AI vs. human writers: who wins?

Luke Meredith

The development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has seen numerous businesses, brands and other organisations choosing to use content generation platforms to create writing for themselves and their clients, instead of human copywriters.

On the surface, it may be easy to see why. If a computer can generate the same quality of content in a number of seconds than a human can in, let’s say, an hour or two, why wouldn’t you want to benefit from that as a business owner?

Can generative AI actually do this?

To answer this question, Search Engine Journal has conducted a study pitting AI-generated advertising copy against real-life human copywriters, measuring the effectiveness of the content, based on clicks, impressions and potential conversions.

Here, we’ll summarise the results of this study, and offer some potential explanations for them.

AI vs human

The study’s results show, most clearly, that human writing outperforms AI-generated content in terms of clicks, impressions and click-through rate (CTR).

The human-written ads received over double the number of clicks and almost double the number of impressions, with a CTR of 4.98% compared to the AI’s CTR of 3.65%.

Why is human content more effective than generative AI? Below, we’ll consider a few potential reasons why.

Don’t underestimate human creativity

The ability of AI to produce various forms of content in a short space of time outweighs what a human can produce.

However, on the other hand, it can be argued that the possibilities of human creativity equally outweigh the bounds of what an AI platform is capable of producing.

Understanding audiences

The majority of generative AI platforms will not be able to understand the unique quirks and qualities of your brand, and how best to promote it to your customers. Human copywriters, however, specialise in understanding audiences and brands to create the best content.

AI’s infancy

It’s worth noting that the current capabilities of AI are only scratching the surface of what is possible.

As more reliable and complex data is fed to these systems, and more generative AI’s training becomes refined, it’s likely that its ability to create effective copy will only improve.

It’s clear that, when it comes to creating the most carefully crafted content for your brand, you can’t get any better than what a human can create. At Engage Web, we don’t use AI for any of our trusted clients, so speak to our team now to learn what we can do for you.

About
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Luke Meredith

Content Editor at Engage Web

At home in both the digital sector and the world of communications, Luke thrives on deadlines and has held roles in healthcare, retail and digital marketing, gaining a sound knowledge of a wide range of sectors. He’s a massive swot as well, holding a first-class degree in BA Communication and Media, and now uses his writing skills and keen editorial eye in his role as Content Editor here. Luke helps to oversee our clients’ content requirements, while also looking after a pool of freelance writers across three continents.

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AI vs. human writers: who wins?