With the continuous development of artificial intelligence, many people are worried about their jobs and have doubts about the future stability of multiple industries. Copywriters are among the first to feel this impact.
According to a recent academic report, since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, there has been a 21% decrease in demand for digital freelancers in the writing and coding fields.
Positions related to writing, software and application development have seen a 21% decrease in recruitment, while data entry and social media post-production positions have decreased by 13%.
Although it seems that AI has completely replaced copywriting work, industry professionals have found themselves transitioning to editing positions, as making content sound more human has become a necessity.
A writer using the pseudonym Benjamin Miller stated in an interview with the BBC that his once fulfilling job has turned into fixing the poor work of robots: "It's mainly cleaning up and modifying, making the writing sound less awkward, deleting overly formal or overly enthusiastic language.
"Compared to human writers, I have to do more editing work, but it's always the same type of editing. The real problem is that it's too repetitive and boring. I'm starting to feel like a robot myself."
From copywriting to editing, this industry has had to adapt.
Another copywriter based in Kentucky stated that her work on AI editing projects often takes longer than writing an article from scratch, but the compensation is worse.
"The grammar and wording sound strange. You always need to delete fancy vocabulary like 'therefore' and 'nevertheless' that are not suitable for everyday writing. In addition, you have to check the entire content because AI may fabricate things, which takes a long time because it's not just about big ideas. AI can make up false information in some irrelevant sentences that you would never notice if you don't look carefully."
Although the overall evaluation sounds negative, others in the industry are enjoying the help provided by AI.
Rebecca Matter, President of the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), said that artificial intelligence is "an incredible tool."
"For those who make copywriting their profession, the risk is not that AI will replace their jobs, but that they must adapt. This may feel uncomfortable, but I think it's a huge opportunity."
