Should you edit your AI content?
By Louisa Sando-Patel, Owner and Senior Copywriter
The biggest mistake we see when people use AI to generate their content is not editing afterwards. We’ve all seen cringey AI social posts and blogs that make you wince. So, why should you edit your AI content? Although ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, they are still not yet capable of producing reader-friendly content. And it could affect your SEO too.
It’s not just about humanising the often monotonous and repetitive copy. It’s recognised industry-wide that you should not publish pure AI without editing. Firstly, AI doesn’t understand subtle language nuances and can easily misunderstand the context of what you are trying to say. Secondly, AI content runs the risk of plagiarism issues. It’s not ‘unique content’ as it claims, and you could face copyright infringement disputes. Also, ChatGPT makes things up, literally!
I know a company who tried to use ChatGPT to find a piece of legislation and the relating Lord who lobbied for this to become written in law. Not only did ChatGPT make up a different legislation that didn’t exist, but it also said that the relating Lord was dead! He is actually alive and well…
Can Google detect AI content?
Many SEO experts are concerned that businesses are simply unaware that using unchecked AI content could be harming their search ranking. It’s worth noting that Google crawlers can usually spot AI. These bots crawl your webpages to decide how they should be indexed, and look at text, visual and audio media.
There are two main issues:
- If Google considers your AI content to be “Spammy automatically generated or autogenerated”, it will flag as spam. This means your content could be potentially penalised.
- If Google sees your content being used elsewhere, it will simply rank the other website higher. The content will be treated as duplicated content, which is why you should always write fresh and unique content for your website and blogs.
Remember, Google’s ‘E-E-A-T’ algorithm is part of their Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Google is looking for quality content that showcases your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Put simply, always edit and double-check AI-generated content. Read our previous blog, ChatGPT: is it worth it?
How should you copyedit your content?
Edit your content so it’s appealing to human beings and make sure it has value. Below are a few tips for editing your content, which can be applied to both your own content and AI-generated text.
- Fact-check: make sure any sources are authentic and authoritative.
- Cut, cut and cut again: Read it through and edit any longwinded wording.
- Check typos and grammar: Read your content aloud to see how it sounds.
- Make it punchy: Use words with fewer syllables and shorter sentences.
- Think about rhythm: A sense of melody will help the wording sound better.
How often should you post?
How often you post depends on the content and your industry. What’s your objective? Look at your competitors to see what they are posting. If you want to boost your social media on LinkedIn, for example, then aim to post at least 3 times a week. Consistency is key, so if once a week works better for you, then just make sure you always post once a week. Interaction is the key to making your socials work. Therefore, react and comment on other’s posts before posting to help warm up the algorithm.
When it comes to your website blogs, if you want a big SEO boost, then publish articles 3 times a month is ideal. Otherwise, there’s a risk of ‘cannibalising’ your content. This means you have multiple articles already on your website, which are all ranking for the same keyword phrase. One of our monthly clients, a financial planning firm, opts for four website blogs a month. The articles are split into categories to ensure different themes and variety.
To conclude ALWAYS edit your marketing content to ensure quality and value. This ensures it is suitable for both human beings and search bots. If you don’t have time to edit your content, then use a professional content writer.
Do you need help editing AI or your own content? We offer competitive rates for copyediting and optimising AI-generated blogs. Get in touch to find out more.