read it

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I know we've said this before, but content has been so bonkers lately. I've been experiencing so many instances of "let's use AI to make this more efficient." And, while AI can make many things more efficient, sometimes it really is better to have a human driving the carriage.

Here are some instances where you may be asked to use AI, and ways to make it work:

1/ AI is great at summarizing. This is my FAVORITE use case.

✅ Use it to decode transcripts and articles and give you the essential bits.

❌ Don't use it to analyze that content. Its brain is not better than yours. It will talk in cirles and you'll be bummed out.

2/ Editing

✅ Use it to reword awkward sentences. It's got this down. I often copy and paste a sentence and just say, "make this better." Usually, it does. Sometimes, it doesn't. But often, yeah, it's pretty good.

❌ Don't copy and paste an entire article and ask it to edit it or give it a score. Naaaah.

3/ Writing

✅ AI can speed things along FOR SURE. It's good at predicting sentences. Tell it to "finish your sentence" here and there when it's obvious how it's gonna end. Then, make tweaks.

❌ Don't ask it to "write a blog post" and give it a bunch of parameters all in one fell swoop. I tested this for some people. It was the most garbabe-y garbabe of all time.

4/ Drafting

✅ If you or your client is set on using AI to draft full pieces, fine. Ugh. But don't give it a huge prompt and ask it to write something, and then edit. Instead, take it paragraph by paragraph. This allows you to do the thinking, and you'll end up with a much better article.

❌ Don't use it to draft a full article. It's just always bad.

Thanks for reading,

​Ashley R. Cummings​

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Expert Interview | Lacey Muinos

1. Tell me more about yourself and your journey into content.​
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My name is Lacey Muinos, and I'm a freelance writer who specializes in blog posts and articles. I mainly write about lifestyle topics, such as wellness, beauty, food, and home. My journey is pretty linear, I think.
​
I briefly considered other careers, but I pretty much always knew I would be a writer. I was an English major in college, and I felt extremely lucky when I landed my first full-time role in content marketing at a local beauty startup.
​
After realizing that the traditional full-time schedule and rigidity wasn't for me, I pivoted to freelance writing. It wasn't completely new to me since I'd freelanced some in college, but it was the first time I pursued freelance as a source of full-time income.
​
By my second year, I'd surpassed my former salary. After a few years, I'd doubled it. I've now been freelance writing for nearly a decade, and while my job isn't for everyone, it's definitely for me.
​
​2. What is one writing tip to help your content stand out in the age of AI?​
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In my years as a freelance writer, I've had to pivot a few times. During the pandemic, I had a few clients run into budget issues, which meant I wasn't getting paid. There was also a period where laws in my state made it difficult to be a freelancer in general. So, this isn't the first hoop I've had to jump through, and it probably won't be the last.
​
It's still so early, but right now, AI-generated content doesn't interview subject matter experts (SMEs), share first-hand accounts, or back up claims and statistics with high-quality sources. It also doesn't do some on-page SEO: It doesn't use internal and external linking, write alt tags for images, etc. I focus on what I can do in light of AI's limitations, and so far, my clients have all been on the same page.
​
While some people may disagree, I also think that AI-generated content takes the same cookie cutter format. Lately I've seen a lot of brands' blogs that are no doubt created by AI, and their posts are all extremely similar in tone and structure: There's no unique brand voice, every blog post is more than 2,000 words long, and the content itself has dozens of H3s, each with just a few sentences underneath. To me, this screams "AI" because human-created content, in my opinion, is more thoughtfully organized and the points more carefully and creatively communicated.
​
So, my tip is to research, write, and edit like a human, which is the competitive edge I never saw coming.

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Jobs

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The Best in Content This Week

I read 100s of articles every week and find the best (so you don't have to).

1/ Google Introduces AI Mode in Search​

Google has launched AI Mode, powered by Gemini 2.0, to deliver more conversational and insightful search results. This feature provides AI-generated overviews and deeper insights within the search interface.(So they say).

2/ How Marketers Are Using AI for Writing [Survey]​

A recent survey reveals 83% of marketers have published AI-assisted content, primarily using tools like ChatGPT. While AI aids in drafting and ideation, concerns about writing quality and the need for substantial editing persist. (We talked about this above).

3/Cloudflare CEO: Search-Driven Internet Business Model Must Evolve​

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince discusses the need for the internet's business model to move beyond its current reliance on search-driven frameworks.

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Sharpen Your Skills 📝

Ashley's take: Click over to this LinkedIn post and give it a read. This web copy approach heavily considers stakeholders, and I am digging that. How many times have we all gone forward with an idea and then someone in charge is like...NEVERMIND?!?!

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