How the HubSpot Weblog Crew Makes use of AI

Ah, AI. It is shortly turn into one of many buzziest phrases of 2023, akin to the recognition of the phrase “new regular” in 2022.

And for good motive. AI is poised to fully revolutionize the methods during which we work, work together, and even play.

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

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 just a little extra, effectively, environment friendly: the Search Insights Reports, which we nonetheless use as we speak.

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

(P.S. We’re nonetheless figuring this out identical to you’re, 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 Crew Leverages AI 

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

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

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 put in writing a put up about — mockingly — the differences 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 bought again:

Discover I did not ask ChatGPT to put in writing the put up for me.

On our crew, we’re not utilizing AI to put in writing full posts. As an alternative, our standards is as follows:

• We’ll by no means use generative AI to put in writing a full weblog put up, start-to-finish, with none modifying for voice, accuracy, or including a novel, human perspective.
• We’ll usually use AI extra for cut-and-dry, easy, tactical posts. Matters like “The 11 Greatest Methods to Ship Giant Recordsdata” carry out notably effectively utilizing AI; however extra complicated, fashionable, or thought leadership-type content material don’t.
• We’ll use AI to brainstorm matters or analysis concepts, however we are going to at all times do our personal follow-up analysis to make sure the knowledge 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 provide 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 would give me an inventory of options that may then assist inform my writing/modifying.”

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

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

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

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

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

That does not imply we cannot leverage the ability of AI to enormously lower down the time we spend writing. It merely means we’ll deal with AI outputs much like how we would deal with outlines or freelance drafts.

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

Take into account, as an example, a put up 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 put up 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 means of content material creation so writers can turn into entrepreneurs once more and focus extra on the inventive course of. AI copywriting will get rid of tedious duties like writing definitions and creating outlines, so writers can spend extra time on optimizing the put up (probably utilizing AI instruments) with issues like customized multimedia, interactive modules, high-intent inner linking, and extra.”

Click here to set a Google Calendar Reminder for The State of Generative AI & How It Will Revolutionize Marketing [New Data + Expert Insights], coming May 17, 2023.

Significantly for extra cut-and-dry matters like prolonged listicles, it is crucial our writers lean into AI to avoid wasting their time for extra complicated items, or to up-level the multimedia parts included of their posts.

Moreover, lots of our writers use AI to put in writing sections of weblog posts.

For example, Tristen Taylor, HubSpot Weblog crew’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 lower down tremendously as a result of it could possibly seize the tone, intent, and focused key phrases I want by means 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 on the lookout for, as an alternative of ruminating over small particulars initially or finish.”

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

I have been studying lots about how dwell procuring goes to turn into the brand new “norm” in retail, and I knew there could possibly be an fascinating angle to put in writing. However I could not absolutely flesh one out.

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

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, fascinating concepts that I hadn’t beforehand thought of.

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

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

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

Video is extra vital than ever. In actual fact, our 2023 State of 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 assets. And there are some matters, 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 most likely not going to go viral), it is a subject that’s complicated and probably complicated — making it a really perfect candidate for a fast, simple how-to video for our readers who’re all in favour of studying extra about CSS layouts.

Enter: Veed.io, a video modifying software program with AI instruments built-in, similar to their AI image generator and AI text 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 crew leans into AI for brainstorming, outlining, and researching, we will discover extra time to experiment with initiatives like this one.

For our crew, that is only the start. We’ll proceed to check and iterate on our AI-generated video technique to develop movies throughout Blogs for better influence within the months to return.

5. The HubSpot Weblog Crew Will Use Generative AI for Meta descriptions, Social Summaries, and Electronic mail Descriptions.

For some motive, I usually hit the best author’s block after I’ve completed a put up and I am requested by a social media supervisor or e-mail supervisor to summarize it.

In some methods, maybe it is most troublesome as a result of I do know the subject too effectively. All the pieces in my put up appears vital. How can I presumably decide what’s most related to incorporate?

Shortly determining the fitting messaging to advertise your content material is without doubt one of the strongest alternatives with AI. In actual fact, I labored with ChatSpot to give you the meta description for this put up:

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 Crew Will Proceed to Write Human-to-Human, First

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

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

Studying methods to mildew AI into the kind of software that matches our current priorities and high quality metrics will likely be key to retaining the audiences we have labored so exhausting to construct. At its core, we all know AI cannot substitute the humanity behind advertising and marketing. So we cannot attempt to.