The veteran copywriter’s guide to survival in the AI era
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 3
AI is giving copywriters a run for their money – and in some cases putting them out of business. But the human touch still has the edge.
For some time now, I have been wrestling with ways to articulate what I bring to the table compared to AI.
Let’s start with the facts:
AI:
Free to use (although increasingly less so)
Quick
Ostensibly learns from the best copywriters of the last 50 years
Me
Not free to use
Quite quick
One person (with 25+ years’ experience, but still)
I have conversations with myself daily that go along the lines of, “If I can eke this out until my retirement, I’ll be lucky.”
But then it hit me. I have a genuinely valuable USP – and it is just six words long.
I know what good looks like.
AI may be faster – but it isn’t always better
More and more clients are keen for me to use AI. I completely understand this. With a solid brief behind it, AI can deliver impressive results in next to no time.
To be clear, the AI approach isn’t right in every case. Creative ad campaigns, for example, still benefit from 100% original human thinking.
But for a large chunk of the work I am asked to do, AI speeds things up.
So where do I come in?
I bring everything together. This is what my clients who are canny marketing professionals or smart business owners fully appreciate. AI isn’t giving them slop; what they need is someone who knows what to do with the copy when it arrives.
Having worked with copy for decades – both as a writer and editor – I know how to do this instinctively.
To explain the value I bring to the table, I’ll itemise the list of things I do to AI copy before it ever goes live:
1. I unearth what a client wants
“Some copy” is rarely the answer. Part of my role is to work with clients to understand what they need – and what they aim to achieve with the copy. It’s also about assessing what they definitely don’t want. Teasing these answers out of a client boosts the chances of success – and it’s a step easily missed if you go it alone.
My ‘human’ skill: challenging a client to consider the precise function of the copy. Copy for copy’s sake is pointless.
2. I consider the wider picture
It makes me wince just saying it, but I often feel that what I really handle these days is ‘information architecture’. Copy rarely exists in a vacuum, and I use my experience to work out how to fit it into a wider picture – and how other pieces of copy will support this.
Most of my work is for websites. As these are broadly similar to magazines – with multiple elements, sections, signposting and the like – my experience as a senior editor really comes into play.
My ‘human’ skill: a broad knowledge of how different copy elements interact with and support others. Planning and strategy, in other words.
3. I provide AI with a clear, tailored brief
To get the best out of ChatGPT, Gemini or any other AI tool, you need to show it the ropes. This is where a highly detailed and customised prompt comes in. A single prompt can easily take 20 minutes to create.
My ‘human’ skill: understanding what we are looking for before we begin and articulating that for AI.
4. I force AI to work harder once the first draft comes back
Because of my experience, I can quickly see where the copy that comes back is missing the mark (it does – in every single instance). Many people would not have that insight. I’ll tell AI where it’s going wrong and put it back to work.
My ‘human’ skill: knowing to reject those first four versions in the first place.
5. I test the copy on other AI models
Once the copy is passable, I routinely run it through different AI models to see if they can improve it further. I’ve been known to do this as many as five times using different tools before arriving at a version I like. While this may take an hour or two in total, it’s significantly quicker than starting the copy from scratch.
My ‘human’ skill: knowing when to stop when I feel we’ve got there.
6. I check the formatting and consider the ‘what next’
Now that we have some nice, readable copy, I need to consider how it will look on a page. That may mean breaking sections up, adding new subheads, bullets, putting certain elements in bold and so on.
My ‘human’ skill: an inbuilt appreciation for what works and what doesn’t – and the nuances of great copy.
7. I show clients how to use the copy
Handing a client a bare text document is not very helpful. If the client has never worked with a designer before, a simple Word doc can feel almost worthless – a bit like a shoemaker handing you three strips of leather and some thread. Even more experienced marketing people appreciate some indication of how the copy might work on the page. It’s why I almost always provide structured dummy designs before submitting.
My ‘human’ skill: we’re back to the ‘information architecture’ thing again. Experience helps me see the bigger picture.
Human copywriting skills + AI: the perfect partnership?
Like all copywriters, I’m only too aware of the new era that AI has created. I truly feel for those at the bottom of the pile who used to knock out quick, cheap copy – and whose skills have been completely replaced by AI.
For now, I have avoided the cull. I have clients who hire me precisely because they understand that human knowledge and experience are essential if you want the best work, whether using AI or not.
Sure, they are blown away by the capabilities of AI – but they are equally aware of its limitations.
To rise above the mediocre, they want somebody who knows what good looks like.
Written by Mike Peake, UK website copywriter + freelance copywriting services (emails, ads, brochures, etc.).
T: +44 (0)208 133 4306
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