Using Generative AI to Speed Up Product Copy
During a rebrand, time is of the essence.
What I did
Project
Role: Content strategist, editor
Company: Google
Year: 2023
Problem
Google for Developers recently underwent a rebrand. As part of the updates, we began to optimize for SEO along with retiring and consolidating old product pages. These updates were important, but not as much as the marketing pages like home and our new Solutions pages.
Solution
We had just launched Google Bard (now known as Gemini). I partnered with senior managers in marketing and the design team to develop a content strategy that included generative AI.
The product pages weren’t a P0 priority, but they were still important. To save on time, resources, and money, together we determined that the product pages could be optimized using generative AI prompts.
I developed content strategy principals for the use of AI in writing and editing that I floated by leadership and got there buy in.
My prompts included the following:
After reviewing the marketing messaging below, rewrite these descriptions with the benefit first.
Keeping the benefit first, re-write them in Google’s voice, with a focus on the attributes clarity and friendly.
Now shorten to X characters for the product description.
Now shorten to X characters for the SEO description.
Impact
Generative AI saved over 100 hours in writing and editing.
Principals for using AI in writing
AI is best used as a co-pilot, not a replacement.
We should use it as a creative companion to help speed up work and free up time.
Humans still need to edit content.
Humans must fact check, confirm there are no hallucinations present, and ensure that content maps back to priority initiatives and messaging.
Tier 1 content should be researched, written, and edited by a human. However, AI is ok to use during an ideation phase.
Tier 1 content can be defined per project, but most often is marketing landing pages, important messaging, scripts, and anything that’s considered highly visible.
Tier 2 content may be prompt-written with AI, as long as it’s edited by a human.
Tier 2 content can be defined per project, but most often is micro copy, SEO copy, and shorthand product descriptions that appear on various surfaces of a website.
Tips for writing great prompts
Be specific.
The What. Start with a simple, clear statement that uses descriptive adjectives to help capture not only the task at hand, but the voice, tone, style.
Use examples.
The How. By providing an example, you set up the response for success.
Provide context.
The Why. Continue to add color to your prompt by sharing more details
Simplify by breaking tasks up.
By breaking up your asks into one step at a time, you end up saving time in the long run. You want to make sure each step is completing the ask to the best of its capabilities before adding on more asks.
Examples of AI-written content
