The pros are of using AI for content are obvious: content gets done faster, cheaper, and often technically better. But there are cons, too, like the fact that AI-generated content wears a stigma of cheating, a lazy shortcut. In fact, one study showed that most people would rather wait years for a lower-quality, human-written book than read a polished, AI-written one right now.
In this guide, I’ll show you everything you need to know about using AI to create content, while still feeling confident about it.
AI-generated content is any material—text, images, video, audio, code, or data visualizations—created primarily or entirely using artificial intelligence tools.
That means if you use AI just to polish your writing or to remove the background from a photo, it still counts as AI-generated content.
Here are a few of the strongest examples I came across over the years.
AI-generated text
“A robot wrote this entire article. Are you scared yet, human?”. The Guardian published this complete op-ed written by GPT-3 in 2020. The AI argued that humans shouldn’t fear artificial intelligence, creating an ironic piece that went viral and demonstrated AI’s ability to write persuasive, coherent articles.
AI-generated images
Fake photos of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket. These Midjourney-generated images of the Pope wearing a stylish white coat fooled millions on social media, becoming one of the most viral examples of AI imagery. The photos looked so realistic that major news outlets had to fact-check them.
AI-generated video
Kalshi’s AI commercial. This became the first fully AI-generated advertisement aired during a major sporting event. The entire ad—visuals, voiceover, and music—was created using AI tools, proving that AI content could meet broadcast television standards.
AI-generated interactive content
Model Context Protocols, or simply MCPs, had a big take off in 2025, marking the next step in the evolution of chatbots. To see how this works in practice, let’s look at Ahrefs’ MCP for Claude. With direct access to Ahrefs’ database, you can ask about keywords, backlinks, or traffic potential and get instant, reliable insights. The experience feels less like using a tool and more like chatting with an SEO expert who’s always on hand to answer your questions.
In short, consumers are stuck using AI but don’t trust it.
They demand transparency about AI use, but like content less when they know it’s AI-made.
Most prefer human-created content even when it’s lower quality, and they’re especially worried about misinformation, job loss, and data misuse.
Younger people know more about AI but are still skeptical, while older consumers are both less informed and more distrustful.
I’ve gone through the research on this topic, and here are the most interesting stats I found from trustworthy sources:
- 75% want to know if branded content was created by AI (source).
- 90% want to know if an image was AI-generated (source).
- 63% believe AI content should be legally required to be disclosed (source).
- 52% would prefer a 7/10 human-made movie over a 9/10 AI-made movie (source).
- 57% would rather wait years for a human author’s book than immediately read an AI book of equal quality (source).
- 52% report feeling less engaged with content when they know it’s AI-generated (source).
- 49% of Boomers describe themselves as AI-skeptical vs. 29% of Gen Z (source).
- 70% are concerned about AI generating product descriptions, and 61% are concerned about AI generating product reviews (source).
- 82.1% claim they can detect AI-generated writing (source).
- 40.4% of respondents noted that their opinion of a brand would change for the worse if they knew it used AI to generate its content. (source)
Yes, sometimes. These are the typical signs that give AI content away:
- Text: Repetitive phrases, overly formal or structured writing, and content that lacks personal stories or specific details (more on this here). If something reads like it was written by a very polite robot, it probably was.
- Images: Weird hands or fingers, strange facial features, inconsistent lighting, overly perfect skin or textures, and backgrounds that don’t quite make sense. That’s why the poster for the 2025 Naked Gun is actually funny, and would make no sense in 2021, pre-AI era.
- Video: Choppy motion, lip sync issues where the mouth doesn’t match the words, unnatural gestures, and inconsistent video quality from frame to frame.
- Audio: Monotone delivery, unnatural breathing patterns, perfect pronunciation that lacks human imperfections, and voices that sound too clean or processed. Real humans say “um,” pause awkwardly, and have slight vocal inconsistencies.
Good AI content that’s been edited and personalized by humans is becoming nearly impossible to detect. Tools that “humanize” AI writing by adding small errors or changing patterns can easily fool most detectors.
We already know that most people would claim they can spot AI content, but what about AI detectors? Well, they work okay under perfect conditions—around 80% accuracy. They often fail when tested on content different from the ones they were trained on, and they struggle with content that mixes AI and human writing (which is most good AI content).
Pro tip
Want to know if your competitors are using AI to create content—and how much of it? With Ahrefs’ custom AI detector in Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, you can scan any website and quickly see which pages are likely AI-generated and to what extent.
This gives you insight into where your competitors are already succeeding with AI-driven content. If their AI content is ranking well, it may be even easier to outperform them by creating deeper pieces with more “human-touch”, original perspectives or original data.
You even dig into individual pages to see exactly which parts of the text were likely produced by AI.
It’s true that none of the AI detectors are perfect, but we’re quite close—here are the scores from our test:
And did you know that 74% of new website content is now AI-generated? It backs up my point from a recent rant: AI is on track to become as common in content creation as robots are in car factories.
So, I’d say, don’t worry too much about detection. Focus on making your AI-assisted content genuinely useful and adding your own voice, experience, and insights. That’s what matters to your audience anyway.
Between December 2024 and February 2025, we conducted a large study based on 879 survey responses to learn how content marketers use AI.
Here are the main takeaways.
AI adoption is massive
87% of marketing professionals now use AI for content creation.
Companies using AI are publishing 47% more content monthly and growing 5% faster than their competitors.
But here’s the important part: only 4% publish raw AI content. The other 97% are editing and reviewing everything, which explains why some AI content works while other stuff gets called out immediately.
What’s actually working
Most marketers use AI for blog content (87% use AI here), followed by website copy (64%) and social media (63%).
How exactly do they use it? More than half of respondents use it for brainstorming topics, creating outlines, editing, and optimizing headlines.
ChatGPT is the clear winner with 44% adoption among marketers, while Gemini and Claude trail behind at 15% and 10% respectively.
Are they happy with the results AI delivers?
65% believe human content is better quality, but 34% think AI and human content rank roughly the same in search. AI content is slightly more likely to get Google manual penalties but slightly less likely to be hurt by algorithm updates.
Despite mixed performance, 51% plan to increase AI spending next year.
And, the cost difference is impossible to ignore: human-only content averages $611 per article versus $131 for AI-assisted content.
From both our survey and my own experience with AI content, the takeaway is clear: let AI handle the heavy lifting, then refine it with human expertise. I’ll dive deeper into this in the next section.
1. ALWAYS add human oversight
AI can generate drafts quickly, but it shouldn’t run unsupervised.
Use AI for brainstorming, outlines, and first drafts, then add your own research, fact-checking, and personal insights. The most successful approach is AI assistance with human refinement.
2. Focus on authenticity over efficiency
The 5x cost savings are tempting, but don’t sacrifice what makes content valuable.
Add human anecdotes, case studies, and expert quotes. Blend AI-generated drafts with your own experience and perspective. Raw, unedited AI output is exactly what audiences have learned to spot and skip.
3. Play to AI’s strengths
AI excels at data-heavy work like analyzing reports and summarizing research.
It’s also great for creative sparks—headlines, social captions, and visual mockups. Use it for these tasks, then apply human judgment for strategy, storytelling, and final polish.
4. Optimize for platforms, not just speed
Every platform handles AI content differently—know the rules before you publish.
For example, Google values quality content no matter who—or what—creates it, but punishes thin or repetitive posts. YouTube and TikTok, on the other hand, require you to disclose if you’re using misleading AI-generated media. I’ll break down each platform’s AI rules in just a bit.
5. Train AI on your brand
Generic AI outputs scream “robot-made.” Improve relevance by feeding AI your existing content as context, setting clear prompts that define your audience and tone, and iterating rather than accepting first outputs.
For example, Ahrefs’ AI Content Helper, a tool for optimizing content for search engines, allows you to upload a brand kit, so that the generated content really feels like you.
I won’t claim to be an expert in every AI tool out there, but there are a few I use daily. Here are my personal favorites.
ChatGPT: my custom bot factory
After two years of integrating AI into my content marketing workflow, I’ve learned that no single AI assistant does everything well.
ChatGPT has become my go-to for building specialized bots. I’ve created several that have become essential to my daily workflow:
- A brand voice bot trained on my past articles that makes everything sound like “publish-ready me”.
- A WordPress automation bot that generates shortcodes and meta descriptions.
- A bot that provides harsh but constructive feedback on my content ideas.
The Projects feature was a game-changer for me. Instead of re-explaining context every time, I can just say, “Read the files I just added, and let me know if there’s anything interesting I could add to the article,” or “I’m stuck on the first example in the draft.” The AI remembers everything—my tone, goals, and previous work.
Gemini: my deep research specialist
When I need serious research power, I turn to Gemini. It’s the only LLM I trust to conduct thorough background research while I’m literally having lunch.
For example, when I was working on a data study about the correlation between organic traffic and stock prices, I needed to verify if anyone had done similar research before. Gemini found existing studies, analyzed their methodologies, identified gaps, and gave me a comprehensive competitive landscape in about 20 minutes.
The deep research capabilities in Gemini mean it can break down complex questions, search in steps, and cross-reference findings. That’s something I can’t get from other models.
Claude: my writing copilot
Claude is where I go when I need to turn a mess of research into something coherent. After gathering insights from multiple sources, I dump everything into Claude and let it help me see the bigger picture.
This is where I organize scattered notes, expand half-formed thoughts, and try different angles on the same story.
What makes it especially valuable as a writing partner is how it handles complexity. When I’m buried in research and can’t see the forest for the trees, Claude helps me uncover the narrative thread. It’s also great at expanding on rough concepts, exploring their dimensions and implications in ways that push my thinking further.
NotebookLM: my document processor
NotebookLM isn’t technically a traditional LLM, but it’s become indispensable for handling large research projects. When I crowdsource expert quotes through HARO or LinkedIn, I often end up with dozens of responses saved as PDFs.
I upload everything to NotebookLM and can instantly ask questions like “Show me the most unconventional tips from business owners, and note which file they came from.” It’s incredible for organizing and searching content, though I switch to other models for actual writing.
Ahrefs AI Helper: generating search intent-optimized
If you write with SEO in mind, AI can be a huge time-saver for outlines and first drafts. Google rewards content that reflects consensus—and since LLMs are trained on the collective web, they’re naturally good at spotting the structures and patterns that tend to rank.
Take search intent. I used to figure it out manually by opening the top results one by one, checking what they covered, and mapping out subtopics to match. Now, Ahrefs’ AI Content Helper does that for me. If the intent is mixed, it even lets me decide which angle to pursue.
Then, the tool maps out exactly which topics and subtopics I need to cover in any new article—or shows what’s missing in an existing article—by analyzing what’s actually ranking in the top 10 and a coverage score.
Other tools (with genuinely useful use cases)
Humans discovered AI that can make virtually anything, and they also discovered the AI paradox:
The more AI-generated content floods in, the less people seem to truly want it. So, maybe instead of just listing tools, let me share some genuinely cool use cases of AI content you can actually copy and the tools you’ll need to pull them off.
- Video hooks with Nano Banana.
- Animated product photos with Adobe Firefly.
- Humorous video ads with the latest models you can find on a platform like OpenArt. Somehow, AI cringe goes down surprisingly well when it’s served with a side of humor.
- Localized educational or product marketing videos with HeyGen.
- Ad variations and formats (in no time) with a tool like AdCreative.
- Vibe-coded online tools with Claude, like this one: AI vs Search Traffic Analysis.
- YouTube thumbnails to test ideas or cut costs when you’re just starting out with tools like Canva or Pikzels.
- Short-form content made from longer videos for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and more with tools like Riverside or Opus.
- Animated inserts that highlight an important point or bring a story in your video to life with a tool like OpenArt.
- Last but not least, AI voiceovers are amazing these days. Try ElevenLabs.
The rules boil down to: don’t lie, don’t steal likenesses, and be transparent when it matters. Most platforms care more about deception than AI use itself. When in doubt, over-disclose rather than under-disclose.
The legal landscape is messy and changing fast, but following these basics will keep you out of trouble with 95% of current and upcoming regulations.
If you do AI content and want to sleep at night:
- Label anything that looks realistic and could fool people
- Don’t make fake content of real people without permission
- Check your platform’s rules before posting
- Keep records of what AI tools you used
Absolutely never:
- Make deepfakes of anyone
- Create realistic fake news or events
- Use someone’s face/voice in ads without permission
- Scrape people’s photos for training your own AI models
Also, in California, starting in 2026, big AI companies must watermark their content automatically. I’m not a lawyer, but it seems you will be obliged to serve these watermarks to your audience.
Now, let’s look at the specific AI content rules on all the big platforms:
| Platform | Policy & Disclosure Requirements |
|---|---|
| Google/SEO | Allows AI content if it meets E-E-A-T standards. No disclosure required. |
| YouTube | Allows AI content but requires labeling for synthetic content that could mislead viewers. |
| TikTok | Allows AI content but must label clearly in video or caption. Zero tolerance for undisclosed synthetic media of real people/events. |
| No AI-specific policies. Disclosure optional unless content could mislead. | |
| Allows AI content with no formal disclosure requirements. | |
| Medium | Allows AI content but requires disclosure in story or reader note when AI plays significant role. |
| X (Twitter) | No AI-specific policies. Disclosure required only for misleading synthetic media. |
| Allows AI content but policies vary by subreddit. Check individual community rules first. | |
| Allows AI content with automatic labeling via platform algorithms. | |
| Quora | Allows AI content but may reduce visibility of AI-only answers. No specific disclosure requirements. |
Final thoughts
Interesting times. AI writes faster than we can read, makes images that can fool millions, and even generates videos good enough for TV. But here’s the twist: the better AI gets, the more people crave something it can’t replace—authentic human connection. And that part is your job. Let AI handle the rest.
Got questions or comments? Let me know on LinkedIn.
