By Jayne Schultheis — As AI-powered language learning models improve at a rapid pace, many businesses are integrating AI-generated content into their processes. Others are waiting to see if that content is worthwhile. AI-generated content might seem like a time-saver for businesses that lack the resources to employ human writers. However, it comes with many caveats and limitations, most notably, AI content quality.

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In this article, we'll take a closer look at the effectiveness, creativity, and authenticity of AI versus human content, providing insights into maintaining editorial standards and consumer trust.

Understanding AI-generated content: The mechanisms at play

AI-generated content is text produced through the use of advanced technologies, including machine learning and natural language processing. These technologies allow systems to analyze vast datasets and learn linguistic patterns and contextual nuances. As of 2025, AI can generate coherent and contextually relevant content when given a great prompt. To effectively integrate AI into their content strategies, businesses need to understand its foundational mechanisms.

Machine learning (ML) in AI-generated content

Machine learning is a subset of AI that involves training algorithms to recognize patterns in data and make predictions or decisions based on that data. In the context of AI-generated content, ML helps models learn from vast amounts of text data and improve their ability to generate relevant and meaningful content over time. The key ML techniques used in AI content generation include:

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• Training on large datasets. Machine learning models, particularly deep learning models (e.g., transformers), are trained on huge datasets that include books, articles, websites, and other forms of human-written text. This training enables the model to learn grammar, syntax, tone, context, and even specific domains or styles of writing.
• Reinforcement learning. This technique can be used to refine the output of a content-generating model based on feedback. For example, the model could be rewarded for generating content that aligns with specific goals, such as clarity, accuracy, or relevance to a topic.
• Fine-tuning. After the base model is trained on general data, it can be fine-tuned on specific types of content (e.g., scientific papers, marketing copy) to improve its performance for certain applications.

Natural language processing (NLP) in AI-generated content

NLP is a subfield of AI that focuses on the interaction between computers and human language. It allows machines to understand, interpret, and generate human language in a way that is both meaningful and contextually appropriate. In the generation of content, NLP allows AI to produce coherent, grammatically correct, and contextually accurate text. The main components of NLP that facilitate AI-generated content include:

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• Tokenization. Breaking down text into smaller units like words or phrases, which allows the AI to process and understand the structure of language.
• Syntax and grammar parsing. The AI uses syntactic rules to structure sentences properly, ensuring they adhere to grammar conventions and sound natural.
• Named entity recognition (NER). Identifying and categorizing entities like people, places, organizations, and dates within the text. This helps the AI generate content that is contextually aware and relevant.
• Contextual understanding. Modern NLP models, like GPT, leverage large-scale transformers that can capture long-term dependencies and nuances in language. This allows them to generate text that flows logically and coherently, maintaining the context across long passages.
• Sentiment analysis. This technique helps the AI detect the emotional tone of the text and adapt its output accordingly, which is especially useful for tasks like content marketing or social media posts, where tone is critical.

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Together, machine learning and natural language processing work to produce "natural language generation," or NLG.

What to consider when looking at AI content quality

While you might think that AI-generated content will save you loads of time and money, it's not without shortcomings. Here are some of the main pitfalls and pain points that marketers should keep in mind if they plan on using AI-generated content.

Accuracy

Accuracy is a huge concern for any marketer using AI-generated content. Even ChatGPT includes a disclaimer at the bottom of the page that says: "ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info." It should also be noted that most content generators are unable to produce verifiable facts, peer-reviewed studies, and well-sourced statistics. And great content that wins reader trust and builds authority provides verifiable, accurate information.

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Plagiarism presents a major ethics concern for those who rely on AI-generated content, especially since AI content generators are known to scrape information from sources without giving proper credit. Human oversight through proofreading and fact-checking should be a crucial part of content processes that rely on automation.

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Generative AI models might also exhibit biases, whether held by the company that owns it, or by the data that it was trained on. If you're going to rely on AI-generated content, it's crucial to have a critical eye for these types of biases and prejudices, and make sure that you're not exacerbating them.

Effectiveness

While entirely AI-generated content sounds like convenient resource for a business with limited resources, it has its caveats. Most AI-generated content can't seamlessly integrate SEO keywords into its copy. Human writers have a unique ability to integrate certain words based on semantic understanding and creativity, and AI is confined to its algorithmic capacities. And if your long-form content isn't SEO-optimized with great keywords, it won't reach your target audience. Not only that, AI-powered NLGs often favor certain phrases and organizational structures for writing that might not match your company's vision. A lack of consistency between your content and your target audience could make it more difficult for users to organically find your website through search engines.

Efficiency

While AI can generate content in mere seconds, if you have to go back and check facts, humanize the tone, and re-word your text to better match your brand, how much time and money are you really saving? Use of AI-generated content still requires a knowledgable expert to create the prompts, and eventually, review and edit the content. This is crucial as you're deciding how to allocate your resources when you decide to use AI.

How to reach your customers with AI-generated content

AI-generated content is continuously being refined during the current digital transformation. However, you still need the intelligence of a writer or editor who can plan, edit, and make good content great. Here are some tips for content management that will help you navigate the world of AI-content generation.

Define your target audience, topics, and keywords

Before creating AI-generated content, identify your target audience's needs, pain points, and interests. What questions do they ask? What problems do they need to solve? This will help you choose the right keywords and structure your content effectively.

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Use tools like Rellify, Google Keyword Planner, and Ahrefs to find relevant keywords, focusing on a combination of short-tail (broad) and long-tail (more specific) keywords. AI tools can suggest semantically related keywords that help improve relevance and ranking.

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Rellify rises above other tools in this category, as it uses machine learning and AI to find topics and keywords. In the Rellify platform, once you have your topics and keywords ready, you can create content that comes with real-time feedback on improving SEO. You can even use our AI support feature to help you get started, whether that's suggesting headlines, continuing text, or writing meta descriptions.

Provide value

Even though AI can generate content quickly, make sure it adds real value for your readers. Content should be useful, informative, and answer specific questions or solve problems that your audience is searching for. Pay special attention to user intent as you curate content, focusing on the "why" behind each search query.

Optimize length and depth

Aim for comprehensive, in-depth content (around 1,500–2,500 words) that covers a topic thoroughly. Long-form content often performs better in search rankings, but be sure to keep it engaging and not verbose. Generative AI will often use the same repetitive phrases or even cover the same points over and over.

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One of the best ways you can use AI in your processes is by asking for a comprehensive outline. AI tools can be especially helpful in structuring heading, subheadings, and bullet points to break it down for readers. Rellify's AI tools can quickly generate an outline based on your chosen keywords and phrases.

Focus on originality

While AI can generate content efficiently, make sure the content is unique. Plagiarism can hurt SEO rankings. Use tools like Copyscape or Grammarly to check for originality before publishing. And again, a little bit of "humanization" can go a long way when it comes to user experience. Readers want to know that someone cared enough about the topic to take some time to speak to them about it. In the words of one of my colleagues, "why would I want to read something that no one could be bothered to write?"

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As you're looking for ways to "humanize" your text and set it apart, consider including:

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• Statistics relevant to your industry
• Case studies and testimonials
• Interesting and relevant facts
• Information about your unique product or services
• Stellar photos and/or graphics
• Colloquial phrases or humor that aligns with your brand's style

Optimize your SEO

We've talked a lot about "humanizing" but now we're going to talk about "Google...izing," that is, optimizing your content for search engines.

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• Title tag. Craft an engaging, keyword-rich title that is both informative and compelling. Ideally, include your primary keyword at the start of the title.
• Meta description. Write a concise meta description (150–160 characters) that includes your target keywords. This won’t directly affect rankings but can influence click-through rates.
• Header tags (H1, H2, H3). Use header tags to structure your content logically. The H1 tag should typically contain the main keyword and summarize the topic. H2 and H3 tags should break down the content into digestible subsections.
• URL structure. URLs should be simple, short, and include relevant keywords.
• Alt text for images. If you include images, make sure to add descriptive, keyword-rich alt text. AI can sometimes miss this, but it's essential for accessibility and SEO.
• Linking. Link to other relevant pages or blog posts within your website. This helps improve user experience and increases time on site. It also helps search engines crawl your site more effectively. You should also link to authoritative external sources where relevant, such as studies, research papers, or high-quality articles from well-known websites. Finally, acquire hyperlinks from other well-respected websites to your own site. These links, called backlinks or inbound links, indicate to search engines that your website is reputable, trustworthy, and authoritative. Backlinks are a ranking factor for Google SERPs and obtaining them is known as "link-building."

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These are just a few elements of SEO optimization, but you can find lots more information on Rellify's blog about how to improve your content by following some best practices.

The future of AI content quality

In the next few years, we're likely going to see rapid improvements in AI content quality. Platforms will be capable of generating content that is more creative, engaging, and personalized to individual user needs.

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However, human oversight will remain crucial for authenticity, originality, and ethical use. Ultimately, AI's role in content creation will be collaborative — enhancing human creativity, streamlining processes, and helping businesses to scale their content strategies more efficiently.

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Rellify is on the cutting edge of AI integration in a few different ways. Most notably, with a custom Relliverse™, you can better understand your company, topics, and content with a few clicks. With AI integration in topic clustering, you'll always know what to write about and how to write it so your content will be found by your target audience. Ready to find out more? Contact a Rellify expert for a brief demo and quote, and find out exactly how Rellify can revolutionize your content processes.