How to Balance AI and Human Creativity in Content Creation

We’re living in a world where AI can write, design, summarize, translate, and brainstorm, but it still can’t anticipate that your stakeholder will ask, ‘Can we make the CTA pop more?’ for the third time. But here’s the catch: AI can assist your voice, it shouldn’t replace it. If you’re navigating how to stand out without blending in with a sea of AI-generated sameness, here are a few ways I’ve been keeping things human. 1️⃣ Lead with your tone of voice Whether you’re writing a caption, an email, or a case study, your voice is your fingerprint. Use words you actually say. Embrace your quirks. 2️⃣ Design with personality Add colors, fonts, and layouts that match your energy. Whether your vibe is minimalist and moody or punchy and playful, your visuals can do a lot of talking before you even say a word. 3️⃣ Use AI as a co-pilot, not a ghostwriter I use AI to start the idea, not to be the idea. I edit, shape, and sprinkle in personality until it feels like something I’d say. 4️⃣ Show your face Whether it’s behind-the-scenes photos, messy sketches, or a video of you sharing your thoughts, that’s all you! 5️⃣ Inject YOU into the process Don’t just share the polished result, share the “why,” the lessons learned, or even the things that didn’t work. People connect to the human behind the pixels. AI can scale your ideas, but it’s your authenticity that makes people remember them. Curious to hear, how are you balancing AI support with staying true to your "brand”?

Balancing Human Creativity & AI Efficiency. 6 Tips for Entrepreneurs... How I develop cutting-edge business strategies daily: 1. Encourage Wild Ideas: Don't let your ego stop your creative potential. Push yourself to think beyond what is "acceptable." Having said that.... Our brains can only go so far. AI then takes these ideas, no matter how wild, and explores their potential, connecting dots I didn't even see. 2. Overcome Bias: AI introduces ideas and points of view that I'd never think of. It enables me to break free from my usual patterns and creative biases. 3. Break Expertise Barriers: AI helps me venture beyond my comfort zone. It's a creative PARTNER, suggesting ways of tackling scenarios and strategies outside of my existing knowledge. AI is the sage. I'm the creative director. 4. Refine for Real-World Use: As entrepreneurs, we can all get carried away with BIG IDEAS. AI assesses these ideas for practicality, helping me refine them into actionable strategies. It can also perform market research in minutes. Fundamental when building products/services for your audience. 5. Enhance Decision Making: A million ideas. ONE DECISION. Using AI, I evaluate options based on data, not just intuition. I have all the cards laid out to execute my goals efficiently. 6. Accelerate Development Cycles: Perfectionism is the Achilles of creativity. Repeatedly self-editing often causes more harm than good. AI’s speed in processing and iterating ideas shortens my development time. It also closes the door so imposter syndrome doesn't creep in. I make this my ritual for creativity. When it’s time to execute, my strategies are not just creative but also AI-optimized for today’s dynamic market. Let AI be your co-pilot in business. Marry creativity with technology for groundbreaking results. P.S. How do you use AI for creativity?

Algorithms have their language, but humans resonate with stories. The fusion of human intuition and machine intelligence can produce magic. Reflecting on my past launches, I've found that the best AI-driven projects always had a strong human touch at their core. Consider the art of storytelling. For centuries, we've been captivated by tales of triumph, sorrow, love, and adventure. Stories shape societies and mold beliefs. Now, think about the narratives crafted by brands, products, and services. They're essentially stories, right? AI can churn out data, analyze trends, and even generate content, but can it understand the heartbeat of a story that resonates with human emotion? As Product Managers, our role isn't just to leverage AI for efficiency but to intertwine it with the art of storytelling. It's our narratives that give AI a soul. Here's a simple approach: ✨ Let AI handle the extensive data analysis, identifying patterns and insights that can inform your strategy. ✨ Then, blend these insights with a story that speaks to the heart. For instance, while AI can predict that a user might need a particular product based on their browsing history, it's the compelling narrative behind the product that convinces the user to make a purchase. ✨ This duality is where the future lies. It's not about humans vs. AI, but rather humans with AI. Embrace this synergy, and you'll craft tales that not only make sense but also matter.

Most don't realize the trade-offs they're making when using AI. Since ChatGPT really took flight about a year ago, I've developed an AI-first mindset–looking to integrate it into just about everything that I do. I've invested much energy over the past year, honing my voice. While AI can be extremely helpful in getting folks from 0-1, I've found the opposite depending on the task. A goal of mine when sharing any writing or content is that I want to ensure that my authenticity and creativity really shine. I started to notice that when solely using LLMs to get from 0-1, the originality of my ideas was capped. My ideas felt generic. So, I decided to run an experiment on my workflow. I shifted back to using pen and paper first. After, I read my writing out loud and record it into Otter.ai. Then, use an LLM (Claud, ChatGPT, etc) to synthesize. Since shifting my process, I've turned a corner with my creativity and relationship to AI in my workflow. There's no right way to integrate AI into your workflow. The key is getting clear and intentional about the tradeoffs you're making in the process. ~ ✍️ What's your take on this? ♻️ Reshare if this is helpful. #artificialintelligence #aiworkflow #intentionaltechnology

New thoughts on AI and writing.... It's been about a year and half since ChatGPT waltzed onto the dance floor and started shaking up the marketing world. Since then - everyone and their mama has either: ❌Sworn to NEVER use AI ❌Become an AI expert trying to sell you their latest course ❌Dug their head in the sand and pretended it doesn't exist After MUCH thought, testing, and research - here are some thoughts. AI is helpful when in the hands of a SKILLED copywriter. Otherwise it creates actual 💩 (no matter how good the prompt). You HAVE to not only feed it the right info - but refine it over and over again. AI content will continue to evolve - which means EVERYONE will need to up their skills when it comes to writing. In order to stand out - you will need to be exceptional since EVERYONE will be able to create the generic fluff using AI. AI will never be able to know your stories, your unique ideas, and your voice (it can get close - but it's not you). People are CRAVING connection - and if you put AI in the driver's seat of your content and copy - it will do the opposite of connect! AI for content creation should be used SPARINGLY and as a guide, meaning - you generate the foundational ideas, feed it YOUR information, let it spit something back out, then you REFINE. You will absolutely lose if you are letting AI create your content on it's own. AI can be helpful when doing research for your conversion copy - but will lack the nuance needed to actually write the conversion copy in a nuanced way. Again - you can use it to get some insight, research, and a starting point but on it's own - it will be a disaster. At the end of the day - AI is a tool to be used in the hands of a critical thinking person. Morally - I have a few lines I've drawn... I want our businesses to provide jobs - so I will use AI to SUPPORT the humans who work for us, not replace them. I believe that taken too far, AI can be sort of a "Tower of Babel" sitch - so again, we will use it as a tool - not to replace our God-given human ability to be creative, thinking, feeling, purposeful beings. I know there are LOTS of opinions - mine has evolved (VERY slightly, but some)... so go for it, drop them below! And - be nice 😉

AI often gets crowned as the knight in shining armor. But as much as I admire the capabilities of the latest AI tools, it's not the "savior" for content programs. However, it's a remarkable sidekick. Here’s how AI becomes has helped me scale our content program: ✅ Content Readability: Before I publish anything, I have AI check to make sure the content is digestible and resonates with my audience. ✅ Research & Brainstorming: Stuck on ideas? AI helps get the creative juices flowing, generating concepts and compiling research. ✅ Overcoming Writer's Block: Yes, the dreaded blank page. AI drafts can help fill the void, providing a rough foundation that I can then craft into something relatable and more robust. ✅ Content Repurposing: From blog posts to tweets, AI aids in reshaping core messages for various platforms, maximizing reach while maintaining consistency. ✅ Rephrasing Things: Engaging content often requires multiple iterations. AI suggests alternative ways to present my messages, keeping them fresh and compelling. AI is a powerful tool, but we are the strategists. We guide it, refine its output, and ensure it aligns with our brand voice and objectives. It's not about replacing human insight but enhancing it, allowing us to do more, create more, and connect more. How have you used AI in your content strategies? Share your tips below! ⬇️ #AI #contentstrategy

People ask me, "What AI tools should I be using?" While I'm big on staying up to date on tools that make content creation & distribution easier and more effective, I was reminded of a foundational truth that puts everything AI in perspective. The future of content marketing is still about making things personal. According to The 2024 State of Marketing Report by @HubSpot, an analysis of current marketing trends and strategies, “Your content must be personal, demonstrate experience, & address real needs.” This is what I love about good marketing. It is not just about trying to get someone to buy or putting noise out in the world, it's about addressing real needs of real people. We still market to humans & need to be more human than ever. AI tools can curate information and distribute it faster, but humans can curate in a way AI can’t. Humans offer perspective & experience. Humans have a point of view that helps personalize the data. When you make your marketing more personal, you win & so do your customers. The question then becomes less about, “What AI tools should I be using?” And more “How do I use the tools to personalize my content?” According to Hubspot’s research, here are some tips for personalizing content 1. Create content personal to you & personal to your customers. The primary reason you exist as a company is to solve problems for your customers. Give your customers content that solves a problem. Embrace your expertise & share that expertise on all your channels. If you don’t have thought leaders in your organization, find a partner with that can offer value to your customers & help them solve a problem. 2. Email — it still works, but be ready to adapt. Email needs to be personalized, but it's impossible to write a personal email to every potential customer. Use AI to personalize at scale. Curate dynamic content with different images, location specific information, nearest store maps or changing subject lines. This helps make the email personal. Use AI-powered tools to make it scale. 3. It’s time to embrace bots. This may sound like I am moving away from personalization here, but not true. HubSpot found that 55% of businesses predict in 2024, most people will turn to chatbots over search engines for answers. AI-powered chatbots offer a conversational approach to research, provide individualized, & user-friendly results. Plus, by letting AI answer simple questions that get asked repeatedly, bots free you up to spend more time connecting with your customers in other personal ways. AI-powered marketing tools are changing fast, but it feels less intimidating when we realize that the past and future of content marketing is still about making things personal. Interested in seeing The 2024 State of Marketing Report by HubSpot for yourself? Check out comments for a link. I found it super helpful in seeing what is & is not working in the marketing world & what tools and tactics I want to use to help businesses grow.

It's week eleven of 2% Better 💪 , the series where I highlight an operational improvement my team is implementing that's not world-changing but gives us a meaningful small efficiency gain. We'll cover how I use AI to speed up video creation while keeping things feeling empathetic and human (no uncanny valleys here!). 📓 Summary: Folks love videos - that's one of our top requests in feedback surveys. That said, videos are time-consuming to create and maintain. I use ChatGPT and Grammarly to take bullet points and create a strong draft. 🌀 Background: We have a large video catalog covering features, setup steps, how to get the most out of our platform, etc. Creating and updating these videos takes a good chunk of our time. Previously, I spent hours taking the bullet point outline and crafting the first draft. For the past year, I have instead fed that outline to ChatGPT and/or Grammarly, and it generates an excellent first draft 90% of the time (sometimes ChatGPT likes to add too many puns). I've used ChatGPT's Custom Instructions and Grammarly's Brand Voice (s/o to Sinclair Blackmon for this hack!) to help our tools write thoughtful scripts targeting our users. What's more, if we're _updating_ a script, I'll share that with our tools and use it to polish. For instance "make this script more concise - our users are really busy." We still use human on-screen talent (Alexis Thompson), which gives our videos the empathetic, human element our users deserve! 📈 Impact: I shave off 30% of the script writing or updating process, while still having control over the final product. Combined with Wistia's AI features like automatic chapters, we're nearly 50% more efficient than we were a year ago. What's a 2% better way you use AI for content creation or maintenance? #CustomerSuccess #CustomerEducation #CusEd #Efficiency #EdTech #Operations #SAAS #2percentbetter

“The robots are great at processing text, but they’re terrible at having coffee with a nervous author.” I shared that line in a recent talk with editors, and it stuck. Because it’s true. AI is changing how we work, but it can’t replicate what makes us human. In 2025, AI is a regular part of publishing and content production. It’s helping teams brainstorm, draft, edit, illustrate. The shift isn’t coming—it’s already here. So what does that mean for editors? It means our role is evolving. For some of us, editing now looks like guiding an AI through a task and checking its work, rather than manually pushing commas around a document. And yes, many editors are being asked to use AI tools daily. To move faster. To do more. But here’s what I reminded that room of editors: Change is not new. We’ve been automating editing for decades. Spell check went mainstream in the ‘80s. Grammar checkers and Word macros followed in the ‘90s. AI is just the next step in that evolution. So how do we stay relevant? We lean into the thing AI can’t do: be human. 📍 Make humanity your asset. Focus on your “people skills" like empathy, coaching, and face-to-face communication. Look for ways to increase human connection in your work. 📍 Become the person who knows AI. Be the one who teaches your team how to use it well. Test tools, improve workflows, and share what you learn. If AI saves your team time and money, you may have just covered your own salary. 📍 Expand your range. The editor who also understands AI search, is an SME, or leads a team? That person is harder to replace than someone who only knows style guides. 📍 Stay in the loop. Wharton Professor Ethan Mollick calls it “Human in the Loop.” At every stage of AI use, humans need to be involved—reviewing, guiding, checking for accuracy. (We’ve all seen The Terminator. We know what happens if we skip that step.) AI can help us move faster and do more, but it still needs us. Your judgment. Your people skills. Your coffee chats with nervous authors. Our humanity is the future of editing. Let’s lean into it.

I made the worst pancakes of my life with this vegan "egg substitute." I was visiting my parents a few months ago. I wanted pancakes. My mom wanted pancakes. But my dad had just become a vegan. And we wanted pancakes he could enjoy, too. Trying to satisfy everyone, we turned to this "plant-based egg." It was an instant fail. A viscous, gooey mess. It kind of looked like a pancake. And it *was* edible. But it had the texture of a bland flavorless pudding that tasted like nothing at all. In other words: It tasted like reading AI-generated content feels. Way too often, people use AI to outsource critical thinking to a machine. To avoid the creative work that's the most interesting part of their job. And that way of using AI is completely backward. So it's no surprise that Google's recent core update has massively affected low-quality, AI-generated content: 💥 Thousands of AI-generated websites were completely deindexed 💥 Both large and small sites with high volumes of AI content were penalized 💥 Outdated, erroneous AI-generated content received low E-E-A-T scores 💥 Useless, repetitive, unoriginal content targeted across the board 💥 Renewed emphasis on originality, depth, reader value, and overall quality It's yet another proof point that leaning into your humanity and creativity is how you win in the era of AI. Done right, AI should enhance your creative process, not replace it: ✅ Uncover better sources to inform your writing, faster ✅ Identify reader questions you might not have thought of ✅ Fast-track the process of building great content outlines ✅ More easily optimize content for target words and phrases ✅ Streamline the editing process by catching errors and typos ✅ Cut out unnecessary complexity and dial in your voice and tone In the age of AI, embracing your own creativity, originality and imagination is how you win. That's what readers want. That's what Google wants. And that's how you stand out. So don't settle for bland, forgettable AI-generated content. Lean into your humanity and creativity – and create content your readers can't ignore. 🔁 Found this helpful? Hit repost to share it with others 🔔 Liked this post? Follow me, Chris Collins, for more posts like this