotional effectiveness of its output.
Here are the results:
Prompt:
You are a professional and proficient copywriter writing advertising copy for a marketing agency. A brand called Outdoorzy has just launched a new outdoor clothing range targeting Millennials who love the outdoors and craft beer. They also value tight-knit relationships with their peers, co-workers and spouses. Your job as the marketing copywriter is to come up with a brand promise for Outdoorzy.
ChatGPT result:
Brand Promise for Outdoorzy:
Outdoorzy promises to deliver outdoor gear that not only performs but also brings people closer together, blending adventure, style, and community in every experience.
My assessment:
Although this is not all bad, and it contains a few words that a copywriter can work with, it lacks the personality and human spark that only a true writer knows how to ignite. Yes, the AI result was created in a few seconds (so, yes, Mr CEO, AI will save your company time and money), but audiences will read this text and feel, well, cheated. Where’s the charisma? The realness?
Here’s my two-minute rewrite:
Brand Promise for Outdoorzy:
Adventure is in your DNA. When you get up and go, Outdoorzy is right beside you. For more. For you. For everyone.
Maybe not an award-winning brand promise, but a human one at the very least.
There is space for AI in a copywriter’s work life
This isn’t an us-against-them scenario; we can use AI to enhance our day-to-day copywriting tasks, much like we’ve used search engines for decades – as an aid. AI can help us get unstuck, spark new ideas and sift through masses of research (for instance, just feed ChatGPT a company white paper and ask for the highlights).
The greatest advantage of AI copywriting is that it saves companies time and effort by producing large volumes of content very quickly. But the quality of that content relies on an algorithm that is incapable of originality.
In contrast, professional copywriters are trained to think creatively and develop fresh concepts for every new brief and client – every single day. It’s undeniably a craft.
So, if you’re looking for quick, mass-produced content, go ahead and use AI. But if you want an expert word wielder, someone who knows how to bridge the gap between brands and people, hire a copywriter.
About the Author
Jana du Plessis Müller is an award-winning freelance copywriter, journalist, lecturer and digital marketer. She currently tutors the Copywriting Course at the Writers College.
Her experience as a copywriter is vast, from award-winning TTL campaigns at big South African agencies, all the way to providing clients with a range of copywriting solutions as a remote freelancer.
A few of her award-winning clients include Simplr (South Africa), Optimise & Grow Online (Australia), Eco Africa Digital (Southern Africa), London Shared (UK), FirstPour (UK), ARTBANX (Switzerland), Venture Videos (UK) and Noodle (USA).
Jana has also worked with agencies such as King James and Saatchi & Saatchi on large-scale campaigns. She was also appointed as Digital Creative Director at Conversion Advantage International (with offices in SA and Australia).
Education is part of her heartbeat, and she has lectured at various institutions, including Vega, Red & Yellow and, most recently, Inscape and the IMM Graduate School of Marketing.
