Pankil Shah
When it comes to AI and content creation, we likely all thought the same thing:
Click a button and BAM! Content is ready for publishing.
Wrong! While the introduction of AI brings many possibilities for content creation, it also brings an equal amount of challenges.
Remember, there is a process required to get to GREAT content! You need to:
- Research
- Organize your research
- Write around the research
- Optimize around the research
Research might seem a little repetitive in those bullets, but I am trying to emphasize that AI or no AI, research is mandatory.
Sadly this is also the part where I often see a disconnect between how content creators write for the web and what AI can bring to the table to boost content creation productivity. Let's take a deeper look at what AI really means with respect to the production of value-driven content.
The Rise of Long-Form AI Content Tools
Although AI tools for content creation have been around for some time now, their use is just beginning to gain popularity.
Some tools are straightforward to use, while others are more complex and require a certain level of programming knowledge.
Most of these tools incorporate precise workflows, and the content is created for a specific purpose.
For example:
- Ad copy
- Infographics
- Video creation
- Social media posts
- Sales copy
These content assets have a number of attributes in common, including the repetitive tone they often use and the steps required to get the content asset to the finish line.
And yet, when it comes to long-form content, letting AI finish your thoughts or write for you isn't a game-changer. In a moment I'll explain why.
Challenges of Creating Long-Form Content Using AI Tools
While AI has certainly changed how we market, it is not quite there yet when it comes to creating long-form content.
Creating long-form content requires intensive research and organization, with the benefit that you can later use this research to produce excellent content for the web.
Some of you might argue:
Well, AI knows just about anything, so why can't we ask AI to do the research and write for us?
Because it is not possible! I'll explain why in some bullets.
- AI needs to be trained, which means it can only be trained after the fact. For example, AI does not know that coronavirus happened. Think about the impact that fact could have in 2021 - products, ideas, techs, subjects, games, etc. - everything is nuanced to the world of AI.
- AI has lots of information, but it does not have enough information to organize data with respect to relevancy. This means that it does not know what should come next in the sentence I just typed - it can't read thoughts! It relies on the probability game, and this is a game you don't want to play when your brand or personal reputation is at stake.
- AI brings so much fluff to the table that it makes writing long-form content more challenging as content creators constantly have to rewrite or delete what it produced.
- AI does not understand the user intent or the core vitals to rank for the content, and optimizing content after the fact makes it difficult to reach your SEO goals. AI can not insert keywords into your content without you explicitly asking it to, but even then the context of the topic can be lost.
Do we share the same feeling yet?
To summarize, AI has some major challenges:
- AI lies
- It cannot accurately predict the thought process of a writer and what sentence should come next.
- AI does not know what "context" is and the role it plays.
- AI does not understand nuanced topics and needs to be taught after the fact.
- AI cannot generate content based on core SEO vitals without 10X more work.
Rethinking Expectations for Content Production Using AI
To leverage AI for long-form content, we need to rethink how we use it.
Sure humans want to go to Mars, but even if you have the most powerful rocket in the world, you're not getting there without understanding the nuance of safe space travel.
I believe that most content creators have mistaken AI to be that powerful rocket. So now, let's get back to reality.
We should treat AI like the fuel that gets us to Mars while also recognizing that we need to build a gadget that ensures human safety - one that is built for actual people (i.e., it needs a human touch).
Remember, there are a number of important elements involved in the creation of long-form content:
- Keyword research
- The nuanced nature of the topic at hand
- Topic coverage
- User intent capture
- Organization of thoughts for writing each section or chapter
- Tone, formate, and quite a few other things.
With so many moving parts, "write for me" isn't going to get you to Mars.
You still need a capable rocket, one that was built on a strong foundation of research.
Instead of asking AI to do all of the heavy lifting, we should ask it to help us do the research, organize our thoughts, and develop better suggestions that we can then embed in our writing.
Let's get into how that can be done.
How is Outranking.io Solving This Problem Using Concepts?
Looking at the challenges we just covered, a simple "write for me" makes ZERO sense.
To help solve the challenges outlined above, we built Concepts at Outranking.io.
What Are Concepts?
Concepts are phrases, sentences, keywords, headlines, and other vital information extracted and presented in discussion steps for creating your content. They are pieces of factual information taken from research that can be used to guide AI.
Wait, wait, what the heck does that mean?
With Concepts, the most crucial part of your content production process - i.e., research - is already done for you. All you have to do is pick the concepts from that research that will then influence the AI as it writes.
What Do Concepts Do?
One word - magic!
Concepts do what you want it to do, but better!
Concepts are data collected on a specific topic you are writing about. With Concepts, the nuances that normal AI cannot understand are eliminated, and your research is laid out as discussion points.
- Research time has gone to almost ZERO.
- AI writes nuanced topics that cut the fluff.
- Less time for revisions, more time for crucial business activities.
Rethink How You Use AI for Content Production
No magic button will transport you to the next era of civilization, but there are Concepts. Having the right research at your fingertips and using it to influence AI can change your workflow for content production for good and for the better.
While Concepts do not alter the ancient process of producing engaging and value-driven content (i.e., research and writing!), it automates these individual processes separately to create more aligned and impactful content.
Try Outranking today and create impactful and scalable content in one-tenth of the time.