When I asked ChatGPT, “Will you replace my job as a content writer?” It had this to say:

“I can certainly assist you in various aspects of content writing, such as generating ideas, providing information, suggesting structure and formatting, and even helping with grammar and style. However, I’m here to complement your work, not replace it. While I can generate text, I lack creativity, originality, and the ability to understand context and specific goals as well as a human content writer. 

“Additionally, content writing often involves a deep understanding of specific industries, niches, or subjects, and it requires a human touch to create engaging and relatable content. So, rather than replacing your job, I can be a valuable tool to enhance your productivity and creativity in your content writing tasks.” 

While this sounds a bit like it’s toeing the party line, my experience with ChatGPT is exactly as this states: it’s a fantastic writing aid, but it doesn’t come close to replacing humans.

Even so, there’s quite a bit of concern surrounding AI within the writing world, and not without reason. Although ChatGPT’s CEO Sam Altman has said, “We’re very optimistic that there will be fantastic jobs in the future and that current jobs can be much better,” as the result of AI, he has also aired concerns that it can “cause significant harm to the world.” His co-founder, Elon Musk, has shared similar apprehension, labeling AI as an existential threat to humanity. These comments from ChatGPT’s founders lend validity to our anxieties, however, this technology is too new. Not even its creators can predict exactly how it will shape the future.

Worries aside, AI is here. We can cry, complain, and dig our heels in, but it would be as futile as the opposition the internet faced during its early days. Whether or not you like or agree with it, AI exists, and it will transform the way we work in every industry. 

Rather than being fearful of this groundbreaking technology, writers can avoid being replaced by learning how to use AI and developing strategies to enhance their value. Content writing is not dead. AI is not (currently) replacing humans. But, it does exist, and if you do not pivot your business to include AI and start making business decisions with AI in mind, then you will be left behind.

Here are some ways that you can adjust your business strategies to ensure that you’re not replaced by AI.

1. Find your creative voice

The term “Artificial Intelligence” isn’t accurate. It’s not intelligent at all. Rather, it’s a data miner. It scans the information that’s already out there and then presents it in a way that its algorithm has been told is appropriate. Knowing this, by maintaining the aspects of your writing that make it human—your creativity, your voice, your unique sense of humor—you ensure that you’re irreplaceable.

In the past, a lot of content writing was about replicating what works. We’d look at the top five posts for our target keyword and create something similar. Today, this is something that AI can easily do. In order to compete against it, you need to learn how to reach top SERPs while including your unique writing style and opinions. 

This approach also aligns with modern SEO. In fact, Google Search’s guidance on AI-generated content emphasizes that “Our focus [is] on the quality of content, rather than how content is produced.” It later addresses the mass-produced, human-written content that was common a decade ago, which was able to use Google’s algorithm to gain top ranking while being very low quality. It can be argued that AI-generated content is of the same ilk. If you want to compete with AI, and you want your articles to be optimized for Google, then you need to produce high-quality content that stands head and shoulders above mass-produced fodder.

Your creative voice is part of what will make your content high-quality. It’s what will help your content stand out from the cacophony that’s already out there. Spend some time delving into your written style and discovering which aspects of your writing are purely you.

2. Hone in on a low-competition niche

Even as AI gains more knowledge and becomes more sophisticated, there are major gaps in its offerings. It cannot provide original thought, and it’s limited by what’s available online. If one asked it to recommend the top five Italian restaurants in New York, for example, it would provide a dry list based on the opinions of those who have posted blogs or reviews rather than providing any insider knowledge. This isn’t very useful to readers, as they can easily find this information on their own. AI provides no added value. Clients who want this type of article will have to seek out a writer with specific expertise in Italian restaurants in New York.

If you’re a generalist, you cannot develop the expertise needed to compete with AI. Unless you conduct an interview, you’ll likely get most of your information from the same places that AI is. The only difference is that AI can research, compose, and submit a 1,000-word article in seconds. In this case, AI easily replaces a human.

To avoid this, hone in on a niche, and take the time to become an expert in it. It doesn’t have to be something that you currently have experience in. Simply choose a marketable topic that you’re passionate about. Once you’ve chosen your niche, take the time to listen to podcasts, read books and articles, watch YouTube videos, and learn everything that you possibly can. This way, you can not only speak intelligently on the topic, but you can also provide your own thoughts and opinions on it. This is something that AI will never be able to do.

3. Learn how to use AI

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. This adage holds true with AI. The best way to ensure that you are not replaced by AI is learning how to use it. 

When ChatGPT first emerged, I had the same stomach-churning fears surrounding AI as many writers. I thought my career and business were over. Then, I started using it, and I discovered that it’s an amazing tool and a useful assistant. use it as a sounding board to help me come up with ideas, rewrite sentences that I’m struggling with, and come up with creative headlines when my brain just isn’t there. 

By learning how to use it, I’m also learning its shortcomings. This is enormously helpful when speaking with clients who are considering replacing certain tasks with AI. Instead of getting defensive or fully relinquishing my role to AI, I can come to the table with first-hand insight into ways that AI can be used in content writing and when it should be avoided. Then, I can work with my clients to redesign my role within AI so that I am still needed.

Learning to use AI will help you to understand it and see exactly where your skills fill its gaps. While AI is useful, it needs a heavy human hand to guide it. By becoming that hand, you ensure that you won’t be replaced.

4. Include AI in your offerings

Once you’ve learned how to use AI, you can brainstorm ways to include it in your offerings. As AI becomes more widely used, it’s going to become the norm in business operations. If you don’t start offering AI services, then you’ll miss out on a huge chunk of the market.

For writers, AI services can manifest a number of ways.

• Editing AI-generated text to make it sound more human.
• Adding thoughts and opinions to AI-generated text.
• Using AI to create blog and article outlines.
• Using AI to conduct keyword and SEO research.

AI is fantastic as long as you know how to use it. Many professionals don’t have the time to deeply learn how to utilize AI. As a freelancer, you can take the time to train yourself to use AI to its greatest extent. These types of skills are going to be endlessly useful in the coming years. 

Even if it’s not your ideal writing service, AI is going to become the norm in the content writing sphere. Writers who include it as part of their services now are setting themselves up for continued success.

5. Build your brand

One of the biggest mistakes I see freelance writers make is failing to view their career as a business. Too many freelancers have no brand, no marketing strategy, and they approach client acquisition as throw-shit-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks. In the best of times, this will not gain the income that you need. Now that we are competing against robots as well as writers, this will kill your business. 

Determine your selling features. Hash out your customers service protocols. Make sure that your onboarding process is seamless. Narrow your offerings, and craft your message. Know your target market and how to market to them. If you look like a professional business, people will want to hire you as a professional. This is something that AI will never compete with. 

There’s no doubt that AI is rapidly changing the world of freelance writing. However, it’s far from killing it. Writers that are able to utilize AI and pivot their business to include it in their services and strategies will have no problems in the coming years. Those that are unable to adjust are going to be left behind.