Copywriting in transition
The marketing of products and services has changed dramatically over the last ten years – also in terms of technological possibilities. Artificial intelligence can make copywriting easier by providing a basic framework and stimuli, but it cannot completely replace it.
Copywriting with AI
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent in our (working) lives and is often seen as competition. The more text is created by algorithms and sometimes used for entire websites, the more the question arises: How much craft is left in good copywriting?
The most recent example of the shift from “hand-crafted” texts to artificially generated texts is Chat GPT. All of a sudden, texts could be created on a large scale with just a few prompts and adjustments. For us as a media agency, the central question was not whether our advertising copy would now be written solely by artificial intelligence. Rather, it was about integrating this technology into our day-to-day work in a meaningful way and getting to know the advantages and weaknesses of the system: Where do we need human experience and expertise to achieve a really good result in the end? What can we do better than AI?
This is another reason why regular further training is part of our everyday working life. In addition to internal training courses, we also take advantage of external programmes – such as OMT Copywriting Seminar. A day in which we were able to exchange ideas with other copywriters, practise together and learn from each other under the guidance of Sandra Brestrich. Interesting learning content and constructive criticism not only enriched our own writing practice – it also brought the customer’s perspective into focus even more
Copywriting or Contentwriting?
It was made clear right at the beginning that we differentiate between copywriting and content writing: Copywriting has a clear goal – an action should follow, such as the purchase of a product. Content writing, on the other hand, is about building trust, informing and also entertaining – such as on a blog.
Although pure writing is of course a very creative process, creativity is out of place in copywriting: it’s about understanding the craft and using the right tools to create a text that inspires others.
The relevance of good copywriting remains high: with the proliferation of ads, banners and promotional videos, high-quality copy is more important than ever to capture the precious attention of (potential) customers. All too often, messages are lost due to inflationary wording or ignorance of the target group.
The quality of good copy is not only linked to the budget – successful campaigns can also be realised with relatively little effort. The prerequisite is that copywriters have the necessary expertise and adaptability to deliver good results on any scale. Regardless of the budget, the challenge can also lie in the limitation: If, for example, there is only room for a few words in an advert or the message needs to be to the point for stylistic reasons.
Symbiosis between AI and craftsmanship
The way in which we market products and services online has changed significantly over the last ten years and, of course, our approach to AI has changed too. The basis for successfully dealing with innovation is, as is so often the case, a willingness to learn. In terms of artificial intelligence, this means that it can make the work of copywriters easier by providing a basic framework and stimuli. Nevertheless, copywriting cannot be replaced by an algorithm, as the participants at the OMT seminar agreed. The use of different AI tools is individual, even within a company. What may be a good suggestion for social media ads creates unnecessary extra work when it comes to fact-based advertising copy – after all, every claim has to be checked for its truthfulness.
Really good advertising copy requires human experience and the ability to abstract. Interchangeable, run-of-the-mill copy is produced far too often – whether through the unthinking use of AI tools or simply “working through” copywriting instructions. Continuously learning and familiarising yourself with new technologies is the key. Today, good copywriting means working in a technically sound manner – and at the same time maintaining a certain openness to new ideas.