Where I Stand on AI in the Creative Process and my Business

As a B2B copywriter, it’s part of my job to stay current on tools, trends, and messaging approaches.

And AI has become a big part of the conversation.

I have studied the pros and cons of AI in the creative process. And the ethical implications of this tool in my writing.

There’s no denying the incredible power AI offers for so many uses, so I have adopted various AI models to assist me with specific tasks to improve productivity while creating original, effective copy with the highest probability of getting results.

At the same time, I understand the risks inherent in the use of AI, especially in a commercial environment — including copyright issues, and brand protection. In fact, I wrote an article about it here.

So, here is my policy:

To protect my clients’ brand reputations and to ensure copyright protections, I write original copy.

To accomplish this, I maintain the roles of strategist and writer. In other words, I handle the messaging strategy, emotional targeting, and writing, following my VELOCITYContent™ framework for producing persuasive marketing and sales copy.

I do, however, use AI as a technical assistant. For example, I may use it for:

Market and Audience Insights:

  • Research your ICPs’ motivations, objections, obstacles to making the switch, and what they need to move forward.
  • Help develop personas (if you don’t already have them) to make sure your message hits the mark.
  • Analyze competitor content for gaps you can leverage for differentiation.
  • Dig up interesting facts and stats from credible sources to make your copy more compelling.
  • Analyze customer research for “sticky” ideas and phrases, sentiment, comparisons, and spotting trends and gaps.
  • Transcribe interviews, and summarize articles, web pages, and videos to pull out key points.

Ideation:

  • Brainstorm alternative ideas from those I’ve come up with.
  • Expand on ideas and suggest unexpected concepts and combinations.
  • Test the validity of those concepts.
  • Explore various outline options.
  • Suggest alternative examples, stories, and metaphors to enhance your message.

Quality Check:

  • Double-check spelling and grammar.
  • Run the copy through my 7-Cs Copy Rubric to find and fix any weaknesses or gaps.
  • Act as your customer, giving feedback on the copy’s persuasiveness for a particular persona (b/c what may be persuasive to one segment or one role, may not matter to another).

IMPORTANT: I know there isn’t 100% privacy in this world. So, if you provide me with any kind of sensitive information: a trade secret, internal processes, or anything that is otherwise confidential, I will never put that information into AI without your permission. And, frankly, I advise against doing it at all.

Bottom line: AI is an excellent tool for moving through research and analysis quickly so more time can be spent on making the copy as effective as possible.

And that’s how I use it: As an assistant — NOT a replacement.

The finished work I produce for you will be original, leveraging research, industry knowledge, emotional intelligence, and 25 years of experience writing engaging high-converting copy.