So, I was scrolling through TikTok the other day when I saw a “hack” for creating AI-generated articles in a few clicks. TikTok already does some level of AI generation with its own ads if you let it, so I wanted to see whether this service, marketed to marketers, was any good or a waste of time.
The method was simple. I typed “AI Generated Content” in as the title (yes, super meta), let the generator write three articles, and then ran those articles through a second tool that mixes and rewords the text so it reads as “original.” Here is what happened and what I took away from it.
How the AI Article Method Works
There are two pieces to it. The first tool is an article generator. You give it a topic or a title and it assembles a full post, usually by pulling together text that already exists on the web around that keyword.
The second tool is an article spinner. It swaps words for synonyms and shuffles phrasing so the output no longer matches the source word for word. The pitch is that you end up with a pile of unique, publishable blog posts without writing anything yourself.
What Came Out the Other End
The three articles were technically on topic: AI use cases in marketing, how Coca-Cola and PepsiCo use AI, and where AI is headed for businesses. The problem was everything else.
The spinner had done exactly what it was built to do, and it wrecked the writing. “Artificial intelligence” turned into “man-made consciousness” and “simulated intelligence.” “Marketing” became “showcasing.” Coca-Cola’s vending machines became “candy machines.” Whole paragraphs read like a bad translation, and some of the original article’s site clutter, like a newsletter sign-up line, got pulled straight into the body.
None of it sounded like a brand. None of it sounded like a person. And none of it was something I would put in front of a client.
Why Spun AI Content Hurts More Than It Helps
It is easy to look at a 3,000-word article that took 30 seconds and call it a win. Here is why it is not.
- Accuracy: Generators stitch together whatever they find. Facts, names and numbers get mixed up or lose their source, and nobody checks them before they go live.
- Readability: Spinning trades clear language for "unique" language. Readers bounce when sentences stop making sense, and that is the opposite of what content is supposed to do.
- Brand voice: Your content is supposed to sound like you. Spun text sounds like nobody, which makes the brand forgettable at best and sloppy at worst.
- Search risk: Google's spam policies specifically call out automatically generated and spun content made to manipulate rankings. Publishing it at scale is a good way to drag a whole site down, not lift it.
How AI Actually Fits Into a Content Workflow
None of this means AI is useless for content. It means the tool should support the writer, not replace the writer. The places it earns its keep:
- Brainstorming: Getting a list of angles, questions people ask, or headline options to react to.
- Outlining: Turning a topic into a rough structure that a human then reshapes.
- First drafts: Producing a starting point that gets rewritten, fact-checked and put into the brand's voice before it goes anywhere.
- Repurposing: Turning a finished, approved piece into social captions, email snippets or a video script.
The common thread is a human in the loop. Someone who knows the audience, checks the facts and owns the final wording.
My Verdict
The TikTok method is a shortcut to content nobody wants to read. It is fast, it is cheap, and the output shows it. If you are going to use AI in your content marketing, use it to speed up the thinking and the drafting, then do the actual writing and editing yourself.
Update: since I first tried this, AI writing tools have gotten much better at producing readable text. The core lesson has not changed. Quality, accuracy and a real brand voice still come from the person editing, not the tool.
Have you tried any AI writing tools in your own marketing? Let me know in the comments what worked and what did not.
Sources
The two tools I tested for this post: