Give it crap, it makes crap. Give it gold...

I've been spending a lot of time inside AI builds lately.

Of course, my own ones, but also helping a bunch of other business owners figure out why theirs aren't producing.

From what I can see, nearly every bad result traces back to the same misunderstanding.

People think AI is the solution to every answer.

But really, all it is is an amplifier.

Give it crap, it produces a lot of crap. Faster and more confidently than any human could manage.

But if you can give it gold, it prints money and saves a tonne of time.

Think about the last time you had AI write something for your business, how much of it did you rewrite before you'd put your name on it?

I know that if I just head to ChatGPT and say "write me an email", I'll spend longer rewriting it than it would have taken for me to create it myself.

This is how most people are using AI. A simple prompt and the base model. Sure, it'll save a bit of time, but it's not exactly gonna move the needle.

Especially cause everyone has the same machine right now.

A $100 / month subscription and you too can churn out almost unlimited slop with the best of 'em.

It's why most folk sound identical right now.

Everyone is using the same tool, but no one is really giving it what it needs to do the job well.

It needs better info.

I remember when I was doing copywriting work for major clients.

If I had 2 weeks to do a page, the first week would be spent doing one thing.

Research.

I'd be out there talking to customers and employees, I'd be trawling forums and social media, looking at review sites.

All to find the weird, unique, and specific pains, desires, and language of the audience.

You know what the most useful data I could collect was?

Zero-party data.

This is the stuff the customer gives you directly. The stuff they let you know ifn quizzes, surveys, or, if you have the time, calls.

This stuff is gold.

With enough of that info, you can tailor your messaging to be unique, so you stand out from everyone else.

This shit used to be pretty damn important.

But now, in the age of AI, it's absolutely critical.

If you're not collecting zero-party data, you're putting yourself at a huge disadvantage. you'reessentially guessing about what people will want, and churning out marketing that will appeal to no one.

What you should be connecting directly with your audience and collecting...

... what they're actually struggling with
... what they've already tried that didn't work
... the exact words they use when they describe the problem you solve

If you collect this and give it to an AI that's trained on your systems, you're no longer producing slop at scale.

You have 2 lenses all of that copy goes through.

1. Is this important and relevant to the customer
2. Does this align with our branding and ethos

The more of this data you collect, the better your marketing will be.

And if you are using AI, the more accurate it will be and the less rewriting you'll have to do.

I've seen it first hand change the success fo marketing assets in the past. And right now, I'm seeing it be the difference for the brands who are using AI.

I've been building something around exactly this. I'll show you tomorrow.

Pete "quality in, quality out" Boyle