AI isn’t going anywhere. It’s just getting better and better.

Writers are already losing their jobs.

AI-created content is out there.

And, to be fair, most of the content that AI creates is already better than the average content site.

Google has basically admitted that they do not have a moat when it comes to AI — basically, there isn’t too much they can do to address the AI content that will flood the internet.

My friends. I cannot predict the future of the content world, but for now, there is still a lot of room to move.

In today’s A Media Operator newsletter, Jacob breaks down what media companies need to do to survive.

His answer to surviving the changing media landscape — distribution + creating content that builds deep connections.

Today’s media companies and content creators need to do more than just get traffic. We need to build brands, create content to build audiences and share our content in the places where our audiences already live.

For the past few years, I’ve talked a lot about brand and audience building with our team at Venture 4th Media. While we are still very much in the affiliate marketing space, we need to do more than just create content sites.

In a perfect world, the transactional traffic we get from building great content + using SEO strategies would be enough to grow our media assets.

But, it’s not enough anymore.

Tomorrow’s content producers have to create content authentic, quality content that audiences will love (and want more of).

AI adds yet another layer to this entire content model, but as for us in content today, there’s still a lot AI cannot do.

With AI, we can produce decent content quickly (and often at a much lower cost). And, AI is already making the SEO and content strategy tasks easier and quicker.

Anyone who wants to create content can now access thousands of keywords, map them out into content clusters, create thousands of posts, and publish a content site quickly.

For the past few years, many of us (including me) equated AI-created content to spun content or even programmatic SEO — it was an all too easy comparison.

I thought AI content = mass-produced content without any real authority or expertise.

And, for quite a while, I’ve watched my colleagues and friends experiment with AI-creation sites and thought…

“It works, until it doesn’t.”

I was excited that Google put so much emphasis on E-E-A-T because I thought — this was something AI cannot replicate. Phew, we’re all good.

But, with the bombardment of AI tools and the very fact that AI technology is getting better every day (and learning from our human experts), I have to change my stance (somewhat).

A few months ago, I took a strong stand against our writers using AI to create their content, in any way. But, then…

Grammarly added AI capabilities.

Chat GPT-4 has search capabilities.

Google has softened its stance on AI (they literally cannot keep up).

So, these days, I’m much more open to using AI as a tool. Yet, the type of content we create doesn’t really lend itself to a full AI creation process either and that’s a good thing!

AI cannot play a new video game for days, then tell our readers how this game made them feel.

AI cannot open a subscription box and give us an honest review of its contents.

AI cannot share personal anecdotes, or experiences or really nerd out on a new experience.

AI cannot properly fact-check resources through the lens of a human expert.

AI still has limitations.

So, AI isn’t going to replace our product testers, niche subject matter experts, writers and editors any time soon.

And, I actually see a lot of real human opportunities if you want to future-proof your content career, which is why I wanted to share my thoughts on this today.

The Best Content Opportunities in an AI World

Yes. AI is becoming more prevalent on daily.

Should you be worried?

Yes. If you are a mediocre writer. But, there are new opportunities for us in content that work with AI.

Here are a few opportunities and roles I see becoming more relevant as AI continues to infiltrate the content landscape:

Niche Expert Editor

AI cannot fact-check itself just yet. Yet, it always produces something! While it continues to learn and get better, it still makes stuff up all the time.

Anyone who has really dedicated themselves to a niche or a passion knows that there is still a lot of factually inaccurate content living in our world.

Our writers call bullshit on a lot of ‘research’ and findings they find. Our editors do this as well.

In the past few years, having some real niche subject matter experts on the editorial side has made a world of difference for our sites and I don’t see us hiring anyone except a niche expert editor for these roles moving forward. These editors can literally sniff out fakeness and inauthenticity.

With more AI-assisted content being created, having a niche expert editor is going to be imperative (if you want to build a loyal audience).

Niche Subject Matter Expert Writer and Resource

Real niche subject matter experts are in high demand right now and I don’t see this changing (even if AI can mimic expertise).

Real experts live and breathe in the world, and audiences can feel the difference. Experts bring a level of authenticity and credibility to their writing. Generalist writers, or SEO writers, are most prone to AI taking over their jobs.

If you haven’t dedicated yourself as a niche subject matter expert writer or resource, now is the time to start.

Thought Leader

Thought leadership content cannot be recreated with AI. If you want to be employable, you’re doing yourself a big favor if you become a thought leader in your space. This, for me, is one step above a passionate niche expert.

A thought leader gathers data and comments on relevant trends in the industry, bringing their years of experience. Known thought leaders get out there and are cited as sources in a variety of publications.

Thought leadership content is on the rise as well and quickly stands out amongst the ho-hum, wishy-washy content as well. Look at the Animalz blog as a great example - without publishing daily or even weekly, the team at Animalz has established themselves not only as experts but as thought leaders in our space. I am a big fan!

Personal Authority and Branding Expert

I see a ton of growth in the personal branding space, as many are seeing the value in being a known subject matter expert or thought leader. If you love writing and branding, you can help others build their brand. I see a lot of room to grow helping people establish their digital authority on platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter, as well as helping thought leaders create and distribute content.

Video Talent

While there are many growing faceless YouTube channels out there, I see a lot of room to grow if you want to hop in front of a camera. We have been doing more video and love to see our writers move from behind the camera. Audiences still want to see real people doing all the things, so if you are stuck looking for new opportunities, try jumping in front of the camera.

Yes, AI can create video content (with AI-generated people) but the technology still has a lot of room for improvement.

I mean, check out this AI-generated beer commercial:

So, now for an example of something AI could not duplicate. Here is an example of someone deeply dedicated to their niche and sharing their nerdiness with the audience:

Content Optimizer

If you love writing and have a solid understanding of a certain niche, maybe it’s time to market yourself as a content optimizer. As media and content companies have less budget to invest in new content, there are a lot of opportunities to improve the content they already have.

A great content optimizer knows how to use SEO tools + can add some value to the content, understands search intent, and knows what great, helpful content looks like. It’s a task I love to do and can be easily learned. I recommend starting with a tool such as Surfer SEO or Market Muse if you want to optimize content. But the tools are not the only solution.

As a content optimizer, you must be able to decipher what the tools recommend and know what to add, update or revise to make the content better. Great content optimizers are part niche expert, part SEO nerd, and part writer. So, if that sounds like you, maybe it’s time to offer this to your clients.

Content Strategist and Content Distribution Experts

Even in a world with more AI-assisted content, we’ll need really smart people who know how to grow an audience, distribute content, and can help create smart content repurposing strategies.

While larger organizations will invest in more headless SEO strategies, many smaller to mid-sized content teams won’t have the funds to fully invest in these tools and platforms to get their content out there. That’s where a real content strategist can come in.

I still believe in the human element in this role as it involves getting to know audiences well, understanding what types of content perform best on different platforms, and being able to see both the big picture strategies + the minutia for different types of content.

Real World Product Tester

Most of my friends in content right now are looking for real-life product testers. Larger media companies have often tried to replicate the real-world product testing environments as Google has laid out their ‘review’ guidelines for quite some time. But, there is something to be said for actually testing a product in the real world.

For example, this year, we were tasked to find a pressure washer tester + expert. We needed to find someone who could buy new pressure washers, and test them in their driveways and homes. Our client (who owns a pressure washer site) did not want ‘fake’ product testers. He wanted someone who knew all about pressure washers and could test them and talk about them in videos and articles.

If you can do product testing + write or do video, you’ll be in high demand in this AI world.

Community Manager

As more brands and media companies realize the power of a dedicated audience, I see room for humans to help facilitate communities and places where we can all hang out and get more content. Even in the SEO, content space, I’ve seen communities such as Superpath, Top of Funnel and Women in SEO grow their digital communities rapidly, and I don’t see this stopping.

If you are good at connecting people and have a deep love for an industry, becoming a community manager might be a great role for you. While there might be a lot of automation in onboarding new members or sharing updates, the best groups have real human community managers to facilitate the discussions, provide updates and make connections.

Some Things to Read and Ponder

Here are some dig-in resources that I hope you’ll love!

Ryan Law shares his thoughts on the future of SEO in an AI world, including authorship importance, content velocity issues, the role of programmatic SEO, and more. Worth a read!

Need someone to talk over something with? Why not try AI?

Need a little inspiration? Here are some thoughts from a content professional who currently earns 240,000 yearly.

My Favorite Tweets of the Week

That’s it for this week. Tonight, I’m headed to an event in Toronto to hang with my fellow SEO peeps! In my overly digital life, I look forward to nerding out with real people too!

Have a great week.

Cheers! Amy

Some Bonus Newsletters You’ll Love

If you really want to get into the weeds on these topics, here are a couple of newsletters to subscribe to.