I think we’re far enough into the AI marketing revolution to know how it’s changing our industry. Yes, increasingly intelligent AI models mean we’re all worried we’re going to be replaced by AI bots. While many marketers still refuse to use AI-generated content on principle, other companies are gleefully all-in on AI-generated content and tactics. AI, like it or not, is becoming part of a marketer’s toolkit.
What I’m going to say next is equal parts frustrating and reassuring: Even while AI continues to roll out increasingly advanced models, Al still has serious limitations. We can generate a massive quantity of content in minutes, but the quality of that content is affected by egregious mistakes, blandness, and sometimes, stolen material. Then there’s the far more sinister issue of how your content and data might be used by the algorithm itself.
There is no faster way to fail at scale than with AI automation. But the flipside can be powerful and wondrous.
If you’re going to use AI, the key is to stay in the driver’s seat. AI needs to be led by smart, talented humans, full stop. It’s on you to take the raw material AI generates, and use some creative alchemy to turn it into quality content—at scale.
Before you do that, here are five AI marketing traps to avoid.
Posting AI content without editing it first. Heavily. Here’s the thing to remember about AI-generated content. All AI models know how to do is to build content from material that already exists.
AI can’t fact-check, it can’t create content if it doesn’t have access to the subject matter, and it certainly can’t write in your brand’s voice. Those tasks still fall to human minds (and for that, marketers should be relieved!).
A prime example why: mighty Google was left red-faced when its AI chatbot Bard (Gemini’s precursor) gave a wrong answer during a live demonstration. This is why you can’t just ask AI to churn out six-months-worth of blog articles and call it a day.
Otherwise, you’ll end up posting content that is stiff, impersonal and (shocker) robotic. Worse, you could end up posting completely false or even libelous information.
Which brings me to my next point…
Ignoring biases in AI. Remember what I said about how AI can only build content from what’s already in its models? Since that content has to first be created by humans, AI can unfortunately be riddled with biases and outright prejudice. Internet trolls and extremists have even deliberately swamped AI tools with sexist and racist material in order to negatively influence their output.
Even without the dark side of the internet deliberately messing with AI algorithms, AI can be influenced by casual prejudices and racism in content. You need to review AI content for any biases that you never want associated with your brand. Check carefully to ensure you’re in the clear.
Compromising your SEO. While Google allows AI-generated content, its official stance remains that it “rewards high-quality content, however it is produced”. Content that meets their stringent policies (the aforementioned AI gaffe notwithstanding) gets elevated to the top. Anything that fails, though, is going to end up at the bottom.
This means if you aren’t being careful with the AI content you’re putting out there, you can destroy your SEO ranking. Anything that’s obviously AI-generated, without a single human being having touched it, is going to send you tumbling to the bottom.
If you’re concerned about meeting Google’s standards, make sure your content follows their E-E-A-T principle: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. As marketers, that’s what we need to be doing anyway.
Risking plagiarism and legal challenges. In the increasingly murky legal waters that surround AI use, it’s not surprising that there’s already been several cases of plagiarism. Writers and artists alike have had their work submitted to AI tools without their consent, and are now fighting for compensation or the outright removal of their work. Worse still, your OWN content could be put in an AI algorithm without your knowledge as well.
You don’t ever want your brand to be caught in the crosshairs of plagiarism legal battle. Even if there’s no lawsuit (yet), you don’t want your brand to be known for producing generic and unoriginal content. Since it can be impossible to tell if your AI content is plagiarized or not, you need to do your due diligence.
Again, think of your AI content as raw material that you, the marketer, need to shape into strong, hard-hitting creative. Even if you accidentally use plagiarized content, you’ll be less likely to use it in its unadulterated form.
Failing to check cybersecurity. AI tools and generators have popped up everywhere like mushrooms. And much like mushrooms, some AI tools can look benign but be very poisonous.
Web extensions that look and act like legitimate AI tools (and can even be found in actual app or extension stores) are actually malware. The moment someone uses them, your entire system could be corrupted.
Make sure you do your due diligence before using any AI tools.
- Research AI tools, their reviews, and ratings. This will help you find which are the real deal.
- If an AI extension has few reviews and uses poor grammar, that’s a red flag.
- Never enter confidential company/client information into any AI tool, even a legitimate one.
- Most importantly, find out what happens to your content and data before you enter it into the AI tool. Even legitimate sources may sell your data to a third party or use it for training their models in ways you might not be okay with. Be sure to read the proverbial fine print before you generate anything!
You’ll protect yourself and your clients from malicious actors, and produce better quality content, too.
AI usage in marketing is still mostly uncharted territory. If you need help navigating through, or if you’re interested in how to use AI right, KAT Media can be your guide. Contact us today to find out how.