“ChatGPT is here and it is going to change your life.”

I read something like this when Open AI announced the release of ChatGPT. Along with others, I jumped on it to sign up. I tried it, loved it. Twenty minutes later, I realized it won’t be as revolutionary as promised. I looked at the ChatGPT outputs with an editorial eye and spotted it. I’ll dive into tell-tale signs of overuse of AI in a bit. 

The reason why using AI for copywriting should raise an eyebrow is one (for me). I saw the problems before they happened. Namely, how AI would change my work life. And I’m not talking about fancy automations. 

I work in a hectic environment where writing is produced like clockwork. I deal with about 7-10 writers on a daily basis and I knew, deep down, that ChatGPT would be the end of honesty in my business. 

That it did. But only years after the release. When copywriting best practices were replaced common AI-practice. Or what writers like to call “AI-assisted” writing. 

Let’s back up a bit

“ChatGPT isn’t artificial intelligence. It’s machine learning.”

— an actual person said this, he’s sitting next to me

My husband came up with this one, and read as you will, but I’ll quote him to set the stage. I do this for the purpose of presenting a case, not one where I tell you ChatGPT is good or bad for work and/or copywriting purposes. Rather, I’d like to present a case of it being inadequate for more than one reason. 

What do we know about chatGPT and similar ‘AI’?

Namely, how does it generate clever (or not so clever) responses to our requests…

• Trained on datasets of text from books, articles, and websites to learn language patterns. (Copyright, anyone?). 
• Uses neural networks (apparently)
• Constantly evolving (the more we feed it, the smarter it gets). 

In addition to this, there are other models such as Claude, Gemini, Deepseek. The list goes on. ChatGPT itself has spit out for me that there are between 50-100 Large Language Models (LLMs) similar to ChatGPT in existence as of today. I cannot fact check this, but as this is an article about specific use of AI in copywriting, it’s perfect to illustrate the point that more often than not, facts on ChatGPT are feeble to say the least. 

But in today’s world, with the applications it entails – chances are, writers are using AI or relying on it one way or another to simplify tasks. 

In my practice, ChatGPT was the preferred model to use for copywriting, so the base of this piece is largely on issues associated with this model.

PICTURE THIS: You’re reading an article and nodding your head, and all of the sudden you jump a paragraph and you’re confused about how you got there in the first place. You see bullet points substitute meaningful paragraphs, and a whole lot of insert words. Sound familiar?

What are some tell tale signs that a writer is using AI?

1. Lack of consistency

Logical jumps and contradictions in writing. It’s like you’re reading something written by multiple contributors. 

2. Generic phrases and cliches

“In today’s fast paced world…” – If I see something like this, I’m going to throw my laptop out the window. But you know which phrases I’m talking about!

3. Repetitive sentence structures that go in circles

AI models like to state things and reinstate them, and no writer will likely let that slip after proofreading their own work. 

4. No TOV (as per your guidelines, right?)

This is the biggest tell tale sign, as ChatGPT is particularly bad at following certain instructions and picking up what makes something feel “on brand”. If a persona can grasp this, no model can so far. Chances are, if it reads robotic – a robot wrote it.*

*Note: I have seen on my LinkedIn a lot of hate for AI models overusing the em dash, and I can write a separate article defending it, or I can also tell you that it is not a tell-tale sign at all. Punctuation is out of question in this debate. People tend to use and abuse them too, as do I. 

5. Lacks depth

AI is great for keeping things surface-level. Once you ask it to go in depth, or inquire about deeper introspection, it’ll fall short for the simple reason that it’s not a human. It doesn’t have the ability to share stories, anecdotes, or insert words you normally would in speech. The list goes on. 

The list can be made longer, but I wanted to highlight my top 5 tell-tale signs about the use of ai in copywriting — for those that want to get better at spotting those instances. 

The drawbacks of using AI for copywriting

There’s only one here. AI-assisted writing lacks human originality, creativity, depth, and thought. The sooner you realize and admit this, the better it is for your profession and career.

If, for example, you prompt ChatGPT to spit out a perfect article (with super detailed instructions and an outline you’ve done yourself), it’ll still fall short of your expectations. Editing the piece will take double the time it’ll take you to write it. Long story short – it’s ineffective. 

A piece of my story

I’ve worked with a writer who submitted a piece that included a ton of bullet points, no substance, and close to no actionable points for the reader. I flagged it as a mis-use of AI. This left me frustrated, and left the writer equally frustrated. 

But let me ask you this. How is a piece of writing to be judged if it’s completed by AI? Do we pay you, the writer, or are we paying you for AI-assisted (or fully drafted) content? Because the price point will differ quite a bit. 

How do I, as an employer, know that this article will rank, if it is 80, 90% drafted with the help of AI? Do we have any supporting data on this? I didn’t think so!

Don’t get me wrong, AI assisted content can rank, but only with human editing and/or human intervention during the writing process. This is a topic I would rather not get into for now. But there are ways to make it work. 

So now we get to the good part. 

AI in copywriting: Guidelines for using ChatGPT and the like

Rule #1: Be transparent

If you are using AI in your workflow, own it. Share with your employer exactly how you use it or plan to use AI as part of your writing process. Avoid taking shortcuts, because I promise you, they will backfire. 

Rule #2: Don’t rely on AI to complete all your writing for you

It can be a great assistance to you in the research phase, or especially the brainstorming stage. But even with research, you have to be careful and double check all the facts because it is not always accurate. 

Where you should leverage AI for copywriting:

• Brainstorm original ideas with your input
• Critique drafts 
• Help with research
• Rewrite awkward sentences
• Test headlines for effectiveness

Please remember that AI can do some heavy lifting for you during the brainstorming stage, but it is only your insights that can add personality and true meaning to a piece. Use AI to enhance your workflow and expertise instead of replacing it. 

When not to use AI for copywriting

1. Drafting your outlines

Again, AI is quite surface-level. Your research paired with your personal findings can bring a personal touch to a piece. 

2. Writing your first draft

Entire sections and paragraphs pasted into your final piece is a no-no. 

3. Writing or rewriting your final draft

Never hand in a purely AI-assisted/drafted copy. When you lean into AI too much, you create generic, bland content that doesn’t connect with an audience. You can also dilute the tone of voice to an unrecognizable stage, making articles sound like any other “straight-out-of-chat-gpt” piece. 

How to humanize AI content

1. Learn to create strong prompts

In my practice, this has made all the difference. 

2. Edit the output you receive

ChatGPT is not gospel, so edit what you get. 

3. Add your personal touch

By putting time and care into writing the content.

4. Double check your work, make sure it’s suitable for your target audience

Review, review, and review again before you submit. 

“If you work with editors, do respect their time and effort. Content written with the help of AI makes it difficult to judge the quality of your work and the final output.” 

On using AI for text optimization

It can be done. In my experience, it worked miracles. If you give very direct prompts and ask AI to optimize, it will likely overdo it a bit. But if you ask it to optimize adhering to best practices and edit the text yourself afterwards (seeing in bold where the keywords are), it can actually help you in more ways than one. 

I used ChatGPT to help me optimize a landing page. And surprisingly it did a better job than I would. You know those moments where you sit there and you just cannot imagine adding another keyword in? Well AI can get ‘creative’ so to speak. 

Never give ChatGPT your full text to optimize. Chances are that there will be a lot of keyword stuffing. Move section by section and edit yourself. 

You can also test variations of CTAs, I find this exercise very useful. It’s the same way you can test out different headlines with the help of AI. Little tasks like this are worth it. 

A word on how I personally like to use AI for copywriting 

Suppose you’re writing on a topic you know nothing about. 

To get in depth about a topic, there’s a great tool called Globe Explorer. The neat thing about this tool (which is also a form of AI) is that it gives you a very holistic overview of a topic, almost giving you a working outline for a topic. I like to start here. 

You can get an in-depth view of everything you would have to cover. All you have to do is put your editor lens on to understand what you need in your article. This is great for writers that don’t know where to begin, and are just working on their outlines. 

ChatGPT can be really helpful not when you ask it to write your content, but when you enter the space with questions to ask. Think of it as a conversation you’re having with an editor. From this perspective, it’s helpful to get answers to some questions, to see how you can take generic info and put your spin on it, or your personal touch to it. 

I never use it for outputs, and especially not for facts (it’s known to create things out of thin air, which it also admits to openly).

The overpromise of AI 

We were promised mountains, but what came out is an intricate mess of finger pointing between editors and writers as to who used AI. This is what I meant by honesty being wiped out in my field, and it’s precisely why I wanted to write this piece. 

AI tools cannot replace writers. Good writers. But it can replace mediocre ones in a heartbeat. Depending on the output you’re getting, some brands might as well be using AI for their lack of a personal touch. 

If you’re a respected, high-profile brand though, chances are, you’re going to have to spend on writers. And if you’re a good writer, I have great news for you.

The human touch, your creativity? That’s going to be the highest form of currency moving forward. The way you weave words into masterpieces is going to be your cash cow. Because if you can do it well, you’re in demand. Your profession is in demand. Your skills are needed. So never hide behind the mask of AI – own up to it if you use it. Share how you do it. 

TL;DR

If you’re going to use AI for copywriting, and do it for the outlined methods I’ve mentioned, then make it work uniquely for you. 

If you’re here to take shortcuts with AI, I’m sorry to tell you that it’ll take you twice as long to make your piece of writing into something presentable. At this point, you might as well have written the piece from scratch yourself with your own research.  

Learn to do prompts. Spend your time understanding how to drain ChatGPT and its most powerful tools. But by all means, don’t rely on it. And remember – the biggest currency of our time is going to be human touch, creativity, and the unique aspects you can bring to writing. Crafting something beautifully and eloquently from scratch is your form of currency.