Using AI as part of your content marketing strategy can be a cost-effective way to scale content creation and drive traffic to your site. In fact, a survey by Influencer Marketing Hub found that over 60% of marketers have incorporated AI tools into their marketing efforts. But despite the recent rise in the number of AI writing tools, consumers still trust content that has a relatable, authentic voice the most. So for your business’s AI content to make an impact, it must be refined as much as possible and appeal to your target audience. In this guide, we’ll discuss how you can humanize AI-generated content and make the most of popular content creation tools.
Why You Should Humanize AI Content
For your ecommerce business, content is what drives traffic to your website and keeps potential customers on the page. Deploying a high volume of subpar content won’t leave as much of an impression on readers as effectively utilizing a smaller amount of high-quality, engaging writing. Furthermore, better content equals better SEO and a higher ranking on Google results pages. As part of its Helpful Content Update, Google now prioritizes unique, user-friendly content free of “fluff” and clearly addressing search queries.
So what does that mean for your business? Any content you publish, including AI-generated content, should be thoroughly revised to reflect your business’s specific brand voice and the demands of your target audience. Not only does this approach boost your credibility; it also helps create a more personal and memorable experience for your customers (a proven way to increase sales).
Next, let’s look at some specific ways you can humanize AI content.
Develop a Brand Voice
A common telltale sign of AI-generated content is an inconsistent tone of voice. That is, the tone of the content can fluctuate between professional and casual, thereby possibly confusing readers. One way to ensure consistency across all the content you produce (including AI-generated content) is to develop and implement a unique brand voice for your business. Essentially, a consistent brand voice is how you communicate your mission to customers and craft a cohesive, recognizable identity. Depending on the product or service you offer, your brand voice can be funny, serious, motivational, or authoritative (check out this list of 15 brand voice examples for inspiration). Ensure your team consistently applies your chosen brand voice and the tone you want to convey by developing a detailed content style guide that clearly lays out your brand voice guidelines.
Research Your Audience
If you want AI-generated content to resonate with potential customers and drive conversions, understanding who your audience is and what they’re looking for is essential. When you research your target audience, you can create buyer personas and edit AI-generated content to reflect the language and tone that best connect with your intended readers. For example, if you find that many of your customers are young professionals living in a major city, you can tailor your content to match the potential pain and gain points of that particular demographic (e.g., time management, work–life balance, the high cost of living).
Add a Dash of Personality
Although AI-generated content can be a great, efficient way to convey your business’s message, it can lack personality and character. Because AI content is derived from information previously published online, it doesn’t typically include creative elements, such as witty observations and relatable anecdotes. Incorporating these features into your AI-generated content can provide context for your readers and add a touch of relatability. You can also add personality to the content by replacing overly formal or antiquated language with slang or colloquial phrases where appropriate.
Avoiding hedging language (another common element of AI content) in favor of bold, direct language that inspires confidence in your business can also be useful.
Incorporate Vibrant Descriptions
AI content can be somewhat bland because its intent is simply to deliver information, not to entertain, so adding a generous amount of vibrant, descriptive adjectives makes visualizing the content easier for readers (and makes the writing more similar to that of real humans). Use adjectives that appeal to the reader’s five senses—such as delectable, aromatic, dazzling, and, refreshing—especially when describing your business’s products.
Smooth Transitions
AI-generated text can sound somewhat monotone and robotic (and that makes sense, given that a machine has done the writing!). To improve the readability of the text and ensure the topics or ideas flow smoothly, incorporate transition words where necessary and vary the sentence structure and length. You can also improve the natural flow of the text (and build a connection with your audience) by addressing readers directly in the second person (you) and referring to your company in the first person (we, us).
Support Your Claims With Evidence
AI writing tools often rely on vague evidence to support claims, rather than citing statistics or credible experts. The content will often include ambiguous language, such as “many people believe” or “some experts say,” and lack clear evidence. To humanize AI content and boost your credibility, back up claims with verified factual evidence, such as scientific studies or quotes from industry leaders. You can also incorporate reviews or testimonials from your audience to personalize the user experience. Positive reviews from actual customers also serve as “social proof” and encourage others to trust your business.
Use Specific Prompts
The prompts you enter when using AI writing tools such as ChatGPT can also make a difference. If you want to produce humanized AI-generated content, your prompts should reflect that. For example, include relevant details and the specific tone of voice you prefer when prompting AI tools:
Create a paragraph describing the benefits of [insert product or service here]. ✘
Create a paragraph describing the benefits of [insert product or service here]. Use a friendly, conversational voice and appeal to young professionals living in a city. Aim for an overall approachable and upbeat tone and avoid over-the-top language. ✔
If you’re not happy with the response you get, keep adding to or amending your prompt until you get the desired result. Although you’ll still have to edit the AI content to improve readability and meet your style guidelines, using targeted language in your initial prompts will provide you with a better foundation of content to work with.
AI Editing Services
Ensure the AI-generated content your business uses leaves a lasting impression on your target audience by having our expert team professionally proofread and edit it. Although AI can be a valuable tool to help you streamline the content production process, nothing can replace the personal touch of experienced editors. Schedule a call with us today to learn more about how our AI content editing service can help you meet your business goals.
