How to Use Generative AI for Content Creation—And How Not to Use It

Yes, I am a writer—a writer who values empathy and authenticity above all else in her work.

So no, I’m not going to recommend that you start asking generative AI to write your content for you in this post.

I am going to show you how large language models like Chat GPT can be valuable as resources while you work to authentically convey your message.

Some of you may be saying…

No, Liz! Not you! They’ve gotten to everybody, even you! You’ve been infected by AI mania!

Generative AI Is Here

If you’ve played the game or watched the series The Last of Us, you might remember the Bloater.

I won’t give too much away in case you’re still making your way through the series (in which case, why are you reading this blog instead of streaming it right now?)

Anyway, this one city thinks it’s safe because it trapped all the people infected by the apocalyptic virus underground—where the virus has had time to mutate into…

Yup! An enormous monster who kills them all. (Oh yeah, spoiler alert ;-)

The lesson… if you’re scared of something, probably best not to stick it in a folder in the back of your Bookmarks tab and forget about it.

It will eventually come out to get you, whether you want it to or not.

Generative AI is going to change our lives.

There’s no sticking it back in the ground.

It’s healthy to be skeptical.

But it’s NOT healthy to look away and refuse to see it.

Will Generative AI Replace Writers?

A lot of the fear of AI comes from writers ourselves, of course.

We know how important stories are to our culture, our society, our world. We don’t want mindless bots in charge of that—and they shouldn’t be.

But generative AI can do so much for us beyond writing. First of all, it’s been trained on a mountain of text.

Imagine, for example, trying to find a new angle on one of Shakespeare’s plays.

ChatGPT isn’t going to come up with the angle for you—it’s not creative, or even cognitive.

Generative AI is simply programmed to anticipate the next word in a sequence of words. So, what a large language model like ChatGPT spits out usually reads as dry and predictable.

Because predictability is what it’s designed for.

But imagine writing that piece yourself—a piece about some new angle for a Shakespeare play.

And you happen to have an “assistant” in the room who has read every single thing that Shakespeare ever wrote PLUS everything that’s ever been written ABOUT what Shakespeare wrote.

Every. Single. Thing.

You’d have a huge head start just by being able to pick that person’s brain. Just because it’s a bot, not a human, are you really going to ignore the fact that it’s sitting there in your office, ready and willing to help?

We go to a thesaurus when we’re stuck for a word.

We go to Google when we need to research a topic.

We call a friend when we just need to walk away from the screen and vent.

We can do all of that with generative AI. (Yes, even venting—though I hope you have a buddy for that!)

What Generative AI Is NOT Good At

Yes, having a large language model on a browser tab can be like having a really smart friend around all the time.

But AI is like one of those smart friends who sometimes say the totally wrong thing in a roomful of people.

In his course Generative AI for Business Leaders, Tomer Cohen explains some of the serious limitations of AI.

“AI doesn’t know how to say, ‘I don’t know.’ In other words, it might just make up things.”

What generative AI doesn’t do well:

reliably tell the truth
know who your target audience is
create a strategy for your content
originate a vision for your business (or originate anything for that matter)
make sure you don’t break copyright laws.

What Generative AI IS Good At

Most solopreneurs who are messing around with AI right now, are going about it all wrong.

They’re using large language models like ChatGPT to generate more and more content, sometimes not editing or even reading what it’s generating before posting it.

Just throwing more and more content at the algorithms.

But they’re not taking the time to craft prompts to feed to these AI models so that the content being created actually captivates their particular audience.

Marketers using AI aren’t always taking the time to use the vast knowledge base embedded in these systems as a resource, while marrying it to their own creativity and experience to craft the best possible content.

Generative AI can cut down tremendously on the early process in writing. It’s great at:

brainstorming topics
outlining articles for a specific thesis
helping you research (though you better already know enough to ask the right questions AND make sure to fact check)
responding to specific, tailored prompts to help you ideate

This is the part of the process marketers using generative AI should focus on, not just asking it to regurgitate stale content.

Thanks to Mari Smith “Queen of Facebook” for sharing the quote and image

What’s needed right now isn’t more content, especially if it might be blatantly false or stealing someone’s honestly created IP.

What’s needed is BETTER content. Content that uses every tool of the trade along with a unique, creative, authentic HUMAN voice.

Generative AI and Copyright Law

I think there are some very lucrative years coming up for copyright lawyers.

As a writer, it could be really dangerous to start playing around with AI and not thinking about the IP flowing both ways through large language models.

Here’s my promise to you about my content and the content I write for clients…

I may use generative AI to help me ideate, research, or even outline my own content for LizWrite.

But every single word of content written will be conceived of and written by me. I will NOT copy and paste AI-generated text into any of my posts or articles.

I will not use AI to help me ideate and research for my clients without their knowledge and consent.

I will not feed any large language AI model information about my clients’ businesses without their knowledge and consent.

I AM going to learn everything I can about this new technology and how it can serve my work, the work I do for my clients, and my broader mission as a storyteller with a sense of…

Responsibility

Integrity

and Fearlessness.

Learn more