In the world of marketing, content is the undefeated king. Think about it. Whether it’s a website, a social media post, or even a billboard, a few powerful words bring the whole idea together. 

But if content really  is king, who wears the crown? Humans with experience or AI with efficiency?

Let’s evaluate AI content versus human writers on some important grounds to decide which one is better for you and help you rank higher on Google. 

AI content vs human writers

AI is like that foreign colleague who has just come to town. He says words like ‘align’ and ‘elevate’ and agrees enthusiastically with everything you say. Cool? Yes. Reliable? Maybe. 

Then you have your local friend, someone who has been around for ages and knows you. They give you the right advice and know the context of inside jokes. Reliable? Yes. Cool? Also yes (at least to you 😁).

So who wears the crown? The dependable friend who knows who you are and what you need to succeed, or the flashy colleague who has a bunch of new approaches and ideas? Well, it depends. Let’s break it down. 

What is AI content?

For context, AI is trained on a lot of text that already exists online (minus your search history hopefully). It just mixes and matches that information based on your prompts and it does that really fast,  four times faster to be exact. . You basically get the same information presented in a new way. It’s like that flashy colleague who can turn every topic into a TED talk. 

What is human content?

Human content is slower but more refined. Writers understand the context and cultural tone. They have a personal touch that AI often misses. Human writers bring experience, their opinions and nuances make reading engaging (like this one ;D). 

Sure, AI can recommend a restaurant but only humans can tell you which place serves pasta that tastes like a warm hug on a cold lonely night.  

AI has been unable to tap into emotional intelligence so far (thank god).

Money versus originality

On one hand, you have AI, which is incredibly fast. It saves you money and time. On the other hand, you have human writers, who are more refined, adaptable, and conscious of what your reader wants to see. So how do you know which one is the right choice for you?

AI can spin up whole articles within minutes allowing you to make changes on the go. But besides that, you lose out on the chance to rank on Google, which is the whole point. 

Google’s algorithm is pro at determining the usefulness of a blog. Although it does not penalize AI content, it does not give it a free pass either. 

Google still prefers articles and blogs that follow E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) guidelines. This automatically gives leverage to human content and Neil Patel’s research (explained later on) backs this up. 

So, while AI does give you quick solutions, human touch helps form a connection with the audience. 

Take this emotional ad for example, AI could not come up with that. In a few years? Maybe. But not anytime soon. 

Is AI better for generating traffic?

At the end of the day, it’s all about which type of content ranks better and gets more views, right? 

Neil Patel published 744 articles across 68 websites to see which one did better and the results were surprising. 

Not only did human content perform better, but it consistently outperformed AI content and got about 5.44 times more traffic overall.

While human content may be more time-consuming and costly, it tends to pay back with consistent traffic, given that the blogs are uploaded frequently and with the right keywords. 

Which one stands out more?

If you have used ChatGPT then you may have spotted AI content all around. Slowly but surely, all brands that only use AI will sound the same. 

If you put it in context, millions of businesses around the world are putting in the same prompts, getting similar results, and using them for different brands. Soon enough, there will be nothing unique about them. 

So who wears the crown?

AI is great for getting ideas and for doing research. But it is nowhere close to replacing human content just yet. Whether it’s how a blog or article is written or how well it ranks, human content still wears the crown, especially if you are trying to play the long-term game. So, if you need quick content, something to keep things going while keeping the time and cost minimal, sure go for AI. But if you are building a brand and want to stand out and rank consistently, trust humans.
Speaking of which, if you are looking for experienced writers, or a hybrid version of AI and human content, we can help you out.  ;).