This week reminded me how deep the AI bubble is.
I’d been approached to write copy for property investment company. Then came the twist: a content management firm stepped in, saying they already had “copywriters”. Fair enough – except their copywriters are AI systems, churning out text measured by algorithms, not readers.
Later another agency told I had failed an English proficiency test – assessed by AI. For example, they scored me wrong for saying a move was in vain, rather in vein which as we know is about blood vessels. No editor, No conversation. No understanding of tone or persuasion. Just machine scoring.
The agency emailed me to tell me the English proficiency test was their standard tool, while acknowledging my skills and experience. I emailed them back telling them they were using a robot to test applicants. No response. Do I really want to work for a company like that? I was polite enough not to tell them where they could stick their job.
That’s what hit me: what’s being sold as “copy” today isn’t copy at all. It’s content – machine processed words optimised for clicks, not connection.
Real copywriting is about persuasion, rhythm, empathy and voice. A machine can’t do that.
AI creates problems for companies. Deloitte for example was sprung giving a report to Australia’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations which was full of artificial intelligence errors. These included a fabricated quote from a federal court judgment and references to non-existent academic research papers.
For sure companies turn to AI to save time. But as the Financial Times points out, poor AI generated content can result in bloated reports with mangled meanings and excessive verbiage, creating extra work for colleagues to decipher.
This means companies are better off using a human copywriter than AI.
FIVE WAYS A HUMAN COPYWRITER DOES A BETTER JOB THAN AI.
1. Real copywriting is about persuasion, rhythm, empathy and voice. When done skillfully, persuasive copy can tap into the emotions, desires, and pain points of the audience. It can build trust, establish credibility, and ultimately compel the reader to take action. Whether it’s a compelling product description, a captivating blog post, or a persuasive sales letter, the ability to persuade through words is what sets effective copywriting apart. A machine can’t do that.
2. AI copywriting has core limitations. It lacks emotional intelligence, the ability to think strategically about business goals, it feels generic and disconnected and lacks authentic brand personality, and in today’s crowded digital space, brands with weak or AI-generated tone of voice easily become lost.
3. AI doesn’t connect on a human level. A human copywriter uses proper humour, sarcasm, wit and timing that AI simply doesn’t get, a human copywriter understands the audience, knowing what they care about and what they don’t, a human copywriter gets nuance, produces original ideas, not recycled crap and brings out the client’s personality in a way people remember.
4. Everyone can detect when the company is using AI copy.Part of the problem is that AI copywriters can only scrape what already exists. Their ‘new’ copy is a rehash of what’s already out there. For example, if you want a blog post about 10 Ways to Recycle Plastic,and ask AI to write it for you, AI won’t come up with anything new. There’s no original thought. Ultimately, the article or blog will look like everyone else’s. Nothing will set you apart. In marketing that’s commoditizing with no competitive advantage. And that is a business no-no.
5. AI content is low quality. Anything written by an AI will lack emotion, personality and any real substance. The information itself won’t be plagiarised, but it certainly isn’t unique either. Where’s the brand’s personality? Where’s the recognisable style? Where are the clever insights that built your following in the first place? Nowhere to be seen. And that’s a problem. AI creates a big problem for any business.. People today invest in business’s they can relate to and feel a strong likeness for. Also Google takes a harsh view on the quality of content – don’t get caught! Anything published online needs to have something that sets it apart. It can’t just be old information in a new format. Something needs to be added that’s different and valuable for SEO.
And this isn’t just about writing. AI is infiltrating every part of our lives – finance, hiring, law, media even government. But here’s the problem: there’s no oversight.
We’ve seen this before – 1929, the dot-com bubble, the subprime crash, crypto. Each time, regulators were asleep while hype outpaced reality.
Lazy governments and opportunistic tech companies are now repeating history, fuelling a speculative frenzy that’s driving stock markets to unsustainable highs.
When the AI bubble bursts – and it will -the fallout will remind us that human judgement can’t be replaced by algorithms.
AI will remain part of the landscape, but the hype will collapse. The survivors will those who still value what machines can’t imitate: humanity, discernment, and storytelling that moves people.
Call this revenge, therapy or just perspective from someone who’s seen a few bubble pop. Either way, it’s time to start paying attention.
More than four decades in newsrooms gave me one gift – the best BS detector in the business.
And right now, it’s flashing red.
The AI industry? Pure BS.
Funny, really — BS and AI. Same two letters, just seen from different angles.
What do you think? Are we heading for an AI crash – or is this the beginning of a new kind of madness
DON’T LET ROBOTS WRITE YOUR REPUTATION.
For copy that connects — not just computes — talk to a real human:
📞 Leon Gettler | Copywriter, Podcaster, Author
📱 0411 745 193 | ✉️ leon@leongettler.com
