Will AI Replace Copywriters? The harsh truth

Will AI replace copywriters?

Ever since I started my freelance copywriting journey in 2011, this question has been put to me in one form or another.

Most of the time, the person asking the question happens to be someone who is eager to start their journey as a copywriter but is apprehensive that AI will soon make human copywriters redundant.

Other times, potential clients have raised this question during a job interview. Still other times the topic pops up randomly, like this one time when I discussed it while having dinner with my family.

Here’s what I think about it.

Will AI Replace Copywriters?

In the near future, I see no reason why good copywriters should fear being replaced by AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Jasper.AI, or hundreds of others whose names you (and I) have yet to hear.

Why not?

Because good copywriting is more than writing mountains of text (something which the above AI tools are very good at).

Instead, copy that sells has three attributes that AI-written copy lacks:

• It is unique
• It is insanely creative
• It connects otherwise disparate ideas into a joint whole.

Let me explain the above sentence with proof.

Here’s an excellent ad a human copywriter wrote for AVIS (one of the world’s biggest rent-a-car companies) that raised their bottom line by tens of hundreds of dollars per the company’s own estimates.

Can you read the above ad and still think AI (in its present form) can come up with something even remotely similar?

I do not.

That is because the above piece of copy has multiple aspects that I’ve yet to see in an AI-written copy. These elements include:

• Embracing disadvantage: Instead of hiding AVIS’s second-place status (something that most grandiosity-loving AI tools would do), the above copy uses it as a strength. This unexpected approach disarms the audience and invites them to reconsider their assumptions.
• Humor and self-awareness: There’s a subtle element of humor in acknowledging their 2nd position, making it more engaging and creating a sense of connection with the reader.
• A blend of emotion and logic: The copy blends otherwise disparate elements, such as emotional appeal (trying harder), with tangible promises (functional, well-maintained cars) to create a joint whole.

Let’s look at another ad that promises a not-so-dark future for good human copywriters.

In 2018, KFC faced a chicken supply shortage in the UK. Chaos ensued online (as it always does in situations where anything but chaos is required), and the company’s reputation (as well as sales) nosedived.

In such times, KFC came up with a full-page ad with a bold headline “FCK” and an honest explanation of what was going wrong.

On analyzing the ad, one sees an excellent example of the classic PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solution) framework:

• It begins with accepting that there’s indeed a problem: This tells the readers (aka potential KFC customers) that the fast food chain isn’t oblivious to the problems they are facing.
• The ad then goes on to agitate the issue: It does that by addressing customers (who “traveled out of their way”) and thanking KFC staff and franchise owners (who were “working tirelessly to improve the situation”)
• It finally comes up with a solution: “We’re making progress, and, every day, more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants”.

Now, any AI tool can write copy utilizing the PAS framework.

But what it cannot do, unless you’re super-good at prompting and have bundles of patience, is infuse the copy with a human element that defines the KFC ad (and what made it super memorable).

Let’s look at another copy no AI tool (at the time of writing) could come up with, regardless of the quality of prompts.

The famous Ogilvy’s Rolls Royce ad:

The headline is peculiar in that it contains eighteen words, which are at least 10 words more than what was conventional wisdom at the time.

But the fact that we’re still talking about it in 2024, seventy-seven years after it first hit the newspapers, suggests that it worked.

Why is that the case?

Ogilvy, a Rolls-Royce aficionado, uses his experience to highlight the car’s major strengths (speed and quietness) in the headline.

Then, in the copy of the body, he doubles down on other features that set the car apart from competitors (“Moonsoon Test”, “hand rubbed coats of paint”, “zero to 60 mph in 11.4 seconds”, etc.)

Finally, to lend credibility to his claims, Ogilvy decides to add quotes from an engineer at Rolls Royce and an editor from a well-respected car magazine.

The ad proved to be such a hit among the customers that the sales of Rolls Royce rose by 50% in 1958, the year after the ad hit the newspapers.

All in all, as long as you can write great copy (like the one contained in the above three ads), you don’t need to be fearful of AI.

How to Use AI to Become a Better Copywriter?

While the advancements in AI-based copywriting tools aren’t enough to replace high-quality copywriters (yet), you could still leverage them to take your copywriting skills to the next level.

Here are a few ways to turbocharge your copywriting efforts using AI:

• Do customer research: Did you know that the best copywriters spend 60% of their time researching their target audience? Luckily, AI can drastically cut this time, letting you gain valuable insights about your target audience, such as their demographics, pain points, and behavior.
• Write attention-grabbing headlines: Given the fact that 80% of your readers won’t read past the headlines, you can use AI tools to come up with different eye-catching phrasings, structures, and lengths for your headings. This, in turn, can help you pick the one that’s the most attention-grabbing.
• SEO-optimize your content: AI-powered tools like Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush can help you optimize your copy for search engines, thereby assisting you in creating content that has a higher chance of ranking on Google’s 1st page. (Need help with your content marketing? Click here to get help with it.)
• Carry out A/B testing: Did you know AI tools can do much more than write copy? Tools like Google Optimize or Optimizely can help you test different variations of your copy to see which one performs better.
• Do competitor analysis: Over the past few months, I have been a regular user of Crayon to carry out competitor analysis. Not only does this tool save me hours of my time, it also lets me identify opportunities that differentiate my copy.

Conclusion

In contrast to what many newbie copywriters believe, AI isn’t going to replace good human copywriters in the near future.

Having said that, if you want to minimize the risk of getting redundant in the coming years, it’s imperative to invest in AI tools that can distinguish your copy from the competition.

After all, in the future, only those copywriters will thrive who would know how to leverage artificial intelligence to boost their copy.