How to Humanise AI Content: A Step-by-Step Guide

As much as we hate to admit it, AI has completely transformed the content creation landscape and helped many Australian small business owners produce content without exhausting their limited resources to hire a writer for their business. From drafting social media posts to creating blog posts, AI offers a large number of time-efficient benefits that are particularly valuable in Australia’s competitive digital marketplace.

However, these powerful tools come with significant limitations that can transform them from helpful assistants into potential liabilities. One of the biggest concerns with AI is the lack of human touch, which not only feels impersonal but can also trigger quite a few red flags with Google’s SEO practices, which can even lead to your article being unlisted.

So, how do you effectively humanise AI content? Fortunately for people who count on AI for their content writing, there are ways to humanise their content, which is what this guide is all about. Let’s explore practical steps to incorporate human creativity back into your AI-generated content whilst maximising efficiency.

Understanding AI Content Generation

Before diving into humanisation techniques, it’s essential to understand the capabilities and limitations of AI content tools. Although AI has revolutionised content creation, there are a few things you need to understand before you can count on AI to take over your business’s content creation.

How AI Content Generators Work

AI content writers make use of machine learning models and natural language processing, which have been trained on a large dataset to produce content exactly as the user wanted. These tools can create content of different types, including but not limited to:

• Text: AI tools like ChatGPT can help you create cohesive content like social media posts, product descriptions, and articles.
• Images: Advanced AI tools allow you to create image content, including illustrations and design elements.
• Videos: AI has gotten to the point where you can create short clips, animations, and even promotional explainer video content with its help.

Strengths of AI

AI brings several powerful advantages to your content creation process:

• Scalability: AI can create large volumes of content to meet the high demands of a new business.
• Consistency: These tools maintain a consistent tone through various pieces of content, allowing businesses to create a brand identity.
• Efficiency: AI tools can create content quickly, saving businesses a lot of time and resources.

Limitations of AI

Despite its impressive capabilities, AI has distinct limitations that necessitate human intervention:

• Emotional Intelligence: One of the biggest problems with AI is the lack of nuanced emotions and cultural context, which is often missing from the content generated by it.
• Variable Quality: Content generated with AI is often of poor quality and requires a lot of human interference to edit and ensure accuracy and relevance.
• Creative Constraints: Although AI can mimic writing styles, it cannot produce any original ideas.

This reality clarifies that whilst AI offers powerful assistance, it works best in partnership with human creativity. Only after carefully assessing their capabilities and limitations can you use AI to enhance your content strategy.

The 5-Step Process to Humanise AI Content

Step 1: Start with a Human-Crafted Strategy

To create truly authentic AI-assisted content, you must begin with human intention and direction. AI can only work with the information it has been provided, so setting up a clear goal and understanding the audience you are targeting is essential.

Here are key elements to include in your AI content strategy:

• Detailed briefs that outline your goals, target audience, key messages, and tone. The more specific you can get, the better the AI will be able to match your needs.
• Brand voice guidelines incorporated into your AI prompts
• Content templates with proper structure whilst leaving enough room for creative expressions to help maintain quality and consistency

Strategy Checklist:

• Define your target audience personas
• Establish clear content objectives
• Document your brand’s unique voice characteristics
• Create content frameworks that balance structure and creativity
• Set quality benchmarks for AI-generated content

Step 2: Selecting the Right AI Tools for Your Needs

With a solid strategy in place, selecting the appropriate AI tools becomes your next critical decision. Although this step sounds straightforward, with so many options available on the internet, it has become harder than it used to be.

Different content types require specialised AI tools:

• Text generation: ChatGPT, Jasper, Copy.ai, and Writesonic
• Graphics and images: Canva, Dall-E, and Midjourney
• Video content: Pictory and Synthesia can transform text into engaging video content

When evaluating AI tools, prioritise these features:

• Customisation options for brand voice
• Edit and refinement capabilities
• Integration with your existing content workflow
• Output quality that meets your standards
• Value alignment with your brand philosophy

Step 3: Prompt Engineering for Authentic Results

Effective prompt engineering is perhaps the most crucial skill for generating human-like AI content. The more detailed and specific you can be with your prompt, the better the results will be. Another good idea would be to include your brand identity in the prompt to make the tone and language style you want the AI to adopt.

Examples of effective prompts:

“Write a blog post about email marketing for small businesses, using a friendly and engaging tone. The blog is targeted towards small businesses operating in Australia, preferably in the retail industry. Include personal anecdotes, conversational language, and address common pain points these business owners face with their marketing efforts.”

“Create a product description with a casual, playful style that appeals to young Australian professionals. Make sure that the description is kept within 50 words and talk about the key features of the product in quick yet subtle sentences. Use second-person perspective and include one metaphor that makes the product relatable to everyday life.”

Common prompt mistakes to avoid:

• Being too vague or generic
• Failing to specify tone and audience
• Not providing examples of desired style
• Omitting brand voice guidelines
• Forgetting to request human elements like humour, stories, or conversational language

Create a prompt template library with your most successful prompts for different content types. This allows you to consistently generate content that matches your brand voice whilst saving time on prompt creation.

Step 4: Human Editing and Refinement

Whilst AI excels at speed, it often sacrifices quality and authenticity—making human editing the most critical step in the humanisation process. This is where your unique insights, experiences, and brand knowledge transform AI-generated content into something truly valuable.

Editing approaches for different content types:

Text Content Refinement

• Ensure sentence structure and flow work cohesively
• Vary sentence length and structure for natural rhythm
• Replace generic examples with specific, relevant ones
• Add personal anecdotes, experiences, or industry insights
• Incorporate humour, empathy, or other emotional elements where appropriate
• Adjust vocabulary to match your brand’s sophistication level
• Ensure all facts are accurate and properly contextualised

Image Enhancement

• Adjust lighting and composition for brand consistency
• Add custom elements like your brand’s logo or colour palette
• Ensure images reflect diverse and authentic representations
• Modify generic elements to better align with your specific audience
• Add subtle human touches that AI typically misses

Video Improvements

• Trim unnecessary content to improve pacing
• Add human voice-overs with natural inflection
• Incorporate annotations and personal branding
• Ensure transitions feel natural and purposeful
• Add b-roll footage that shows real people and situations

Humanisation Checklist for Text Content:

• Does the content flow naturally with varied sentence structures?
• Have I added personal insights or experiences?
• Does the language feel conversational rather than formal?
• Are industry-specific terms used correctly and appropriately?
• Have I verified all facts and statistics?
• Does the content align with my brand’s unique voice?
• Have I removed repetitive phrases and redundancies?
• Does the content address my audience’s specific pain points?

Step 5: Ethical Considerations and Transparency

As AI becomes increasingly integrated into content creation, ethical considerations become paramount. As many people earn their living via content creation, it falls upon you as a business to be transparent about your use of AI and build trust with your audience. Disclosure is key!

Best practices for ethical AI content use:

• Be transparent about your AI usage, especially for substantive content
• Follow industry disclosure standards by clearly stating when AI was used
• Maintain accountability for all published content, regardless of how it was created
• Respect copyright and intellectual property by properly sourcing information
• Ensure factual accuracy through human verification
• Use AI as an enhancement tool, not a replacement for human expertise

Disclosure approaches that build trust:

• A simple note at the end of articles stating “This content was created with AI assistance and human editing”
• Explaining your content creation process on your “About” page
• Being open about how AI helps you deliver more value to your audience

Understanding Australian Content Preferences

When creating content for Australian audiences, it’s important to consider local preferences and cultural nuances that can make your AI-generated content more relatable and engaging.

Key considerations for Australian content:

• Use Australian English spelling and terminology consistently
• Reference local events, holidays, and cultural touchstones where relevant
• Consider time zones and seasonal differences when scheduling content
• Incorporate Australian humour and communication styles appropriately
• Address local business challenges and market conditions

Local context enhancement:

• Replace generic examples with Australian-specific scenarios
• Use familiar Australian brands and companies as reference points
• Consider regulatory differences that might affect your content
• Acknowledge unique Australian business practices and customs

Advanced Humanisation Techniques

Beyond the basic five-step process, there are additional techniques that can further enhance the human quality of your AI-generated content.

Storytelling Integration

• Transform dry, factual AI content into engaging narratives
• Add customer success stories and case studies
• Use the hero’s journey framework to structure longer content pieces
• Incorporate conflict and resolution elements to maintain reader interest

Voice and Tone Refinement

• Develop a distinct brand personality that shines through all content
• Create emotional connections through empathetic language
• Use rhetorical devices like metaphors and analogies
• Vary your writing style based on content purpose and audience

Interactive Elements

• Add questions that engage readers directly
• Include polls, quizzes, or surveys where appropriate
• Encourage user-generated content and responses
• Create content that invites discussion and sharing

Measuring Humanisation Success

To ensure your humanisation efforts are effective, establish metrics that measure both engagement and authenticity.

Key performance indicators:

• Time spent on page and scroll depth
• Social media engagement rates and shares
• Comment quality and conversation depth
• Brand sentiment analysis
• Conversion rates from content to action

Qualitative assessment methods:

• Reader feedback and testimonials
• Peer review from industry colleagues
• A/B testing different humanisation approaches
• Regular content audits for authenticity

Conclusion

AI has become an integral part of the creative process, to the point where some computing devices are designed to work optimally with AI applications. Successfully humanising AI-generated content requires a thoughtful balance between technological efficiency and human creativity.

By implementing a strategic approach that includes:

• Developing a human-crafted content strategy
• Selecting the right AI tools for your specific needs
• Mastering the art of prompt engineering
• Applying thorough human editing and refinement
• Maintaining ethical standards and transparency
• Understanding local Australian preferences and contexts

You can create content that harnesses AI’s power whilst preserving your brand’s authentic human voice.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and find what works best for your brand. Implement these techniques today and start creating AI-enhanced content that is both efficient and engaging, ensuring it resonates with your Australian audience whilst maintaining your brand voice with AI.

The future of content creation lies not in choosing between human creativity and AI efficiency, but in finding the perfect synthesis of both. As AI tools continue to evolve, the businesses that master this balance will be the ones that truly connect with their audiences and build lasting relationships through authentic, valuable content.