This article was created with the assistance of AI. Sort of.
Let’s clarify that: The writer of this article (a professional journalist by education and trade) used AI to do research on the topic of how AI should and shouldn’t be used in PR and marketing writing. AI tools were used to find relevant resources that helped frame the topic. AI was applied in the same ways other online research methods are employed in the process of content creation.
That’s where the application of AI stopped for the formation of this piece of content. AI wasn’t used to draft the copy. It wasn’t used to create unique angles or organize the flow of thoughts. AI wasn’t used in any phase of the writing process. It wasn’t used for editing. It wasn’t even used for fact-checking (because as everyone knows by now, AI is notoriously buggy when it comes to getting facts straight).
For all those things—writing, building thematic structure, editing, fact-checking—Calysto relied on the expertise of its team of writers and editors to create this original piece of content. It leveraged the years of experience those professionals have in honing their respective crafts. It took humans to create this piece of content, and that’s what makes it unique.
The Human Factor
The business of journalism isn’t even close to what it once was. The internet begat online publishing, dramatically increasing the volume of content and ostensibly making everyone a publisher.
What didn’t change in that evolution were the professions—and, in particular, the professional experience—of the people who were trained to create all that content. Industry-focused journalists have always had a unique perspective on the industries they covered, in large part because of their regular interaction with the smart and experienced professionals who make up those industries.
That in-depth experience and familiarity with subject matter also makes those journalists a good barometer for detecting BS when it comes to AI. The bottom line? Journalists do not want—and likely will not respond to—AI pitches. They want authentic, unique opportunities, not canned or recycled spin generated by a machine.
And as attractive as AI might seem as a way to save time, it’s critical to remember that AI engines don’t have the context to understand and interpret trends. There’s simply no replacement for professional human experience when it comes to tracking how a technology or product fits historically or contextually.
The essential and effective process of content creation hasn’t changed, and it shouldn’t, regardless of how industry news and information is delivered. And it’s even more important that your company’s contribution to that—in the form of press releases, blog posts, Thought Leadership articles, White papers, Case studies, any earned media and other content—is created in the same way, using people who understand how to collect and convey unique, insightful and actionable information about your company, technology or industry sector.
That’s what sets Calysto apart from the agencies that rely on AI as a way to save both time and costs by utilizing it to write PR content. Our extensive experience in the industries where we focus is our strong suit. We don’t use AI for writing, we don’t use AI for pitching, and we leverage the deep expertise of industry journalists (as well as the real-world experience of our clients) to distinguish the marketing, branding and PR work we produce. If we use AI at all, we do so sparingly, and we never use it to craft content for our clients or to pitch our clients’ stories to the media.
The AI Danger Signs
While AI can be a useful tool for brainstorming and researching topics, it can’t replace the experience and context that a professional and industry-experienced writer brings to the content creation process. Here are just some of the pitfalls that an over-reliance on AI tools in the writing process can cause:
- Lack of originality and creativity. AI-generated content has nowhere near the depth, nuance and persuasive power of copy crafted by a professional writer with experience covering and understanding the machinations of an industry sector. AI relies on previously published information and data to generate text, making it impossible to create truly original and unique content. The result is generic-sounding, homogenized content that does little to differentiate your company, technology, product or news announcement.
- Absence of emotional intelligence and persuasion: Professional writing about an industry—especially in the technology sector—is about connecting with, influencing and persuading readers to take action. AI lacks the human understanding of emotions and motivations required to craft compelling stories that truly resonate with the audience.
- Difficulty in capturing brand voice: Your company no doubt has invested a lot of time, money and resources into creating a differentiated brand with a unique voice and personality designed to resonate with a very specific target audience of industry professionals. AI struggles to replicate this nuance, often producing copy that feels bland or inauthentic. Experienced writers know how to tailor their writing to match a brand’s specific tone, style and values.
- Potential for error and plagiarism. AI tools are still notorious for generating inaccurate and misleading information. There’s also a very real risk of plagiarism when using AI to create content. Experienced human writers (and the human editors who check and recheck their work) know how to ensure accuracy and originality.