Will AI Eventually Replace All Human Copywriters?

Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the biggest disruptors in the marketing industry. From brainstorming headlines to writing social media posts, AI can now handle many tasks that once required hours of work from human writers. But could it eventually take over copywriting altogether? A study from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business suggests that possibility may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.

AI Can Write Marketing Emails in Seconds

Researchers Jean-Pierre Dubé and Ariel Xu partnered with online wine retailer Wine Access to compare the effectiveness of human- and AI-generated promotional emails. More than 27,500 customers participated in the 14-day experiment. Participants were divided into groups that received emails written entirely by employees, generated by AI, or created by AI and then reviewed by human editors. Another group did not receive promotional emails. One of the clearest advantages for AI was speed. Human employees spent roughly three hours creating an email, while AI could generate one within seconds. The AI messages were also generally shorter and got readers to the "Buy Now" button sooner.

The Results Were Surprisingly Close

Despite the major difference in production time, the emails performed similarly when it came to purchases. Staff-written emails produced a 12% purchase rate, compared with 11.5% for AI-generated emails and 11.6% for AI-generated emails that were edited by humans. Human writers did have a slight edge in profitability, generating an average of $10.50 in gross profit per customer. AI-generated emails produced $10.22, while the human-edited AI emails generated $9.44. However, the cost difference was much more dramatic. The study estimated labor costs of approximately $375,000 for the staff-written emails. AI-generated emails cost about $32,250, while the AI-and-human approach came in at roughly $63,500. For companies focused heavily on efficiency, that gap could be difficult to overlook.

Does This Mean Human Writers Are Doomed?

Not necessarily. AI is extremely good at producing content quickly, but writing isn't simply about putting words together. Human writers bring creativity, personal experience, emotion, and an understanding of an audience that AI cannot completely replicate. Consider something as simple as describing a wine. AI can analyze information and create an appealing description, but it hasn't actually tasted the wine. A human writer can bring firsthand experience and personal perspective into the story.

The Future May Be Human + AI

Rather than completely replacing copywriters, AI could change what their jobs look like. Writers who learn to use AI as a tool may be able to spend less time on repetitive writing and more time on strategy, creativity, storytelling, and developing a brand's voice. The study is certainly a warning sign for the copywriting industry, but it may also be an opportunity. AI can produce the words quickly. The challenge for human writers will be proving why the human perspective behind those words still matters.

Cate Bender, the author, is Project Coordinator of Marketing Keys