Who Do You Think AI Learned It From?

Conversations in creative copywriting are swamped with AI information and disinformation lately. People are promising the world with a suspiciously perfect pitch, while others insist there’s absolutely no moment where AI can be of use. As usual, the answer’s more nuanced. But why is there skepticism about AI among copywriters? Those Large Language Models (LLMs) look pretty convincing to the layman, right? So what’s the issue?

Let’s cut to the chase - AI didn’t just wake up knowing how to write. It learned all that from somewhere. And you guessed it - it was from us. The professional writers, communicators, marketers, storytellers whose work has been published, edited, lovingly polished and shared across the internet for decades.

The Blood, Sweat and Words

When an AI quickly churns out a smart-sounding blog post, pitch deck, or email, it isn’t “thinking” in a vacuum. It’s drawing from a huge and varied library of human writing. Decades of industry essays, journalism and ad copy that spans the globe, plus how-to blogs, technical manuals and creative storytelling. All work that writers have painstakingly researched, written and published over time.

That means every perfectly honed SEO article, white paper, newsletter and product description has since quietly been used to teach AI how to write. That’s not what the writers intended, but it’s the reality of how these LLMs have gotten up to speed.

The Illusion of Originality

With all that source material, it’s hardly surprising that AI can therefore create impressive results. With the right inputs, the copy AI models create can sound smooth and appear polished. And of course, they’re incredibly fast. But it comes at a cost. Because it doesn’t innovate, it reconfigures and rehashes the existing. 

It sees that a structure, layout or phrase is often used when telling “how to” advice. It notices that persuasive language tends to make good calls-to-action. It picks up clichés and tonal cues from marketing journalism. Then it mixes all that up in one big machine, spitting out something that at least seems new. 

But the real question - does it feel original? Does it inspire the same human, emotional response? And does it evolve and shift with the times, creating the next way to communicate?

Why This Matters to You (And to Us)

If you treat AI tools as a magic spell, a quick fix, you’ll get burned. AI is only as good as the material it has to learn from. Let’s face it too - not all of that learning material is necessarily good stuff, and AI doesn’t have an in-built taste button that helps it sort the cringeworthy from the inspirational. AI will only ever be as good as the person at the helm, shaping its output with prompts and editing the results with a keen eye. 

Think of it as a factory line. AI can accelerate work, but it can’t replace the human touch. It can’t replace craft. So if you’re tempted to think, “I’ll just ChatGPT it”, think twice about the long term effects on your commercial writing. Why would yours stand out when everyone’s had the same ideas?

How Agencies Make AI Work for You

There’s a reason that agencies have been trusted by brands for decades - we live and breathe this stuff. AI might know its Ps and Qs, but it doesn’t know your brand, your goals, or your audience. That’s where we make the difference.

We can harness the tools the right and responsible way, blending AI’s speed with professional insight, strategic thinking, and creative judgment. Instead of generic output, you get content that’s guided by people who understand your brand voice and your objectives.

At Seventy7, we see AI as an assistant, not a replacement. We use it to free up time, streamline processes and improve your results. But always refine, shape, and elevate the end product through human expertise. That means you can be confident that AI is being used responsibly and effectively, in a way that keeps your brand distinct and your messages resonating with your audience.

So, who did AI learn it from? You. Me. Them. All of us who write for a living, and even those who never made a penny from the process.

When you next feed a prompt into an AI tool, think about how many others are doing the same without thinking of the drawbacks. Use it, don’t rely on it, and always put your stamp of originality first.