How the HubSpot Weblog Group Makes use of AI

Ah, AI. It is rapidly grow to be one of many buzziest phrases of 2023, akin to the recognition of the phrase “new regular” in 2022.

And for good purpose. AI is poised to utterly revolutionize the methods wherein we work, work together, and even play.

I have been on the HubSpot Weblog staff for over 5 years, and in that point, I’ve seen loads of modifications. Again in 2017, as an illustration, we utterly upended our weblog infrastructure with the introduction of the pillar-cluster mannequin.

After which, in 2018, we ditched our weekly “throw spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks” brainstorming course of in favor of one thing a bit extra, properly, environment friendly: the Search Insights Studies, which we nonetheless use right this moment.

However none of those modifications appear to check to what’s coming with AI. Right here, I am going to clarify how HubSpot’s Weblog staff plans to leverage AI with out sacrificing the “human factor” that makes our content material profitable within the first place.

(P.S. We’re nonetheless figuring this out similar to you might be, so consider this as a working doc that I am going to replace periodically as we shift our AI methods sooner or later.)

How the HubSpot Weblog Group Leverages AI 

1. The HubSpot Weblog Group Will Use Generative AI to Study About Subjects Sooner — However We Will not Use AI Alone to Create Content material.

One of many strongest advantages of generative AI is its capability to scan the online and supply concise, useful responses primarily based on huge sources of data.

In different phrases: As a author, I do not flip to Google first anymore for info. As an alternative, I flip to AI.

For example, the opposite day I wanted to write down a submit about — sarcastically — the variations between ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Bing’s new AI-powered search engine.

So I requested ChatGPT: “Are you able to inform me the variations between ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Bing’s AI-powered search engine? Please put the professionals and cons in a desk format.”

Here is what I obtained again:

Discover I did not ask ChatGPT to write down the submit for me.

On our staff, we aren’t utilizing AI to write down full posts. As an alternative, our standards is as follows:

• We’ll by no means use generative AI to write down a full weblog submit, start-to-finish, with none enhancing for voice, accuracy, or including a singular, human perspective.
• We’ll usually use AI extra for cut-and-dry, easy, tactical posts. Subjects like “The 11 Finest Methods to Ship Massive Information” carry out notably properly utilizing AI; however extra complicated, stylish, or thought leadership-type content material don’t.
• We’ll use AI to brainstorm subjects or analysis concepts, however we are going to at all times do our personal follow-up analysis to make sure the data is correct, and to restrict potential biases.

As Kaitlin Milliken, HubSpot Weblog’s Program Supervisor & Content material Editor, shares: “AI is an enormous a part of my analysis course of. Sure product descriptions are obscure or do not supply sufficient details about what makes the software program stand out. In these circumstances, I am going to ask AI what makes a sure product distinctive. It should give me an inventory of options that may then assist inform my writing/enhancing.”

Merely put, human beings learn HubSpot weblog posts to learn the way different human beings are promoting, advertising, or servicing their clients. We need to respect that belief by persevering with to create content material that’s meant to coach, have interaction, and delight.

Once we can use AI to hurry up the time it takes us to analysis subjects or create outlines, that is nice — meaning extra time to spend on voice, tone, and perspective.

However we are going to by no means use AI to exchange what people have at all times accomplished finest: Storytelling.

2. The HubSpot Weblog Group Will Leverage Generative AI to Create Outlines … However Not Full Posts.

As beforehand talked about, our Weblog staff is not going to be utilizing generative AI to create full weblog posts.

That does not imply we can’t leverage the ability of AI to tremendously minimize down the time we spend writing. It merely means we’ll deal with AI outputs much like how we’d deal with outlines or freelance drafts.

Specifically: AI outputs can act as the primary draft of an article, however not the ultimate copy.

Take into account, as an illustration, a submit that gives 34 definitions of SQL key phrases, operators, and statements, which HubSpot Weblog Supervisor, Advertising and marketing Clint Fontanella lately wrote for the Web site Weblog. A submit of that size would usually require weeks of analysis and writing.

With AI, Fontanella instructed me it took roughly 40% of the time to create it.

As he places it, “AI goes to take away the handbook technique of content material creation so writers can grow to be entrepreneurs once more and focus extra on the inventive course of. AI copywriting will remove tedious duties like writing definitions and creating outlines, so writers can spend extra time on optimizing the submit (probably utilizing AI instruments) with issues like customized multimedia, interactive modules, high-intent inner linking, and extra.”

Click on right here to set a Google Calendar Reminder for The State of Generative AI & How It Will Revolutionize Advertising and marketing [New Data + Expert Insights], coming Might 17, 2023.

Notably for extra cut-and-dry subjects like prolonged listicles, it is crucial our writers lean into AI to save lots of their time for extra complicated items, or to up-level the multimedia components included of their posts.

Moreover, lots of our writers use AI to write down sections of weblog posts.

For example, Tristen Taylor, HubSpot Weblog staff’s Affiliate Advertising and marketing Supervisor, instructed me, “Earlier than utilizing AI, I usually discovered myself rewriting introductions and conclusion paragraphs in weblog posts. Now that I’ve entry to those instruments, my time wanted for finishing weblog posts or articles has been minimize down tremendously as a result of it could possibly seize the tone, intent, and focused key phrases I would like by way of refined AI prompts.”

She provides, “It additionally permits me to refocus my work extra on the content material or info of worth that readers are in search of, as an alternative of ruminating over small particulars firstly or finish.”

3. The HubSpot Weblog Group Will Take Benefit of Generative AI as Our New, Trusty Brainstorming Sidekick.

I have been studying loads about how dwell procuring goes to grow to be the brand new “norm” in retail, and I knew there might be an attention-grabbing angle to write down. However I could not totally flesh one out.

So I turned to ChatSpot, HubSpot’s new AI-powered chatbot, and requested, “Please present me with seven weblog submit concepts primarily based on the idea of dwell procuring changing into the established order for the retail trade.”

Here is its response:

Not too shabby, huh? From there, I can workshop on my own or with a colleague to formulate the ultimate subject. However on this case, ChatSpot did not simply save me time — it additionally launched a brand new perspective and extra inventive, attention-grabbing concepts that I hadn’t beforehand thought-about.

In different phrases, one of many greatest advantages of generative AI is its capability to behave as your new, always-available, infinitely-creative colleague.

And this makes all of HubSpot Weblog staff’s in-person brainstorming periods rather more efficient and compelling.

4. The HubSpot Weblog Group Will Experiment with AI-Generated Movies for Our Weblog Posts.

Video is extra vital than ever. Actually, our 2023 State of Advertising and marketing report discovered that video is the most well-liked and efficient media format for the fourth yr in a row.

However creating movies takes time and sources. And there are some subjects, like CSS Grid Layouts, that have been beforehand not definitely worth the effort it took when it comes to potential video MSV.

This left some main gaps in our content material technique. Whereas CSS Grid Layouts may not be the snazziest YouTube video (I get it … it is in all probability not going to go viral), it is a subject that’s complicated and probably complicated — making it an excellent candidate for a fast, straightforward how-to video for our readers who’re fascinated by studying extra about CSS layouts.

Enter: Veed.io, a video enhancing software program with AI instruments built-in, corresponding to their AI picture generator and AI textual content reader. 

The Web site Weblog leveraged Veed to create their very own CSS grid video with an AI-generated voice-over in lower than an hour.

Plus, as our staff leans into AI for brainstorming, outlining, and researching, we can discover extra time to experiment with tasks like this one.

For our staff, that is just the start. We’ll proceed to check and iterate on our AI-generated video technique to increase movies throughout Blogs for higher influence within the months to return.

5. The HubSpot Weblog Group Will Use Generative AI for Meta descriptions, Social Summaries, and E-mail Descriptions.

For some purpose, I usually hit the best author’s block after I’ve completed a submit and I am requested by a social media supervisor or electronic mail supervisor to summarize it.

In some methods, maybe it is most tough as a result of I do know the subject too properly. All the things in my submit appears vital. How can I probably choose what’s most related to incorporate?

Shortly determining the suitable messaging to advertise your content material is without doubt one of the strongest alternatives with AI. Actually, I labored with ChatSpot to give you the meta description for this submit:

Jamie Juviler, Managing Editor of the Web site Weblog, additionally leverages AI for meta descriptions. He suggests feeding your introduction paragraph into an AI chatbot, after which asking it to provide a 100-150 character meta description.

Discovering small methods to raise your promotional copy by leveraging AI is vital to harnessing its full potential.

HubSpot’s Weblog Group Will Proceed to Write Human-to-Human, First

Yet another factor — we need to lead with transparency for our audiences, so we do promise this: On any submit we write that has been AI-supported (or AI-generated, even when it has been human-edited), we are going to remember to go away a disclaimer that permits you to know that we leveraged AI to finish the submit.

It is also vital to notice that our staff is studying as we go. Much like the arrival of any new, thrilling know-how, AI comes with loads of advantages … and loads of drawbacks.

Studying how one can mould AI into the kind of instrument that matches our current priorities and high quality metrics will likely be key to retaining the audiences we have labored so laborious to construct. At its core, we all know AI cannot exchange the humanity behind advertising. So we can’t attempt to.