Originality in the Age of AI

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Have you ever copied something from ChatGPT or Quillbot and submitted it without editing? If yes, then you’re not alone; most of us have done this at least once. The human brain is the greatest source of creativity, but nowadays, people are dependent on AI, whether it is for writing, designing, or coding. 

But even in this world of AI, originality is still important because original and fresh content sets us apart from the crowd. AI-generated content often lacks originality, as AI tools frequently draw from existing sources.  

So in this blog, we’ll understand the importance of originality, how to improve and check it, and what the best practices are to stay original. We’ll also talk about the red flags in AI-generated content. 

Why Does Originality Still Matter?

When you provide your readers with content that is entirely new and distinct from others, you gain a competitive edge in the marketing game. People believe your brand when they know that your content is unique and original. Whether you are writing blogs, college assignments, or client work, copied or generic content hurts your brand image and rankings.

In this AI era, writing original and fresh content is really important because:

• It helps to create a brand image
• Assists in developing trust among the readers
• Improves content ranking on search engines
• Makes your content more credible and authentic

What Are The Consequences Of Having No Originality?

AI is a tool to assist you, not a shortcut. You have to add your thinking and creativity to your content. And if you depend on generic content, then you’ll eventually face writer’s block. Not only this, there are even more consequences that you’ll face if your content lacks originality. Some of them are listed below:

Google may downrank your site

• Search engines like Google want your content to be authentic and creative. Content should focus on user intent and should have a personal human touch.
• When the content is entirely generated through AI tools such as Perplexity AI,  Quillbot, and ChatGPT, it negatively affects your website.
• And if your content’s ranking is low, it’ll harm the credibility and authenticity of your website.

Clients will lose trust

• Trust plays an important role in a writer’s career, as without trust, clients do not give projects, and the audience doesn’t prefer your work. Hence, originality plays an important role in developing this trust among your clients or audience. 
• If you use AI-generated content without adding any personal touch or creativity, then it’ll break the trust of your clients. They’ll always doubt your work and will not value it.  
• All this’ll affect your user engagement and readership. This can also hamper your future growth prospects, as without a faithful audience, a writer can not succeed.

Plagiarism Accusations

• AI-drawn content is not plagiarism-free because, most of the time, it generates information from existing content on other sites. 
• Due to this, you can face plagiarism accusations without even knowing about it. You can even face legal accusations from other sites. 
• Plagiarism can also hamper a website’s traffic. To avoid all this, writers should add originality and creativity to their content.  

What Are The Red Flags In AI-Generated Content

Sometimes, with accurate prompts, content generated through AI may seem original, but it is not valuable. This is because there are a lot of other factors in this generated content that affect its credibility, originality, and relatability. And this is the reason that companies will hire content writers for originality in the content. If you are looking to start your career in content writing, then skillwaala’s free content writing course is the best that provides you certification and guaranteed internship. Herein, we’ve listed some of the red flags that you should watch for while creating content through AI tools:

Overuse of vague phrases

• AI content has a lot of vague words and phrases such as  ‘In today’s world’, ‘It is important to note’, ‘unlock the power of’, etc. These phrases don’t sound genuine and are mostly generic and unnecessary.
• These vague phrases make the content look stronger, but in reality, they are just fillers that do not create any impact on the reader. 
• The reader doesn’t get any new or useful information, and the content might look boring and fake.

Personal or emotional references

• Generated content doesn’t have any local, personal, or emotional references. This affects the connectivity between the user and the writer. 
• Adding personal and emotional references to your content enhances the readability and relatability of your content. 
• Personal stories and experiences are something that only a human can write, which AI can’t generate even with the best prompting techniques.

Robotic tone 

• Content written with the help of AI tools has a robotic tone because it follows a predictable pattern and repeats the structure of sentences. 
• It also has an unnatural flow that makes the content less impactful and hampers readability.
• Neither readers nor search engines like Google appreciate this type of content, which doesn’t focus on user intent and readability.

Repeating Points

• Most of the time, AI repeats the same points, sentences, or structure, but in a paraphrased version to increase the word count of the content. 
• This makes the content look unnatural, fake, and boring, as the user doesn’t get any additional information.
• This repetition is common in Quillbot rewrites, as Quillbot is an AI tool that is mainly used to rewrite or paraphrase existing content.  

Tools To Check And Improve Originality

Apart from content generation, AI tools can also be used to fix your content and stand out. You can avoid grammatical errors, rewrite existing content, increase the flow of your content, or add an extra detail. There should not be any grammatical errors, and if you are a content writer then taking a Free English speaking course is very crucial to know the exact phrases of vocabulary. The following AI tools assist you to check and improve originality in your content:

Grammarly

• This AI tool helps you improve the grammar and flow of your content. It checks punctuation, grammar, spelling, and styling errors in your content.
• It offers suggestions for improvement to develop better clarity, tone, and engagement. 
• Grammarly flags repetitive and vague sentences, and has generative AI and plagiarism detection features to help with editing and writing.

Quillbot

• Quillbot is mainly used for paraphrasing and rewriting existing content without changing its original meaning. 
• Content paraphrasing through Quillbot can sound robotic, so it should be used cautiously for better and relevant results. 
• Adding your own sentences or examples after rewriting is really important to make the content sound more natural and original. 

Originality.AI

• Originality.AI is the best tool for detecting AI-generated and human-written content. 
• It is a paid tool with no free plans, but it is trusted by clients and agencies.
• This tool not only detects AI but also can scan for plagiarism in the content. 

What Are The Best Practices To Stay Original

Originality doesn’t mean that you should not use AI; rather, it means that you should use AI in such a way that it enhances your writing. You should add your own examples, experiences, or ideas to the generated output for better results. To know how to use these tools, then simply take Skillwaala’s free Digital marketing course, their IT-professionals will guide you on the correct use of these AI Tools. Here is an originality checklist that you should ensure in your content:

• Did you add personal examples, stories, or opinions in your content? 
• Is there at least a single line that you have written by yourself?
• Does it sound like something you would say out loud?
• Did you add a stat, quote, or hook that makes it feel fresh? 

Final Words

Even in today’s AI-driven world, the value of originality hasn’t decreased. Tools like ChatGPT or Quillbot can be helpful, but the real magic happens when you add your own thoughts, stories, and experiences. Copy-pasting doesn’t work; your personal touch is essential. Use AI as a helper, but always keep your creativity and honesty intact. This will truly set you apart. 

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