Five Lessons about Artificial Intelligence for Content Creation

I recently visited Toronto to attend DigiMarCon Canada, a digital marketing conference focused on new ideas in communications and advertising. This year, one topic stood out: artificial intelligence.

Almost every session at DigiMarCon emphasized AI and its uses, considerations, and predictions for its future in the industry. Below are some of my standout takeaways:


1. No one is an AI-expert.

AI in its most popular form, Chat GPT, is still new and always changing. Since its launch in late 2022, we’ve seen frequent updates and seemingly endless new platforms like Sora, Midjourney, and more. As this software continues to quickly evolve, no one is qualified to call themselves an “AI guru.”


2. Experimentation is key!

There is no one size fits all approach to working with AI. With all the new capabilities of AI, the only way to understand how it can best work for you and your communications plan is to experiment with it for different purposes. Don’t be afraid to play with different prompts, features, and platforms!


3. “Garbage in means garbage out.”

Getting quality outputs from AI software requires quality inputs (prompts). The more specific you can be, the better. To take it a step further, give your prompt context (e.g. tell the AI model to act as a certain person, write in a certain style, or use a specific tone) and clearly define the format for your output.


4. Be aware of its implications, especially in your industry.

If you plan to test it out for yourself, ensure you’re aware of security and ethical concerns. Since most AI platforms are open source, any data you enter into it won’t be confidential.

There’s also the issue of copyright – it’s unclear if images, videos, and text created by AI, that use creative works from around the web, are infringing on the intellectual property rights of the original artist or author.

Different industries and platforms are in the midst of understanding these implications and developing their own rules and regulations for the use and publishing of AI generated content.


5. Shape your results with a human touch.

Once your content is generated, improve it with the knowledge and expertise of a communications professional. Although AI can generate some impressive results, it often lacks the ability to tell a story and connect with your audience in a way that stands out.


Parting Thoughts

AI isn’t a trend that’s going away any time soon. We’ll continue to hear more about this fast-moving tech as it further develops and improves. At spark*, we’re always learning and experimenting with AI to stay up to date with what’s possible.

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