Lied to, cheated on and unsatisfied. That's how I feel every time I read an AI-generated blog post.
Everyone wants to write with AI but very few, want to actually read it. None want to share it on their personal Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter. That's the problem. Marketers want to believe that scaling content is the best way to capture more revenue but it's more about scaling good content, not just any content.
Here's the thing: I've read hundreds of AI articles in the last few months and if you think people can't tell, let me make this clear: they can. Readers have a high BS detector and it runs extraordinarily high these days.
Instead of trying to please the Google algorithm, I would look to please the reader instead. If the reader is happy, Google is happy.
The consequences of writing only AI content is real for a new startup like yours. It destroys trust with anybody that touches your brand and it pushes them to second guess what you stand for.
The best way to get your 1000 true fans is by sharing something of value: real insights, real experiences, real how-tos. AI can help put these together but it shouldn't be taken over by it.
Don't get me wrong: I don't think our precious Internet will flood with spam overnight. Spammy content was always around and always will be. What I present here is an opportunity. An opportunity to stand out in the sea of sameness with your true authentic brand that treats people like they would want to be treated.
As I say this, I must confess that we were part of the problem. When Edgar and I originally started Engyne, we wanted to give startups a giant magic button to generate unlimited content using LLMs within minutes. We did do it but the feeling was less of a triumphant one and more akin to J. Robert Oppenheimer seeing his Atomic Bomb in action.
Every outputted piece was more inauthentic, fake than the last. We have a slight idea of what our ideal outcome should look like and this is not it. We are making a conscious effort to re-think how we want to help early stage startups get more customers from Google Search.
We are taking a more human-in-the-loop approach instead. This is where you, the writer is still in control but instead of everything being written out by the LLM, our plan is to cut down on the time it takes you to write good content by 10x. A piece that used to take 2 weeks to research, write and publish should take less than an hour.
There's other creative ways to use Generative AI other than to write content. One of the ones we're most excited about is putting together vast research and bring it down to a few paragraphs to debrief you with. Pulling together interesting perspectives, insights, expert quotes for you to reference, include. Even brainstorming, rephrasing sentences is a step in the right direction.
Like in the Ship of Theseus, it's not about throwing out the wooden ship to get a steel one. It's about carefully replacing a wooden board if there's need for more reinforcement. The charm of the ship should still stay intact.
As we keep going down this road, hopefully a blog post you read from us puts a smile on your face.