AI in Social Media: Love it or hate it?

Whether you love it or hate it, AI is everywhere, and it’s here to stay. From captions and content ideas to videos, businesses are increasingly turning to AI to help create content faster, save money and make life a little easier. But with AI becoming so common, can audiences actually tell when they’re looking at AI-generated content? And does it matter if they can?

So here is some information on how AI can support you and your business without being the enemy.

Why Are Businesses Turning to AI?

Creating content can often be time consuming especially when the question “what shall we post next?” is playing on our minds. But AI can help by suggesting different creative directions and giving you a starting point when you’re stuck. AI can also be useful when it comes to repurposing content you already have. For example, a single piece of content can be changed  into different posts, giving businesses more ways to share the same message across multiple social media channels.

However, AI doesn’t have to replace creativity.

Used properly, it can act as a brainstorming partner helping to produce ideas while the human can still bring creativity, personality and brand knowledge that makes the content feel authentic and still giving it a human touch.

Why AI Can’t Do It All

While AI can make creating social media content quicker and easier, relying on it too heavily comes with drawbacks.

One of the most notable drawbacks is its lack of personality. AI can rely on the same phrases, buzzwords and tones, making different brands sound the same. While it can create relevant and grammatically correct content, it doesn’t have the same understanding of a business, its people, customers and personality. As a result, posts can lack the humour, creativity and authenticity that makes social content engaging.

AI can also create dozens of posts in minutes, making it easy to fill a content calendar with just a few clicks. However, this can lead businesses to prioritise quantity over quality. Posting for the sake of filling a calendar, rather than with a clear purpose, won’t support a wider social media strategy.

Finally, AI isn’t always accurate. It can confidently provide incorrect information, meaning anything it produces still needs to be checked before it reaches your audience.

Let AI Assist, Not Replace

So, does this mean businesses should stop using AI? Not at all. AI should be an assistant, not a replacement. Used effectively, it can be a valuable tool for brainstorming ideas, creating first drafts and speeding up repetitive tasks. However, it should support your social media strategy, not define it. The strategy, creativity, personality and tone of voice should still come from the people who know the brand best.

So, do we love AI or hate it? Neither.

It is simply another tool in the social media toolkit, and like any other tool, it’s how you use it that matters. It can help you create content faster, but it takes human creativity and insight to make it worth engaging with.