Content

Content Creation Is for Humans (The Robots Can Wait)

Kevin Lund

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Since the dawn of time, humans have been creating content to motivate people to do things. It's possible Neanderthals were improvising tall tales about saber-toothed tigers to soothe rambunctious toddlers into falling asleep.

In the thousands of years since, it's only the medium that's changed. From oral tradition, to written word, to what we're seeing now with the saturation of online media, content has remained an ever-present necessity.

Creating content is critical to digital marketing efforts. Compared with traditional marketing, content marketing generates 3x the leads—with a higher ROI. It also drives traffic. And when coupled with a robust content strategy, that general traffic turns into qualified traffic (i.e., the kind you write home about).

Digital content effectively serves as breadcrumbs for search engine bots and online humans. They can follow your trail to get what they need. (Hint: for both bots and humans, it's relevance they're after.)

But what group should you focus on in 2025? The AI assistants or the humans?

Feed the bots. Write for humans.

In eras past, businesses would muddy the digital waters by stuffing keywords on web pages to points of no return. Content often looked like this:

[Image via Neil Patel]

We get it. You're a big fan of custom cigar humidors.

But while stuffed content tricked nascent search engine algorithms into thinking keyword frequency equated to user relevance, users mostly weren't fooled. A good guideline: don't write like a soulless robot and expect to convince educated buyers to pull the trigger on decisions.

Search engine behemoths have continued to make this clear, iterating on their own complex algorithms to reward content creation aimed at "users, not just algorithms." Quite a bit of noise has been cleaned up because of it.

A content creation plan must keep your audience in mind. Spur them into thinking. Leave them with questions. Make them want to keep reading what you're producing—not just by signing up for a newsletter, but also by clicking through to more and more of your live content.

Sustaining that level of effort is hard. Bruce Springsteen once credited his "sustaining an audience" to "consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time." This applies to digital content creation, too. Your content and the cadence should let human beings know you're in the thick of things with them. Meeting them at every stage of their journey and at every question that makes them rack their brains.

The reward is clear: treating your users like humans (instead of bots) is a win.

The 2025 content reality: AI amplifies, humans create

The content landscape has fundamentally shifted. In 2025, 90% of content marketers plan to use AI to support their content marketing efforts—up from 83.2% in 2024 and 64.7% in 2023. But here's the critical insight: 88% of marketers use AI in their day-to-day roles, yet only 22% achieve extremely successful results.

The difference? Strategic human oversight.

Research reveals that AI-generated content (with appropriate human oversight) performs remarkably well. A blind study by Northwestern University found that readers could not reliably distinguish between AI-generated and human-written content, with AI content scoring only 3% lower on perceived quality but generating 31% higher engagement metrics.

But—and this is crucial—the most successful content marketers use AI as an assistant, not a replacement. They leverage AI for:

Speed and efficiency: AI content production is 5x faster than manual writing
Idea generation: 54% of content marketers use AI to generate ideas
Content optimization: AI-assisted blog posts receive 32% higher engagement due to SEO optimization

However, they maintain human control over:

Strategic direction: Brand voice and messaging strategy
Creative oversight: Original thinking and authentic perspectives
Quality assurance: Fact-checking, compliance, and brand consistency

When planning your content marketing ideas, feed your audience what they want to consume—and in 2025, that means authentic, human-centered content enhanced by AI efficiency:

Think mobile-first: 69% of buyers prefer looking at reviews on their mobile devices versus talking to somebody in a store.

Create more video: 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, while 83% of consumers want to see more video content from brands in 2025.

Give them value: Motivate your buyers by consistently over-delivering on what your content promises.

That last bit remains the hardest thing to do. In fact, 58% of marketers today find that creating engaging content is the single toughest thing on their plates.

Sometimes, data makes that job a little easier.

Put in the (right) work

Building a content creation plan should feel a lot like planning your wardrobe before you walk out the door in the morning. Checking the weather—both quantitatively (i.e., by looking at the forecast) and empirically (i.e., by actually looking outside)—informs how to dress appropriately.

For content creation, it's also a blend of quantitative and empirical—now enhanced by AI capabilities.

There are several ways to leverage data and insights to inform your own content creation plan. Keyword research is a great starting point. It gives marketers a look through the looking glass into the kinds of queries users are trying to find answers to.

SEO research can tell you more than just how often terms are searched. Depending on the tool, marketers can explore crucial information, including a keyword's cost per click and difficulty. The former hints at how valuable other marketers consider a term (if they're willing to pay money for it, it is likely driving results), and the latter paints a broad-strokes picture of how hard it would be to outdo the content that's already ranking on page 1 of search engine results.

Use the data to your advantage and turn these queries into your content themes. Are there commonalities in the keywords around a topic? Is there a broader question worth answering?

For brands trying to gain footing in a competitive space, zeroing in on long-tail keywords is one way to capture traffic—they're inherently easier to rank for. Especially when these longer phrases are questions your personas may be asking online, creating content around these themes provides your target users with the information they're trying to learn.

The 2025 content creation toolkit

Planning out content creation doesn't end at keyword research. And luckily, there are content creation tools—both AI-powered and traditional—to help marketers along the way:

AI-Enhanced Keyword Research: Semrush and Ahrefs now offer AI-powered content gap analysis and trend prediction alongside traditional SEO metrics.

Intelligent Content Ideation: BuzzSumo leverages AI to identify trending topics, while AI tools can generate 100 content ideas in a fraction of the time it would take human teams.

Advanced Social Listening: Sprout Social provides AI insights from 600M+ daily messages, allowing marketers to identify real-time trends and audience preferences.

AI-Powered Persona Building: HubSpot's Make My Persona tool now integrates behavioral data analysis for more sophisticated audience targeting.

Hybrid Design Solutions: Tools like Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud now offer AI-powered design suggestions while maintaining human creative control.

AI Writing Assistants: Platforms like ChatGPT (trusted by 77.9% of content marketers) and Claude help with first drafts and content variations.

The key is understanding which tasks to automate versus which need human creativity. 85% of marketers using AI writing tools report improved efficiency, but success requires strategic human oversight at critical decision points.

Have boots on the ground (or nearby)

You can either make up your mind on the weather by looking at the weather app on your phone or by opening up the door and taking a whiff of the maxed-out humidity and steamy, stagnant 100-degree air.

There's something about that empirical knowledge—experience and expertise—that makes an opinion shine. To cut through the noise online, brands must make a concerted effort to share their expertise on topics.

This principle becomes even more critical in the AI era. While AI can process vast amounts of information quickly, it lacks the nuanced understanding that comes from lived experience. The brands winning in 2025 combine AI efficiency with human expertise.

Internally, find those subject matter experts (SMEs) who can speak passionately about specific topics your personas would be interested in. Have them make sense of all the SEO research and AI-generated insights.

Remember: passion is contagious. When your audience recognizes your content is cutting through to a layer other brands can't really reach, that matters. It stands out.

For example, if you're an online broker trying to promote some unique tools that would be useful to online investors, you could write yet another boring piece on diversification or you could write an article about "stock market crash indicators" and how to buy crash protection when they light up.

This kind of content works. Among decision makers, 58% say they buy from a brand because of unique thought leadership. Speaking from experience builds trust in ways more generic content can't.

And if you don't have internal SMEs, don't be afraid to reach outside your brand. Find knowledgeable communicators who are already active in digital spaces as "influencers" and be creative with how you position them as a resource. Tap into their expertise for a roundup, an episode of a podcast, or a Q&A. Give them the motivation and tools to partner with you.

Don't stop there. Turn the SME nuggets into shareable, bite-size assets—social media content creation on steroids. Publishing that blog post, podcast episode, or webinar? Whip up some Instagram-worthy quote cards, short video teasers, and punchy stat-laden graphics. This extends the life and reach of your content.

Most importantly, don't just reach your audience at a surface level. Leverage SMEs to remind your audience that your brand has boots on the ground. You can dig as deep as your audience needs you to.

The human-AI content strategy

The data reveals a clear pattern: businesses that maintain human oversight while leveraging AI capabilities significantly outperform those using either approach alone. Here's what the most successful content teams do:

Strategic Human Control:

Set brand voice and messaging strategy
Guide creative direction and content themes
Ensure compliance and accuracy
Maintain authentic audience connection

AI-Powered Efficiency:

Generate first drafts and content variations
Optimize for SEO and engagement
Analyze performance and predict trends
Scale content production

Hybrid Quality Assurance:

Human review for brand consistency
AI-powered fact-checking and optimization
Performance monitoring with predictive analytics
Continuous improvement based on data insights

The result? Organizations leveraging AI for content performance prediction report 68% higher content ROI compared to those using traditional planning methods. AI's predictive capabilities have transformed content planning, with current models achieving approximately 79% accuracy in predicting content performance.

Find the heartbeats. Tell their stories.

Doing content marketing well has less to do with making search engine bots happy and more to do with making human beings want to click, scroll, read, and share.

Start by framing your efforts like any good storyteller: your audience is the hero, and your brand is their guide. Your content should keep motivating the hero forward along their quest.

All the other stuff is important, sure. Like planning—from keyword themes, to content calendar, to delivery channels—around a content creation strategy. Like leveraging tools you need to get out in front of opportunities to resonate with your target personas.

Just go one step further with your content. Push where other brands stop; tap into subject matter experts who can breathe life into your keyword research and find pathways into your audience's minds.

In 2025, this means thoughtfully integrating AI capabilities while maintaining the human insight that differentiates your content. Use AI to scale your efforts, but ensure human expertise guides the strategy and creative direction.

Always remember the hero. The hero's human. Your content is for them.

Key Statistics for 2025 Human-Centered Content

90% of content marketers plan to use AI in 2025 - up from 64.7% in 2023
Only 22% achieve extremely successful results - highlighting the importance of strategic implementation
88% of marketers use AI daily - but human oversight remains critical
31% higher engagement for AI content with human oversight - Northwestern University study
68% higher content ROI - for organizations using AI predictive capabilities
77.9% of marketers trust ChatGPT - as their primary AI writing assistant
58% of decision makers buy based on thought leadership - human expertise remains valuable
83% of consumers want more video content - human emotion drives engagement
36% higher conversion rates - for marketers using AI-generated content with human optimization

Human-AI Content Framework for Financial Services

Strategic Human Control

Compliance oversight - regulatory requirements and legal accuracy
Brand voice consistency - authentic communication style
Subject matter expertise - deep industry knowledge and insights
Creative direction - original thinking and strategic messaging

AI-Powered Efficiency

Content ideation - generating multiple topic and angle variations
SEO optimization - keyword research and content structure
Performance prediction - forecasting content success with 79% accuracy
Scale production - 5x faster content creation speeds

Quality Assurance

Fact verification - ensuring accuracy of AI-generated claims
Brand alignment - maintaining consistent voice across all content
Audience resonance - testing content with human insight
Performance monitoring - tracking engagement and conversion metrics

About the Author

Kevin Lund is a content strategist and writer specializing in financial services marketing. He focuses on creating content that bridges the gap between complex financial concepts and human understanding, helping brands speak authentically to their audiences while leveraging modern AI capabilities responsibly.

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