How to Humanize AI-Generated Content to Improve Your Marketing

Are Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools the new easy button for your marketing writing?

There’s no doubt that AI tools have simplified writing. But, don’t copy and paste that AI text into your final project just yet! The next step is to take the time to humanize AI-generated content.

Transform it from a rough draft into a high-quality piece of content that has your brand voice and emotionally appeals to your audience. However, that requires some finesse first.

When you’re writing for marketing purposes or to implement your content strategy, you’ll want the end result to reflect your expertise, personality, and writing style. Otherwise, it will sound as if a content generator did the work, and that won’t build trust or your authority.

Your content is meant to differentiate your brand by offering a unique and original perspective. So it can’t read like the repetitive, ho-hum drivel that AI tools generate! It needs a human’s touch.

What is AI-Generated Content?

AI-generated content is content or text that is produced by artificial intelligence to assist you in the writing process. Often the AI-generated text is created using natural language processing (NLP), which is how computers understand the written and spoken human language.

AI content generators and AI writing assistants are powerful tools. They reduce the time it takes you to develop high-quality content for websites, social media posts, and other marketing materials.

Why Do You Need to Humanize AI Generated Content?

Now that AI tools have made writing your next blog post, video script, or email newsletter a breeze, you can sit back and relax, right?

No need to hire a professional writer, your marketing writing is done, yes? You can allocate that budget to ad spend or to a better AI tool. Sound good?

Hold your horses! 🐴

If your reaction to AI tools is to generate and publish, then you’ve got it all wrong. Your risky, short-sided viewpoint could create problems.

First of all, AI generated content is based on information that already exists. It’s not creating something brand new. It’s more like regurgitated information, similar to what a mama bird feeds her babies.

What’s so bad about that? Well, what if that information is outdated, inaccurate, unreliable, or a flat out lie? Then your audience won’t find your business to be helpful. You’ll be leading people astray, and that will not build trust or improve your conversions.

Secondly, unedited AI generated content can come across as a copy of a copy. Unoriginal, mundane, and boring. Not to mention, straight out plagiarized. That’s not a good look for your brand!

And remember, this content is meant for marketing. Its purpose is to convince prospects to choose your business over all other businesses.

However, emotional connection, humor, real-life expertise, new ideas, and trustworthy, fact-based knowledge are all things noticeably absent from AI generated content. At least, for now.

So, by itself and untouched, AI content may not improve your marketing like you think it will. Strategic editing is required and highly encouraged!

So, let’s get to how you will humanize AI generated content so that your marketing supports your business goals.

11 Ways to Humanize AI-Generated Content (and Also Improve Your Marketing)

Has humankind doomed itself to a dystopian future akin to what we saw in the Terminator movies? Perhaps. But, AI is here to stay. So, you’re going to need to embrace it to some degree to keep up with the competition.

You’ll need to use these tools to support your business. However, as of right now, these tools don’t replace you! Instead, AI tools make your marketing easier, faster, and more effective WITH your participation.

When it comes to AI writing, a lot of content is about the sound nearly the same. This is especially true because MANY small businesses won’t spend the time to humanize or inject personality into their AI-generated content.

It will be more important than ever to show off Y.O.U. (your original uniqueness)! Your mannerisms, personality, values, and quirkiness separate you from the herd.

With that in mind, here are a few ways to make the text that AI tools generate sound more like you wrote it.

PRO TIP: Before publishing, run your blog and website content through an online AI detector tool, like Content At Scale’s AI Detector or Copyleaks AI Content Detector.

1) Improve the Diction and Grammar

Sometimes the words that AI chooses are awkward or wrong. Either they don’t make sense as is or they require more precision.

Read the text out loud. Make the sentences work together and roll off the tongue.

A machine may have written the text, but a human has to read it or speak it. So, the content should sound natural and flow smoothly.

While you’re at it, check the grammar. I haven’t experienced typos with AI generated content. But, grammatical errors extend beyond misspellings. What I have experienced with AI writing is the misuse of prepositions.

You can humanize the AI content by improving the syntax and structure of the words and sentences. This is like fine-tuning a piano. You’ll elevate the text so that it comes across as more polished and refined, which will convey professionalism.

Overall, you’ll appear to have put in effort in your content, and that’s a good look!

2) Review and Edit for Accuracy

One important step in using content generated by AI is to review it for accuracy. Fact checking is mandatory!

When it comes to data and details, sometimes AI doesn’t have the facts correct or the particulars spot-on. The results aren’t necessarily wrong in every instance. Yet, there are times when more precision and accuracy would clarify better and strengthen the writing.

“Accuracy builds credibility.” – Jim Rohn

Other times, AI generated content is flat-out wrong. Maybe the source is bad or perhaps the information is outdated. Whatever the reason, it’s on you to review the data and assertions.

If necessary, rewrite what’s incorrect or what requires better explanation.

Find good data sources and include them in the writing. In fact, typically authors and speakers will quote reputable sources. And you want to do the same! This is standard practice and will humanize the content.

Plus, giving credit where it’s due makes you look like an authority as well as a decent person.

3) Eliminate Repetition

One of my biggest gripes with AI generated text is repetitive sentences or overused phrases.

It reminds me of those “What I did for summer vacation” papers we had to write in middle school. Almost every sentence started with “I [insert passive verb]” and sounded…well, like a middle schooler wrote it.

Remember earlier when I said AI content felt like a copy of a copy? This is partly why.

It’s not useful to have the same thought expressed the same way multiple times. This is redundant! It makes your writing look unedited and improvised…like a non-human wrote it.

Tidy that 💩 up!

Strategic repetition has a function, but too much of it can weaken your writing. So, lookout for needless repetition. Read the output carefully. Some sentences will be total throwaways since the same thing was already stated.

In other instances, you may want to keep the sentiment but rewrite the sentence so that it isn’t so overly similar.

Vary your word choice. Humans aren’t always eloquent, but we certainly don’t repeat long formal sentences in common conversation. And that’s the key… keep the content conversational to make it sound like a human.

4) Vary Sentence Length

Variety is the spice of life, and sentence length is no exception. To hold the interest of readers, human writers combine short and long sentences. It’s a tactic in writing that can help to emphasize certain points and create a more dynamic flow.

Sentence length variation also makes content feel natural and human-like. When sentences are too similar in length, the writing sounds monotonous and robotic.

Also, too many long sentences in a row makes reading difficult. By varying the length of sentences, the writing becomes more engaging and easier to read and speak.

It’s tough to read one long sentence after another out loud in a script. Believe me, I know! In the past, we’ve experienced this with our scripts on the Messy Desk Podcast. (Long sentences are the cause of many bloopers!)

When you’re trying to humanize AI-generated content, remember to mimic how you speak and communicate normally. AI is getting much better at sounding like a human. For now, though, you’ll need to put on your editor’s hat to make the text less automated.

5) Add Stories

Storytelling is a powerful skill in your marketing. When you include stories in your content, you communicate your message better since people relate to stories.

Stories pull at heartstrings. They form emotional connections with your audience since people see themselves in narratives. So, this makes your content more engaging, understandable and memorable. People remember and respond to a good story!

Storytelling can also provide context. An understandable story explains why the audience should care without outright saying so. This is why customer experiences are so effective. They prove the value and benefits of your offer from a more trustworthy, unbiased outside party.

If you’re good at prompts, some AI writing tools may be able to insert stories or story-like content into results. But, the point is, it’s up to you to add the story component.

So, whether you have AI’s help or you go at it alone, include stories in your content to humanize your content and simultaneously improve your marketing.

6) Weave Metaphors Throughout

Metaphors turn good writing into great writing since they’re highly effective at conveying ideas, emotions, and concepts.

A metaphor is a phrase that is used to describe one thing to illustrate it’s similar to something else.

A metaphor is a form of figurative language. In other words, a metaphor is an artistic comparison and not a literal one. Taken literally, a metaphor sounds incorrect, silly, or perhaps melodramatic at times.

For example:

Life is a rollercoaster.

I was an ice cube melting on the sidewalk in the sweltering sun.

You’re a shining star in the dark night sky.

With a well-placed metaphor, you can instantly transform something complicated into something understandable and relatable through a familiar comparison.

Humans do this well. Unfortunately, AI doesn’t understand metaphors yet. So, it’s up to you to add them! You’ll make your writing more powerful while adding a personable touch.

7) Incorporate Your Sayings and Common Phrases

While you can guide AI tools to mimic your voice and tone with prompts and existing content, the results aren’t always spot on.

Also, sometimes the content sounds generic. By incorporating your own common sayings or phrases, you will humanize AI-generated content. This can help to build trust and engagement with your readers, as they feel like they are connecting with a real person rather than a machine.

It also adds a unique touch to your content that sets it apart from other AI content.

What do I mean by common sayings? Here are a few examples:

• The thing is…
• Well
• You know
• At the end of the day

I often say “I mean” at the beginning of sentences when speaking. So, I incorporate that phrase into my scripts.

Do you have mantras or beliefs that you frequently repeat? Include those too! Doing this will make you recognizable to your audience. It also sounds normal because that’s what humans do.

An example of mine is that I often refer to my dad’s advice that “what’s not inspected isn’t respected.”

Don’t be afraid to inject your own personality into your content to make it more engaging and memorable. This will also show that a human was behind the content and not a robot!

8) Use idioms occasionally

According to the dictionary, an idiom is a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.

For example:

• It’s raining cats and dogs
• Under the weather
• Break a leg
• Once in a blue moon
• On the fence
• Face the music
• Hit the hay
• My heart sank

This is another one of those instances of figurative language. AI is literal. Therefore, a figure of speech does not compute!

So, you can humanize your AI content by including idioms now and then.

9) Show emotion

Robots don’t have feelings. Therefore, they don’t have emotions. Since emotion separates humans from robots, it’s a good way to insert some human quality to your content.

If your content comes across as not having any heart, then you will have wasted an opportunity to connect with your audience. People criticize marketers for suggesting that connections matter. However, emotional connections are what make copywriters and salespeople rich!

People buy based on emotions and use logic to back up their decisions. Do people buy everything based on emotion? Probably not.

But you’d be surprised at how emotion and feelings play a role in marketing.

For example, when it comes to making a decision between two brands of toothpaste, you may choose the vegan brand over the others based on your values. And your values are likely tied to your emotions. So, even the decision to buy toothpaste could rely on emotion a little bit.

The point? Emotion plays a factor in decisions, and emotional connections to brands may influence purchases. So, add some emotion to your marketing writing.

For example, use exclamations! Add a little humor. Convey exuberance or disappointment. Do what humans do and emote.

10) Share unique insight custom to you

If there’s anything that will differentiate you online, it is original insight that’s custom to you and your brand.

Don’t forget that content generators rely on existing data sources. Thus, when your competitors are using AI writing tools just like you are, much of your content will be similar. Stand out by sharing your opinion and unique information that you’ve developed, created, or discovered.

Not only is unique insight a way to humanize AI content but also it highlights your expertise and experience. After all, this is knowledge that either only you or highly trained and skilled professionals would have. It’s content that isn’t all over the internet since it originates from your brain or research.

Examples of content that shows off your authority and makes your content more original are:

• Frameworks
• Methods
• Theories
• Original data or research
• Observations
• Concepts
• Reviews or opinion

This type of content is exclusive and specialized to you. Your audience will know a bot didn’t generate it.

11) Include specifics

A copywriting tip that doubles as a way to humanize your AI-generated content is specificity.

Your content is more authoritative and believable when it’s more detailed, especially when it comes to numbers.

For instance, which is more powerful, accurate, and convincing?

• Lots of people said this strategy worked.
• 9 out of 10 clients said this strategy produced 23% more leads.

Other areas where details help are descriptions of feelings or surroundings. These draw a picture, set the tone, and help to convey emotion in your writing.

As AI tools improve, they may come to include more specifics. For now, you may want to insert specifics as appropriate. It not only humanizes your content but also improves your influence and boosts your authority.

Incorporate Humanizing AI Content into Your Content Marketing Routine

When it comes to content marketing for small businesses, it helps to have a process to make it manageable and sustainable. If you do decide to use AI-written content, then I recommend incorporating into that process a step for humanizing it. This way, you put aside time to account for some substantive editing.

The awesome aspect of AI isn’t that it replaces you. The reason AI is helpful is because it makes content marketing faster and easier. And when you’re a super small team, you’ll welcome the help of a first draft. AI-written content takes your writing from scratch to having the first step done in less than an hour!

But, you’ll need to take the time and put in a little effort to humanize the AI-written content. Don’t think of it as AI doing ALL of your content creation process without you. Think of AI-powered tools as the best marketing productivity buddies you have besides real humans! Your volume of content will increase while your time spent on marketing decreases. And that’s a huge win!

If you need help with your blogging, content creation, content strategy, or marketing, then don’t forget that I’m here to help.