“Will AI replace writers?” is a question many businesses (and writers) are asking. AI learns from books, blogs, social media, and one other important source—AI-generated content. That creates a growing cycle of generic writing that lacks a distinctive voice and original ideas.
Strong writing stands out because it reflects human judgment, personal experience, and a unique perspective. Businesses that opt for authentic, well-crafted content will have a better chance of earning trust, engaging readers, and standing out from AI-generated copy.
Great writers still have the edge over AI-generated content
- How will AI replace writers? Where does it learn from?
- Now’s the time for good writers to shine
- Why is this good news for good writers and editors?
- What happens when you go with “good enough”? You get what you pay for.
- So, will AI replace writers? Not if you do this.
How many LinkedIn posts do you see daily about AI slop and AI coming for our jobs? Heck, even I’m guilty of writing about whether we should be worried about AI replacing us. But I recently had an “a-ha moment.” AI slop is going to be its own downfall. How, you ask? It can go no other way. And that means there’s no way AI will replace writers—at least not the ones who are good at what they do.
People see AI writing as a powerful tool. It can generate hundreds of blog posts to boost their SEO rankings. Just give it some keywords and prompts, and off you go. In minutes, you have more content than you could ever need. And you didn’t have to pay a content writer or editor. But who’s reading that content?
Pssst, here’s a little secret. It’s not who you want. But even when your AI-generated content isn’t engaging your target audience, it’s still getting read. But by who? Or is it whom? (I know it’s “whom”, but I also know people will think I’m pretentious for using it. 😉)
How will AI replace writers? Where does it learn from?
In general, AI crawls the internet looking for content to learn from. One source is digitized books, both fiction and non-fiction. If we’re talking about established writers, that’s great. But practically anyone can get a book published on Amazon now. That doesn’t mean it’s well written or that people will read it. But it’s there for AI to crawl just the same.
When I asked Gemini about where AI models get their content from, one of the responses was this:
Excuse me? While Wikipedia has moderators and rules, anyone can edit Wikipedia. Ever since its inception, teachers and professors have been telling students not to cite Wikipedia—for this very reason. If Wikipedia is the “gold standard,” we truly are in trouble.
Another famous source of “learning” is social media, particularly Reddit. Social media platforms may be a somewhat accurate representation of how people interact. But let’s be honest—the average Reddit post ain’t winning a Peabody anytime soon.
And then, of course, AI searches blogs, news articles, and public web pages. But ask yourself this—what percentage of new web content (from the past 5 years) is AI-generated? Would you be surprised if I told you it was about 50%?
What does that mean? Only half of new online content is produced by human writers. That means the other half is AI-generated content. AI-generated content doesn’t create new ideas or angles. It remixes existing ones. Thus, 50% of what AI is “learning” is how to become even more AI-like.
Now’s the time for good writers to shine
Remember those LinkedIn posts I mentioned earlier? Many of them highlight the “tells” of AI writing, such as:
- Overly dramatic words (delve, pivotal, paramount)
- Repetitive structures (“not only, but also”, “It’s not just [X], it’s also [Y],” the rule of 3, etc.)
- The use of em dashes (Sorry, but you can pry the em dash out of my cold, dead hands!)
- Lack of personal voice and no personal anecdotes
- Summary endings that read like a high school 5-paragraph essay
- Hallucinations (a cute way of saying AI makes shit up)
There are others, but you get the drift. So, if 50% of what AI is learning from is considered “bad” writing, how will it improve? It won’t. It can’t. AI will generate even more generic writing with even flatter tones. It will sit even more firmly on the fence. And there will be no trace of anything resembling an actual point of view.
AI-generated writing is going to move closer and closer towards the statistical middle. You know the expression, “The blind leading the blind?” Yeah, my AI-assisted WordPress “Inclusive Language” checker didn’t want me to use that expression, lest it offend someone. But it demonstrates the issue perfectly. AI is absorbing its own crappy writing and using it to generate new content. It can only continue to get worse, not better.
Why is this good news for good writers and editors?
As a human writer, the best thing you have going for you is your unique point of view. The stories you tell to illustrate your point is something AI can’t. They’re what connect you with your readers.
Your distinct voice not only separates you from AI-generated content. It distinguishes you from other human writers. This could come in the form of
- Your hard-nosed, brusque style of making your point.
- The humor and sarcasm that you infuse into your writing.
- The rhythm of the sentences you create.
They all combine to shape your unique style.
As a writer or editor, you can review your writing, know what to say, and, more importantly, know what not to say. You possess the judgement to omit a great sentence because it’s wrong for the moment. You can move sections around. It’s your intellect that drives you to rework paragraphs until they’re “just right.” You know how to communicate your thoughts, ideas, and angles perfectly. At least the perfect way for you.
What happens when you go with “good enough”? You get what you pay for.
As humans, we tend not to like “cookie-cutter” things. We don’t want our hairstyles, outfits, living rooms, or Instagram walls to look “generic”. We want to be unique and express ourselves through these things. But when you shop at the same place as everyone else, that’s impossible to avoid.
Most humans don’t like generic. We don’t want a loaf of bread that everyone else has in their kitchens. We want artisanal bread. You don’t want the same dining room set found in hundreds of homes across the country. You want something hand-crafted that’s unique to you. Musicians often start with a factory-made guitar. But many aspire to own a handmade guitar made by a master luthier.
We don’t like AI-generated writing for the same reasons. It’s not unique. It doesn’t say anything new. It doesn’t challenge us to re-examine our own thoughts. So, yes, AI-generated content is cheap and easy. But that’s the problem—it feels cheap and easy. My last post discussed why “good enough” never actually is.
So, will AI replace writers? Not if you do this.
What’s this magical silver bullet? It’s easy. Be you. Be unique. Lean harder into your own voice. Research more and develop your niche. In a word, do the opposite of what AI is doing.
By being yourself, you’ll naturally differentiate yourself from AI-generated content. Go back and read this post I wrote years ago. You’ll note many of the same issues with AI-generated content persist today. Anyone who’s read a few of my blogs would’ve known right away that something was off with that blog—and for good reason.
More importantly, if you’re a company or brand looking to stand out in a sea of competition, consider this. Twenty generic, AI-generated blogs won’t do what one well-crafted blog or landing page will do. Don’t waste your money on upgraded AI plans and usage credits. Spend that money on a talented writer or editor. They’ll listen to you and work with you to share your unique voice with the audience you actually want to reach.
Will AI replace writers? No. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s going to make it easier for us to rise above the generic slop and be seen.
If you’d like help with your English language content, please contact me. Let’s explore what working together might look like.
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