AI-generated content is everywhere. From social media captions to full-length blogs, tools like ChatGPT are transforming the way marketers, businesses, and creatives approach writing. But as with any powerful tool, the question isn’t just can you use AI writing—but should you?
Let’s break down the benefits, the drawbacks, and how to use AI content generators like ChatGPT strategically (and responsibly).
Why AI Writing Tools Are on the Rise
In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, speed and volume matter.
AI writing tools are gaining popularity because they help users:
- Create content faster
- Reduce brainstorming time
- Generate SEO-friendly drafts
- Maintain consistency across platforms
- Produce multiple variations for testing
With AI, you can plug in a prompt and get a polished blog intro or full article in seconds. For content marketers on a deadline, it’s a game changer.
A Quick Look at the Most Popular AI Writing Tools
While ChatGPT often takes the spotlight, it’s far from the only tool available. The AI content landscape is full of platforms, each with different strengths, specialties, and limitations.
If you’re considering adding AI to your content toolkit, here’s a rundown of the major players and what they offer:
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- Best known for: Versatility, conversational tone, idea generation, long-form writing
- Strengths: Can be trained or fine-tuned with specific prompts, handles nuance and tone well
- Use cases: Blog posts, outlines, emails, SEO content, FAQs, social copy
Jasper (formerly Jarvis)
- Best known for: Marketing-focused content generation
- Strengths: Prebuilt templates for ads, email campaigns, product descriptions, etc.
- Use cases: Copywriting, ad content, website text, sales pages
Copy.ai
- Best known for: Quick content creation for short-form copy
- Strengths: User-friendly interface, helpful for brainstorming
- Use cases: Social media captions, product descriptions, email subject lines
Writesonic
- Best known for: SEO tools and multilingual content
- Strengths: Affordable plans, support for blog post writing and landing pages
- Use cases: Blog posts, Google Ads, landing page copy, e-commerce
Claude (Anthropic)
- Best known for: Ethical and safe AI responses
- Strengths: Transparent development process, focus on responsible AI use
- Use cases: General writing, safe content for sensitive industries
Google Gemini (formerly Bard)
- Best known for: Integration with Google search and products
- Strengths: Real-time access to up-to-date information
- Use cases: Fact-checking, research support, live updates in content
Microsoft Copilot
- Best known for: Integration with Microsoft 365 products
- Strengths: Enhances productivity tools like Word, Excel, and Outlook
- Use cases: Drafting documents, editing, summarizing emails or reports
Each tool has its niche. Some are built for speed, others for accuracy, and a few are deeply integrated with marketing workflows. The key is not just picking the most powerful AI, but choosing the one that fits your content goals, workflow, and team needs.
The Pros of Using AI for Blog Content
AI-generated content can give you a head start or fill in gaps. Here’s what’s working in its favor:
- Efficiency at Scale
Need 10 product descriptions by tomorrow? AI delivers in minutes.
- Endless Ideas
Stuck in a content rut? AI can offer topic suggestions, headlines, and outlines to spark your creativity.
- SEO Optimization
AI can incorporate keywords, answer popular queries, and help structure content to rank better in search engines.
- Cost-Effective
For small businesses or solo creators, AI offers an affordable alternative to hiring full-time writers or freelancers.
The Cons of AI-Generated Blog Posts
Not all that glitters is gold. There are real risks to consider when letting a robot take the wheel.
- Lack of Originality
AI doesn’t create; it mimics. Without human input, content can feel generic or repetitive.
- Accuracy Issues
AI can “hallucinate” facts or deliver outdated information. You still need a human to review for accuracy and make adjustments as needed.
- Tone and Voice Challenges
Brand voice matters. AI might miss sarcasm, humor, or emotional nuance that resonates with your audience.
- SEO Overload
Google can detect and penalize overly optimized or low-value AI content. Quality still wins.
Can You Really Spot AI by the Em-Dash?
One growing myth is that you can instantly tell something was written by ChatGPT (or another AI) because of certain writing quirks—like the overuse (or just plain use) of the em-dash.
Let’s clear that up:
The em-dash isn’t exclusive to AI. It’s just popular punctuation.
Writers—human ones—have used em-dashes for decades to create flow, add emphasis, or replace commas, semicolons, and parentheses. AI models learn from the massive amount of human writing on the internet, so they naturally adopt patterns that are already common.
So, if someone claims, “That post has em-dashes, must be AI,” they’re probably missing the bigger picture. Or maybe they don’t read that much. It’s not about the punctuation—it’s about the content quality, originality, and intent behind it.
The Smart Way to Use AI for Blog Posts
AI isn’t here to replace writers—it’s here to empower them. The best approach? Use it as a creative partner.
Here’s how to integrate AI effectively:
- Start with an outline: Use AI to organize your thoughts.
- Draft fast, edit hard: Let AI write the first draft, then revise it to match your brand tone and audience.
- Insert expertise: Add your own insights, experiences, and examples.
- Fact-check everything: Don’t assume what the AI wrote is true.
- Use it to scale, not replace: Pair AI with human writers for high-volume, high-quality content.
So, Should You Use ChatGPT for Blog Posts?
Yes—with a strategy. In fact, we used it to help write this one. Why not? At ADsmith, we practice what we preach, just responsibly. This means always, always, always reading and editing, fact-checking claims, and adjusting the tone to ensure brand consistency.
Do not assume that there is zero work involved because you fed a program a prompt. You will always need someone with the time, talent, and expertise to take AI’s rough draft and make it shine. Never mind check for plagiarism, a very real concern since—like we said above—AI does not create. Every output is based on existing material. And yes, those were human-inserted em-dashes.
The power of the human touch is not to be underestimated. Polishing any piece of content does save time, but time is still invested. What we’re talking about is turning a 4-6 hour task into 1-2 hours.
If you view AI as your writing partner—not your copywriter—you’ll be on the right track.
Final Thoughts
AI content is the future—but it still needs a human touch. Whether you’re a business owner or a marketing manager, experimenting with tools like ChatGPT can add firepower to your content game.
Ready to create smarter blog content?
Let’s talk about how to build an AI-boosted, human-edited content strategy that gets results.