Has AI made content worse or just shown us who’s coasting?

Everyone’s blaming AI for bad content. But AI didn’t press ‘publish’ - we did.

The content problem right now isn’t down to the robot. It’s down to the shruggy ‘that’ll do’ moment before we hit post.

What I'm saying, is that apathy is the real problem here. 

And I’d be telling porkies if I were saying we haven’t all been there. I, too, a seasoned pro, have experienced creative numbness. 

For a while there, I got sucked into the box-ticking, feed-the-algorithm routine that makes everything feel a bit magnolia. Shudders

Right now, it’s in every conversation I’m part of; it feels like we have to keep shouting louder just to get noticed. It’s boring, it’s soul-destroying, and it’s more than just a touch exhausting.

But the gurus aren’t listening, the algo doesn’t care, and all that shruggy content we’re chucking out there is only serving to further numb the connection we say we crave.

So let me say it here - people don’t want more from you. They want more of you

It’s safe to say, we’ve hit peak ‘meh’

If 2023 was the year of AI novelty, 2025 is the year of content fatigue.

We’re knee-deep in sameness: posts that read like reworded press releases, regurgitated blogs that my mousemat could’ve written and websites with more rocket emojis than a NASA space launch.

As a collective, we’re primarily in ‘feed the machine’ mode, which is essentially more content than we can consume and less connection than we need in order to click buy.

Aaaand so the cycle continues.

On the flip side, this is now the best time to raise your bar. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m bored. People are bored!

And bored people don’t engage; they skim, scroll, and tune out.

Lowering the bar on content creation has only raised expectations

Now that anyone can create something in seconds, only the ones who create something good will stand out.

I’m flicking the 'off switch' on so many people that up until now, I’ve been loyally following for years, because frankly, I’m bored with their content!

At this point, it doesn’t even matter whether I believe in what they do or not.

And that may sound harsh, but it's the reality we find our attention-deficited-selves in.

I honestly don’t care if people use AI to create stuff. I don’t think that’s the conversation we need to be having right now.

How the content arrives isn’t the issue here, how it lands is.

And the only way to make it land is to start with the human voice.

Thing is, that takes time. Something which so many of us are lacking, thanks to ever-increasing demands on our entire live. Is it any wonder that we’re searching for shortcuts and tempted to take them?

The bots made it easier to publish, but that means readers now spot the difference between content that’s generated and content that’s genuine in seconds.

Because when something sounds off, the brain works harder to make sense of it. And we humans don’t love hard work when scrolling.

We like cat videos.

And videos of pretty people pouring pistachio lattes, apparently. 🤯

Why do we notice the bland now?

We’ve all scrolled past it - that LinkedIn post littered with the same recognisable emojis and the same recognisable format.

I asked ChatGPT what makes its content so obviously AI-generated, and it said:

Every word is chosen because it’s statistically likely to follow the last — not because it’s the best one for rhythm, tension, or tone.

Straight from the robot’s mouth, with trademark em dash and all.

The reason it jars is cognitive: our brains are wired for pattern detection. When everything starts to look and sound the same, we zone out. 

Our clever brains are built to notice novelty and filter noise. So when a piece of writing lands with a distinct rhythm, specificity, or human warmth, our attention spikes.

It’s a small dopamine hit - ‘oh, this one’s different.’

It’s the same mechanism that builds connection and trust.

The cruel irony in all of this is that Google and AI search systems (AEO/GEO) are now optimising for human-written content.

Clarity, originality, and credibility are the new ranking signals. 

Go figure!

The real villain is autopilot, not automation

It’s easy to hate on the bots; it’s much harder to admit we’ve been complicit.

AI didn’t invent surface-level content. We corner-cutters did that when we started publishing to keep up instead of to say something.

Somewhere along the way, you stopped writing like you meant it.

And with a little effort (or some help from a pro) that’s fixable

The psychology behind better writing (and why AI can’t fake it)

You can (try to) teach a bot to mimic tone, but you can’t teach it to mean it. Writing for human connection comes from intention, not instruction.

When you manage to write something that resonates, you’re tapping into three timeless psychological levers (I go in more on these in this other blog post):

• Recognition: your reader feels seen.

• Trust: your reader believes you.

• Ease: your reader can follow without friction.

  
  

AI-generated content often fails on all three. 

It’s recognisable, but generic. 

It’s confident, but unverified. 

It’s fluent, but soulless.

Progress, not panic

Oh, to stop the ‘AI vs human’ narrative. Everyone everywhere keeps saying ‘the genie is out of the bottle’ - and it's true, it’s here to stay, guys!

So, we need to embrace it now, but we need do it well.

The shortcut crew will start to fade, and thoughtful, intentional messaging will rise once more.

How to write right again

 

Pause before you post.

Ask: Would I read this if it weren’t mine?

If it doesn’t inform, entertain, or provoke a thought, it’s okay to hold it back. Publishing less but better is now a competitive advantage.

Replace urgency with intention.

A slower post that hits right is better than ten that blur. The people worth reaching don’t need you to post daily; they need you to sound alive when you do.

Proof, proof, proof.

For every bold claim, add a concrete proof point.The more specific you are, the more believable you become, and the more AI and humans will trust what you write.

Keep the soul in the syntax.

Sentence rhythm is your copy fingerprint. Keep your quirks, your phrasing and your humour - that’s the bit no tool can recreate.

Collaborate, don’t outsource.

Use AI to assist, not replace. Let it structure, summarise, and ideate, but make sure the final words are yours. Start with you, end with you - it’s the only way.

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I’m Sarah, and I specialise in back-to-basics, story-first copy that connects before it converts. 

Go check out my Website Copywriting services for words that sound like you again.

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FAQ: AI, authenticity, and the future of content

How can I tell if my writing sounds too ‘AI’?

Start by reading it aloud. 

If it doesn’t sound like how you’d talk to a friend or colleague over coffee, it’s likely missing your natural rhythm. Let some imperfection in.

Is it bad to use AI in my content process?

Not at all. The best creators, myself included, use it as scaffolding but never a substitute. Let it help you start faster and research deeper, but don’t be tempted to let it take the wheel.

Will AI ever fully replace creative writing?

Doubt it. Do you like reading the drivel? Didn’t think so.

It can replicate tone, but not intent. And intent - the human desire to move, teach, connect - is, and always will be, the core of every great piece of writing.