TechKnowable
I’ve always focused on scaling content production as a web publisher. In a typical month of 2012, we published over a thousand new articles. We employed over a hundred writers and editors to complete this enormous project. Midway through 2023, we now produce the same number of publications with a staff of only ten content creators.
We accomplish this by utilizing the power of AI. We were pioneers in the transition to AI-assisted content in its entirety. And we did so without sacrificing editorial integrity.
Scaling a content strategy is always a difficult task. Even without AI, there has always been a delicate balance between quantity and quality. If the equilibrium is upset, you will either be unable to meet demand or lose the audience’s trust. Introducing AI into the equation allowed us to significantly accelerate production.
However, what about quality? Our primary challenge was to develop workflows and procedures that would enable us to scale AI-assisted content creation without sacrificing quality. To accomplish this delicate balance between quantity and quality using AI, we devised a new system based on three fundamental principles.
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Rule 1: Collaboration between humans and AI
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You may have observed that neither writers nor editors were mentioned when I described our current team. These terms are no longer used by our personnel. Instead, we now refer to our content creators as “AI Wranglers.” These individuals are not writers, but rather experts in AI-human collaboration. Using prompting strategies and AI tools, our content creators can rapidly develop a first draft, which they can then refine.
Depending on the sort of article, our content creators may employ a writing tool or collaborate directly with an artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT. When utilizing ChatGPT directly, they adhere to a structured creation procedure that includes the following prompts:
Start by requesting an overview of the topic from the AI. If the AI requires assistance coming up to speed, the content creator may have to provide some context.
Give the AI explicit instructions regarding the tone and style, such as “aim for a conversational tone and keep the writing at an eighth-grade level.”
Have the AI recommend a plan it believes will work best.
Then, section by section, collaborate with the AI to compose the entire document.
The structured prompts assist our content creators in accelerating the process and developing a first draft swiftly.
Rule 2: Processes for quality enhancement constitute
Some websites publish what our industry refers to as “one-click content.” As the name suggests, these documents are generated in a single iteration using artificial intelligence-based tools. Typically, these articles are published promptly without additional steps.
Undoubtedly, one-click AI content enables extremely rapid scalability of content production. Furthermore, this form of content goes far beyond traditional “content spinners.” In many instances, the AI content tools of today, particularly those utilizing the GPT-4 API, generate coherent and occasionally even insightful content. Moreover, this hands-off approach reduces production costs significantly.
However, our experience has taught us that relying on one-click content frequently results in multiple subpar articles. Humans are still required to refine the AI’s output, despite the AI’s extraordinary output. It is the only method to produce results that reliably and consistently meet our publication standards. Therefore, AI is only used to develop a rough draft. The AI provides us with a head start, but our human content creators complete the content.
Our quality enhancement procedure consists of three stages: fact-checking, reducing fluff, and modifying the article to meet the requirements of the reader.
Verifying that the generated article “delivers the goods” is the primary concern of the content creator. They ensure the topic is completely covered and that the reader’s questions have been answered in full.
The verification of facts is another pillar of our procedure. AI systems can still generate erroneous data on occasion, despite their constant improvement. Our content creators verify the accuracy of all numbers, dates, locations, names, and other factual information in the article. In addition, they link to authoritative sources to cite pertinent facts.
Lastly, the content creators enhance their writing manner. They frequently remove superfluous words, phrases, and even entire paragraphs to ensure that the article is concise and, therefore, more useful.
In a sense, you could describe our content creators as editors who specialize in collaborating with prolific writers. This author may be made of silicone, but it is not without faults. To bring this author’s work to the next level, competent editors are required.
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Rule 3: Speeding up production
Before AI, it would take approximately five hours to compose a single article. Now that a solid first draft exists, it takes between one and two hours for our trained content specialists to generate the final text. And while our method is more expensive than producing AI content with a single click, we do not sacrifice quality.
This AI-assisted strategy enabled us to maintain high output and quality while simultaneously reducing expenses. In addition, we are always seeking methods to enhance our initial prompts and the quality enhancement procedure. Through this continuous development, we are able to reduce per-item costs and increase production capacity.
When you save time and maintain quality, everyone benefits. Your team, business, and most importantly, your consumers will benefit from this. With the proper strategies, content creators can use AI to augment human creativity and judgment rather than replace it.
