AI AND MARKETING
“AI content is not the problem. Generic content is the problem.”
Five years ago, writing a blog took a lot more time. Before AI, content marketers had to come up with a topic, research it through multiple sources, find key links, create an outline, write the blog, and proofread the content.
Today, the process is basically the same, except you type in a thorough prompt and AI does most of the legwork for you. In many cases, you don’t have to change the content, other than minor edits. And within 20-30 minutes, you have a beautiful 600-800-word blog. Even if you rewrite the content with your “input”, the process still takes about a third of the time it used to.
But the times they are a changin’. Claude is now adding watermarks to all AI-generated content. This AI-flagging trend will most likely spread to the other AI platforms pretty quickly. Claude isn’t doing this because AI content is “wrong” in the philosophical sense; it simply wants the public to know when content is AI-aided.
Got questions? So do our homebuilder, industrial, and logistics digital marketing clients! Here are some answers.
For SEO, Google’s blog criteria has essentially remained the same: originality, usefulness, quality, and intent. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether AI or a human wrote the words.
AI search has similar criteria, as long as the content establishes depth and expertise, is clearly structured, supports claims with evidence (like links), and stays accurate and current. So current AI platforms will not automatically demote your content for AI unless you create a large amount of redundant information.
In other words, AI content is not the problem. Generic content is the problem.
Claude introduced the watermark on content after August 31, 2026. They also stated that they did not add the watermark for older models prior to August 2, 2026. But Claude plans to introduce the watermark to previous content over time. The other AI platforms will probably follow suit.
This doesn’t mean all your old content will be worthless. So don’t try to find every AI article you’ve written and delete it!
Instead, take these steps to audit your website content:
It’s funny how things come full circle. In 1996, Bill Gates published an essay saying, “Content is where I expect most of the real money to be made on the Internet”. Although debatable, this essay helped spark the “Content is King” mantra.
Fast forward to 2023. Some agencies devalued content writers as it became cheaper and faster to create content. Agencies outsourced content, moved writers to part-time, and some marketing agencies cut costs by having novice writers develop content in-house.
So what’s the next step to keep your company’s website content from being “devalued” by AI?
Ideally, if you can afford a professional content writer, that will make your content superior to most of the Internet. If you don’t have the means to add a content writer, locate a quality freelance writer or bring on a part-time writer.
If you’re more of a do-it-yourself content creator, make AI part of the writing process. This seems pretty simple. But to be clear, AI shouldn’t account for more than 10% of your content. Think of it as the really “new” way of creating authentic content, without completely scrapping your AI tools
The human writes everything.
AI writes everything.
AI-assisted planning, research, and brainstorming → human content creation→ insert original examples→ human editing → AI-assisted fact checking→ publish.
Taking the “new” way for developing marketing content with AI tools could lead to a competitive advantage. Your advantage will be the human experience.
So here’s my advice: Stop worrying about whether someone can detect that you used AI to create website content. Start worrying about whether your content would be worth reading.
Want to learn more about how AI and digital marketing can safely work together to give your business a competitive advantage? Call me at 615-257-0057 or reach out on our website if you’d like to learn more.
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