is what AI cannot do: Ten ways to AI-proof your content over the next 10 years //

Don’t get it twisted. The machines are taking control.

It is only a matter time before we all serve aluminum overlords at their every whim.

For us all, however, this day is not today.

AI, although he is a regurgitating Raconteur HTML, is still a glorified Mansplainer – much like the Wizard of Oz without the fancy haberdashery.

It is a complete suck at basic math.

It can’t wrap its little heads around any subjective.

It is prohibitively expensive to run. ______ HTML0?_blank>E-E-A-T is expensive to run. As if this weren’t enough, AI content also makes mockery of E E A-T.

Its source material is likely (definitely) stolen. This infringes on copyrights and fair usage intellectual property rights.

Promising? Sure. Are you ready for prime time? Not quite.

Don’t fire the entire writing team ( ) unless they have already been sucked to start with.

There are still some things that AI cannot do, and will not be able for many years.

1. Google has been disrupting content at the top of the funnel for many years

Microsoft’s massive $10B investment in OpenAI made it a major player.

This is a lot of cheddar. There’s one problem:

Bing is not used by anyone.

No matter how you slice and dice the data, they still have less than 10% market share to Google’s 80-90%+.

AI will help. Sure. It can’t hurt, I know! It was already a ghost city to begin with.

I’m not being flippant. I am trying to make a point.

Google has been disrupting SERPs for years. Google has a variety of knowledge graphs and featured snippets that provide instant answers to your queries.

This means you can cAn GeT yourUr DrInK without ever clicking on poor liquor.com (and giving them some “adcents”).

2. Spend more time on MOFU or BOFU content (i.e. the less disruptive stuff).

Google SERPs +AI can already harm your top-of the-funnel content (TOFU), but it’s not as destructive for middle-of-thefunnel or BOFU stuff.

The kind that makes people click, opt in, add to cart or start a trial.

AI content will remain similar in the future, as the technology behind it relies solely on pre-trained models.

This is why machines often defeat Grand Masters in chess. They are able to scan patterns and move information and store it in a database so they can make faster decisions.

It works in a similar way to “garbage out, garbage in” and associates data points, then throws it back out when requested – but it doesn’t really understand what it is saying.

While AI content is capable of answering simple black-and-white questions like “What’s Advil?” it’s not as useful in determining if you have to take Advil or if you should visit the ER.

This brings us to the next subplot.

AI content is often incorrect. It is not, like, all the time.

3. Experts in the subject matter write great content. They often add nuance and quotes to give color to a topic.

The world in which we live isn’t black and white. It’s all shades and shades of messy, sweaty, kinky grey.

This is also why the best content comes from subject-matter specialists.

“Cause experts rely upon primary research and verifiable facts, stats vs baseless claims to prepare convincing points.

This is not what you get when you use AI content.

It’s also easy to spot like the nerdiest game whack a mouse. ChatGPT 2.0 is released. Turnitin can detect it with 97% accuracy.

Even the title of this article is important. Although it was originally intended to be a simple “how-to”, I realized that making it a Top 10 listicle would draw more attention.

The content structure should be informed by the audience.

This is not all.

As more content appears in the SERPs, the definition of “content” continues to change.

4. Structure content better around the Query + SeRP layout

Google “HubSpot tutorial” – Here’s what won’t see in the first place:

• PPC Ads
• HubSpot.com.
• People also ask questions.
• Traditional organic listings
• Knowledge Graph.

Don’t give up!

Videos!

C’mon, OpenAI. OpenAI, where’s your vlogging game?

This is a great segue, if I do so myself. Video often has personality.

Video delivery is as important, if not more, than the actual content.

But. This shouldn’t be the case.

It’s just the way it is. Because most writing on the web suuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccckkkkssss.

This article is a shaming introduction.

In the last decade, I have worked with hundreds brands. It’s hard to count the number of brands that we could usually do this.

The majority of people want to be safe. Reduce it. Make it more generic. Be sure to use the Oxford comma exactly as it is.

Because customers care about how you format em dashes, it’s obvious. (Wait. They don’t.

Ten to fifteen writers can drone on for hours like the Company, Inc., which has been the content strategy for the past few years.

Yet, over the next few, it will die an excruciatingly-violent, Squid Games-esque death.

“Cause AI content already is the faceless master of all things.”

5. Consider recurring columns written by people with personalities, rather than generic writing that sounds the same.

Cue Bourdain.

God, I love you. I miss him. Because he dropped bombs on regular just like that:

“If you find yourself easily offended by direct insults on your lineage or the circumstances of birth, your sexuality, and your appearance, as well as the mention of your parents possibly mingling with livestock then professional cooking may not be for you.

The thought-provoking:

“Travel changes you. You leave traces, no matter how small, as you travel through life and the world. Life–and travel –leaves its mark on you.”

To simple quips:

“When you are dealing with complicated transportation issues, it is best to grab a cold one and let someone else solve it.”

What is that called? Journalism? Satire?

I have no clue. It is endlessly readable, I think. Can’t-take-my-eyes-off-it watchable. Literally-LOL listenable.

This is something AI cannot do. AI has no soul.

It can’t make counterunitive arguments. It cannot weave a narrative that is independent .

It’s not yet. Not in the next few decades at this rate.

These things are self-referential. They create arguments with bricks after brick, which requires leaps of logic.

They might be completely contrary to the accepted norms on a topic or category.

Keep in mind: garbage in, garbage out. This is the nuance that AI cannot process yet.

6. Mixed media can increase persuasion, consumption, and even memory recall

People say “content” and their minds go to “text”.

However, the boundaries between content types have changed. It’s a good thing.

Memory recall is increased by imagery Scanning and skimming are the new reading.

This is why it’s always better to show people how something looks than just text.

When an image is in view, you might as well drop 300 words of LoremIpsum.

Mixed media breaks up content and encourages more scrolling. This is something your crack fiend audience is used to online.

It should contain everything starting with:

• Images featured
• Charts and graphs.
• Visualizing a process.
• CTAs.
• Graphics can be reused for video thumbnails and social channels.

It means explain any visual process!

It is better to demonstrate to people how to add a strikethrough to Google Docs, as an example, rather than to go on and on about it and hide the important stuff behind walls of text.

7. Write long, detailed content that is easily repurposed in other audio and visual media

Video’s marketing importance is obvious. No one does.

Let’s not get into the details and instead focus on the essential point.

The same rich, detailed, nuanced and interesting content that AI cannot does lends itself to another human-friendly element, audio, and video.

It is a simple idea to extract in-depth information and then create audio summaries. You can also include podcasts that are discussion-style and related to related articles. Both are done by The Economist.

You can and should also do the same for video. YouTube continues to consume traditional TV + streaming time, as well as organic SERP placements. (See #4.)

Take your most popular content or “head” terms and make everything, from product-focused walkthroughs, in-depth reviews, or motion graphics.

Remember that AI is not the answer. This means we need to include more people with talking-head elements.

8. Illustrations with interactive content and data visualization

These tips are designed to help you focus on how to deliver the content.

Make it interactive to make it easier to understand and more enjoyable to spend a few moments focusing on.

Data visualization is the natural extension. Take a page from The Economist, a top publisher that recently produced interactive content pieces such as this overview of global weather systems .

9. Consider nuance and subjectivity when comparing different solutions for different audiences.

Artificial intelligence doesn’t wiggle. It cannot, by definition. It is programmed to give you facts such as that annoying know-it all in your office. (Error, Slack watercooler.

This is a good thing because it reflects the fact that online audiences have become more sophisticated. This means that if you only spew BS, they will see through it.

This is more evident than in affiliate-related SERPs. You can still make money online, but it is not easy.

However, most people know that there isn’t always a right answer.

You should instead compare the options available to different people, based on many factors.

What is the best dive watch that you can purchase right now, for example?

It all depends on your budget!

What is “nice” at $100 doesn’t mean it’s at $1,000, $10,000 or $100,000. (Much to my wife’s dismay and my bank account.

The point is that subject-specific content can be and should be more important.

Take a balanced and nuanced approach when searching for information that could be useful to multiple parties.

You can increase the ante by using better design, presentation and development to emphasize these subjective differences.

Consider comparison charts and graphics. Showcase the pros and cons of each option, or which is better depending upon their goals, budget, and preferences.

10. Demonstrate how things work, not only what they are capable of.

Always strive to do more.

It sounds familiar. It’s true.

You should have five images if the competitor content has no images. You should have 10 custom images if they have more than 10 stock images.

To “future-proof,” your content will require a competitive “moat,” which is made up of all the elements we are talking about today.

Last but not least, calculators, tools and quizzes are my favorite examples.

Let’s go the extra mile, literally and metaphorically. There are two methods to determine your marathon finish time.

You can:

• Take the time to carefully look at your mile time in the left column of a large chart. Then, use both your fingers to draw lines between it and your distance time.

• or, punch in two numbers to get an immediate answer.

(Hmmm. This second example sounds almost like AI. )

Keep in mind that “content” does not always refer to “text.”

Yes. Text is often needed to begin. A script is the core of a video.

However, the presentation, format, delivery and interaction of the information will be more important over the next ten years.

Do more with what AI cannot do

The cat is outta the bag.

Artificial Intelligence will continue to improve and become better every day.

We’ll soon have to build digital pyramids within the metaverse in honor of it.

That day is not today, thankfully. Or tomorrow. It’s unlikely that it will be five years in the future.

AI can do many things better than us. It’s terrible at many things.

These are the things you should be competing on. These are the things that aren’t easy to reproduce and won’t change soon. Particularly the bits of human flesh that are already hardwired to our internal hard drives.

You might beat machines at chess. They will never be good at intangibles, like intuition or instinct.

Or any other “i”, word to complete the joke about a living, breathing person typing this.

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