Human vs. AI-generated content – does authenticity matter?
“We might prefer not to know how the pudding is made or how much sugar it contains as long as it tastes delicious.”
Can you tell the difference between AI-generated and genuine ‘human’ content? Many claim they can. But can they? Can you? And does it matter if the content is generated by AI, humans, or a combination?
Humans are biased towards humans
A study by MIT has shown that people tend to favour AI-generated content over that produced by humans. However, users favour human-generated content when they know its human origin. While people typically favour AI content, this preference shifts when they recognise its source.
This raises interesting questions about communication, how to use AI, and the role of authenticity and transparency.
Think of Coca-Cola’s first-ever AI-generated Christmas ad in 2024, which faced a huge backlash. People mocked it for being mediocre.
Other studies indicate that content labelled ‘AI-created’ performs poorly and, worse still, is disliked and distrusted – even when produced by humans.
The importance of authenticity and quality
These examples highlight an intriguing aspect of creating content with AI: people do not appreciate low-quality output. We tend to dislike content that does not ‘feel right’ or seems disingenuous or ‘off’. However, if something meets our expectations and has been created by AI, we do not seem to mind as much. Furthermore, we are increasingly struggling to discern the difference.
This raises the question of how the public would have reacted if the Coca-Cola AI advertisement had been exceptionally high quality and Coca-Cola had not subsequently disclosed its method.
How transparent should you be?
These studies highlight an interesting point regarding transparency and show how compelling AI-generated content can be when executed effectively. The distrust towards AI can be profound. Authenticity requires trust and transparency, yet we might prefer not to know how the pudding is made or how much sugar it contains as long as it tastes delicious.
Transparency in finances, sustainability, and strategy is crucial for fostering stakeholder trust. Some brands will disclose their use of AI, while others will choose not to. My advice is to ensure your content remains authentic and not generic, regardless of whether it is AI-generated.
Check, check, and check again
AI content will continue to proliferate as people discover and learn new tools. However, humans must ensure that the content created is trustworthy, authentic, and passes the human quality check. Training and oversight are crucial when employing AI in communication. You don’t want social media to be the arbiter of how genuine your communication efforts are.
It’s also important to note that the quality of AI outputs continues to improve, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between them.
So, what does this mean for content in communication?
- If humans create your content, shout about it. People prefer it and exhibit a positive bias towards human creativity. However, there’s only so much they are willing to pay for it.
- If you are using AI for content generation, ensure that you check the quality of the output. Is the result good? Does it pass the human test? This requires human oversight and a very good brief. Ensure you train your AI in your style, brand, and tone of voice. This is why most large corporations still use agencies and will continue to do so. We have been the gatekeepers of quality in communications, and that won’t change any time soon.
Human or not so human?
In case you’re wondering, I conducted research with the help of AI while writing this article. However, the copy is entirely my own – 100% human. I hope this earns me some brownie points…
Get in touch
If you’d like to discuss this, or any other subject, please get in touch with Julia, Digital Director, at julia@gather.london
We’d love to know what you think.