Have you noticed a significant up-tick in the number of “helpful” articles, listicles, and other content online? Not just on websites, but in emails, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media platforms? You may be thinking that those behind this new deluge have realized the value that content can play throughout the marketing cycle. But you’d be wrong — sort of.

What has happened is that marketers have realized that simply by using ChatGPT and its ilk, they can churn out dozens — or hundreds — of vanilla articles, all at exceptionally low cost. And then flood the web. Welcome to the future of the internet: junkification.

Picture Google searches junkified with this vanilla content. Social media sites completely overrun by junkified content. And your bona fide high-value content being squeezed out of sight.

Without a question, Google, Meta, and others will work to change their algorithms to penalize junk content, but all this will do is start a “cops and robbers” war, similar to what is being fought against email spammers.

The AI platforms themselves should find a way to watermark AI-generated content, but this too, is only a part-way solution. What’s to stop a company from lightly editing each AI-generated post so that it no longer shows a watermark? Or using a post-processing system to do so?

Sadly, bad actors will realize this as well. Look for hundreds of AI-generated pieces of scam content that will hook unsuspecting users into downloading malware, entering their credentials onto malicious websites, or transferring money. Calling phishing and scam emails “junkified” is not exactly accurate; but with the deluge of junkified content, there’s more places where these scams can embed themselves.

Junkification also has an impact on brand trust. As users (partners, prospects, clients, members, etc.) come across a huge volume of vanilla content, it will be harder for them to find precisely what they need. And at the same time, harder for the organization to deliver high-value, timely, and specific content in its unique brand voice: it will be lost amongst the vanilla AI junk content.

Another possible solution is for content producers to identify their content as AI generated, AI derived, and No AI/Original Content. At least in that way, the user understands what they’re getting.

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Content Authenticity Statement: 100% original content: no AI was used in creating this content.

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