A Complete Guide to Using AI for Blog Writing

If used properly, AI can be a helpful tool for freelance writers, especially those who specialize in writing blog posts. With our complete guide, you’ll find out what AI is, how it can benefit your blog writing, and what to avoid when using it.

We cover:

• What AI and generative AI are
• If AI is here to replace freelance writers
• How you can use AI for your writing
• How not to use AI
• The best AI tools for blog writing

What Is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a term used to describe programs, software, or algorithms that simulate the process of human thought.

Through a technique known as machine learning, AI programs are trained on data sets and taught to recognize patterns within that data so that the program can predict outcomes, solve related problems, or produce its own content.

AI tools have been applied across a wide range of industries for several years now. But more recently, rapid developments in AI technology have resulted in new ways to produce content.

What Is Generative AI?

Generative AI refers to AI algorithms that can produce new content in response to a prompt. The content that generative AI can create depends on the program in question, but it includes:

• Photorealistic images
• Graphics
• Audio
• Video
• Written content

It’s this last application that’s most relevant to freelance blog writers.

Will AI Replace Freelance Writers?

While it’s true that AI has had an undeniable impact on the world of freelance writing, it won’t be replacing human writers any time soon. This is largely because AI can’t replicate the soft skills that make freelancers invaluable, such as:

• Creativity and originality
• Critical thinking
• Emotional intelligence
• The ability to build professional relationships

On top of that, current generative AI programs have been known to introduce factual inaccuracies and other errors, making it necessary for humans to edit and fact-check any AI-produced content.

Rather than approaching generative AI as a potential competitor, then, it’s better to think of it as a tool that can help freelance writers without replacing them.

How to Use AI for Writing

Now that we’ve established what AI is, we can explain how you can incorporate it into your blog writing process. Below are just some of the ways you can make use of AI as a freelance writer.

Generating Ideas

Sometimes, the hardest part of writing is getting started. AI can help you overcome this initial hurdle by generating ideas for you.

When it comes to blog posts, you can prompt an AI program to generate relevant:

• Topics
• Titles
• Formats
• Summaries

For example, you could ask AI to “provide titles for a blog post about AI and freelance writing” or “generate a summary for a blog post about how to start a freelance business.”

As most AI tools can generate multiple ideas in seconds, you’ll soon have plenty of content to fire up your own creativity and inspire your next article.

Creating an Outline

Having a clear structure for your blog post serves a variety of purposes, including:

• Speeding up the writing process
• Making your post easier to read and navigate
• Improving search engine rankings

AI tools can generate an outline for your blog post that provides all of the above benefits. It can also provide ideas for headings and subheadings, although you may need to adjust them to suit your own needs.

Identifying Keywords

Many blog writers need to keep SEO in mind when producing content, paying special attention to keywords. These are the words or phrases that people use when searching for a certain topic, and they need to be included in your post to boost traffic.

If you provide a summary of the subject a blog post will cover, AI can identify the most relevant keywords for your article. For example, you could prompt an AI program to “generate keywords for a blog post about AI and freelance writing.”

With this initial list of keywords, you can then conduct further keyword research.

How Not to Use AI for Writing

No matter how natural a piece of AI-generated content might look on the surface, it’s bound to contain errors. Rather than typographical or mechanical errors, however, these are more likely to be subjective and require a thorough edit to spot.

For example, AI content tends to include repetitive phrases, sentences that don’t make sense, and claims that are simply untrue.

What’s more, as AI is trained on third-party content, there’s a chance that the exact wording generated by it has already been used elsewhere. Consequently, unedited AI-generated content can sound unoriginal and flat.

For these reasons, you should never:

• Use AI title or headline suggestions word-for-word
• Submit unedited AI-generated content to your client
• Fail to fact-check AI-generated content

So, whether you’re writing blog posts for a client or your own freelance business, AI-generated content should be considered a first draft of a piece of writing, not the finished product.

AI Tools for Blog Writing

There are a whole host of different AI tools available out there – some with broad applications and others that are more specific in their usage. When it comes to blog writing, some of the most useful AI tools are:

• ChatGPT
• Jasper AI
• Google Gemeni
• Text Cortex
• Content At Scale

To learn more, see our guide on the five best AI writing tools for freelancers.

Becoming A Freelance Writer

Make sure your writing skills are the best they can be and that you can produce original content that beats AI every time with our Becoming A Freelance Writer course. Start your seven-day free trial and see for yourself why real freelance writers will always have the edge.