Will AI Replace Writers? Here's Why It's Not Happening Anytime Soon

With the increasing popularity and use of artificial intelligence in the content marketing world, it’s understandable that writers like me might be sweating about losing their livelihoods.

And while AI certainly is useful for some writing tasks, it won’t (or shouldn’t) replace human writers anytime soon. Here’s why you need to keep hiring professional writers for your content.

Why AI Won't Replace Human Writers

1. AI Is a Robot, Not a Human

Yes, robots can do a lot of amazing things, but one thing they will never be able to do is write like a person. AI writing tends to be mechanical and formulaic—which is fine for technical writing, but problematic when you need to convey warmth and authenticity in order to engage readers and build trust.

AI writing tends to be stiff and unnatural, filled with words and phrasing that don’t reflect how real writers communicate. It often sticks to predictable sentence structures instead of varying rhythm and tone to keep readers hooked.

If you want your content to connect you with your audience, AI isn’t going to cut it. It can’t use emotional storytelling with the heart that a human writer can, and that shows in the final result.

2. AI May Not Help You in Search Results

While search engines (okay, let’s be honest here—we really only care about Google) aren’t yet cracking down on AI-generated content, they are being selective about promoting expert-driven, user-first content above crappy AI content.

Let’s take a trip back to 2007 when article farms were all the rage in marketing. These sites had a jumble of articles about any and every topic under the sun. At the start, they seemed like a great opportunity to get a brand in front of readers. But as technology became more sophisticated, Google started slapping down these article farms in search results.

Now they’re obsolete.

I predict something similar will happen with AI-generated content. If search engines implement tools like pattern recognition content and Natural Language Processing (NLP) models, they may begin to penalize this content in favor of that written by humans.

So…if that happens, where will your blog or website be if it’s covered in AI content?

3. AI Content Is Wordy

Just like a high schooler trying to hit a certain word count, AI content can drone on and on without saying anything. It often repeats itself and gets tangled up in an argument without having a clear direction.

As a writer, I am often given word counts of 1500 or more for articles, and I know how to make sure every word matters. Filling that word count with useful information rather than rehashing the same thing is what gets people to read content. AI isn’t savvy enough to understand that.

4. It’s Not Always Correct

Ask AI to write something for you and you might end up with incorrect facts or statistics. Its “brain” includes everything published online, and as we all know, not everything out there is factual. But AI doesn’t know how to decipher truth from fiction.

So if you use AI for research or writing, always, always fact check.

I prefer to use Google to search for statistics because its Generative AI provides answers to what I’m looking for as well as links to back up the data. I can easily click to confirm or cite the source. That’s not the case with ChatGPT.

5. It Can’t Be YOU

Depending on the kind of content you create, you might use personal anecdotes and stories to connect with your audience. Artificial intelligence can’t, for example, share the story of how you broke your arm when you fell from a tree in the eighth grade (which maybe you weave into a post about taking chances).

Humans identify with other humans, and with the human experience. AI can’t compete.

How to Use AI to Help With Content

Though I was initially resistant, I’ve found ways to incorporate AI into my writing process.

Use AI to Do Research

With the caveat that AI isn’t always right, it can help generate topic ideas, make listicles, and find data. Just always confirm any information that you plan to use in your writing.

Use AI in the Writing Process

While you may not want to entrust all the writing to AI, it can be a useful assistant.

• AI is helpful for creating outlines, which can save you time in writing. You can give it a topic or title, and even feed it a few articles you’d like to use for inspiration. It will spit out an outline that you can use as-is or modify.
• I also use AI to refine an idea or create a better hook than what I’ve written. I don’t always use what it’s written. Instead, I use it as a teaching tool to understand how I can improve my own writing.
• AI can take something you’ve already written and generate other types of content, such as social media posts or emails. That’s a great time-saver.
• You can also use AI to provide feedback on your writing. It’s like having your college English professor on speed dial! I take the feedback to heart and incorporate the suggestions into the next draft.

I think we’re all starting to see the limitations of AI, at least as it functions today. It can help us with writing tasks, but it will never fully replace a human with writing (and life) experience.