How To Use AI for Content Creation and Optimization

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the futuristic tech of sci-fi movies — it’s a tool we use daily to boost productivity, creativity and personalized content. Think of it as a dictionary on steroids.

AI content creation has shifted from a nice-to-have to an essential component of scaling efforts. But with all the buzz, it’s easy to wonder: How do we actually use these AI content generation tools effectively?

This guide dives into the practical ways generative AI can enhance your content creation process. Let’s dig in!

How AI Algorithms Have Changed Content Marketing

Even though AI-generated content has only picked up speed over the last one or two years, it’s hard to describe its effect on a content marketer’s day-to-day life without sounding like grandpa complaining by the digital campfire.

And before you ask whether we shouldn’t all panic about our jobs, let’s take off the tinfoil hats for a sec and consider what we truly mean when we talk about AI technology’s “disruptive role.” Yes, it’s true. You can now automate a lot of mind-numbing tasks that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst 5th-grade bully. Not only that, you can plug one AI-powered tool into the next to automate entire workflows.

Now, I’d be lying if I told you that AI powered content creation hasn’t allowed me to speed up my work. From social media content creation to search engine optimization, you’ll find some AI writing tools act like the quirky pal who always comes up with some idea. In fact, here at Brafton, we’ve developed our own AI-enabled content marketing platform to help with content creation and optimization.

That’s the thing, though. While you can integrate AI tools into everyday workflows for content strategy, they still have their limits. And if you think it was painful to listen to that bully making up a plot for The Catcher in the Rye, wait until that moment when you’ve found an AI SEO tool’s knowledge gap (or asked for too much at once). Nick was funny, but Hallucinating HAL 9000 is just sad and confusing all at once.

“But you said it’s disruptive!” – Well, yes. And I stand by that. But when we talk about a disruptive AI content optimization tool, you should bring your expectations down to this planet. You probably won’t achieve full content automation while maintaining somewhat decent quality standards. However, imagine going back in time and telling Nick he could just ask his phone to summarize the book for him. He probably would’ve dropped his Game Boy in disbelief (Okay, I swear, that’s it with the bully references).

AI only augments what you can already do, which means many marketing efforts will still require human input. It’ll likely take over more mundane and repetitive tasks as we move forward, giving us the time to dream of our career as Mr. Bean’s dubbing actor, or a catchy brand motto.

Approaching SEO Content Generation and Optimization

In an ideal world, you want your content to be as helpful and entertaining as a Star Wars marathon — whether it’s typed or generated. After all, your readers don’t care how you created it. They just want the goods.

So how do you ensure your AI-assisted SEO content sparkles? Follow these steps, and you’ll have both Google and your audience clicking “Add to cart.”

1. Define AI Guidelines Leading to High-Quality Content

First things first, establish clear rules about AI use. Sure, it’s tempting to let ChatGPT handle your latest product descriptions, but you don’t want to end up with something that reads like a robot trying to explain a rom-com.

Example: What’s the limit of AI use for a content editor? Can writers drop product details into an AI content generator?

2. Let AI Do the Heavy Lifting

Pair your AI content creation tool with data-driven ones like Semrush or Ahrefs to nail down trending topics and long-tail keywords. It’s like having a personal researcher who never needs a coffee break.

Example: You could ask AI to sum up a competitor’s 2,000-word article in 2 minutes, giving you the luxury of saying “Next!” without breaking a sweat.

3. Human Oversight

AI is great, but sometimes it’s like having a really enthusiastic intern — speedy but not always spot-on. Keep a human in the loop to catch the awkward phrasing or unintentional hilarity AI might produce.

Actionable Step: Use AI to draft, then get a human to give it the ol’ “sniff test” for brand voice, accuracy and whether or not it accidentally tried to write a sci-fi novel.

4. Optimize Like You’re Polishing a Diamond

Tools like MarketMuse, Outranking or BrightEdge are here to help you optimize for SEO. These platforms analyze data and offer suggestions for keyword density, formatting and readability.

Actionable Step: Plug your content into these tools, take their suggestions (add more relevant keywords, adjust readability) and then sit back as your rankings sparkle like a disco ball.

5. Revisions? Yeah, Sorry, You’ll Still Need’Em

You’ll still need to revise like you’re polishing a stand-up routine — except, you know, for SEO. Build revision phases into your workflow to catch anything weird that slipped through the cracks.

Example Process: Generate > Optimize for SEO > Revise for brand tone > Have one last human review before publishing. Think of it as a relay race between you and AI but with fewer awkward handoffs.

Challenges of Implementing AI in the Content Creation Process

So, you’ve picked your AI tools, and now you’re ready to sit back while they crank out brilliant content ideas, right? Well, not so fast. While those apps can do a lot to push content performance, integrating them into your process comes with its fair share of hurdles. Think of it like trying to get your grandma to use a smartphone — it’s possible, but it requires patience and a little trial and error.

Learning Curve (Yes, Even for the AI Whiz)

No matter how “easy” a video content creation or AI analytics tool claims to be, there’s always a period when you and your team need to get up to speed. Whether it’s learning which prompts work best for your content generation or figuring out how to optimize the style, no tool is truly set-it-and-forget-it. Make sure you plan for a certain learning curve to keep producing relevant content.