Most marketing teams have been told to incorporate AI into their content process.

You might be excited. You might be skeptical. Either way, your blog drafts probably sound like they’ve been written by very polite robots — and that kills results.

We get it. New tools often feel promising and messy at the same time.

BUT, there are specific ways to guide AI so you can use it to write better content — and Horizon Peak Consulting is kicking off a series to show you how.

Your how-to guide to better AI content

In our upcoming series, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process that treats AI as a tool in a larger content workflow, NOT a top-to-bottom solution to all your marketing problems.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Creating a simple brand guide: You don’t need a 50-page document — just the essentials to guide your AI writing.
• Prompting tips that actually work: We’ll give you the scoop on how to ask for what you need, so your AI interactions are useful, not frustrating.
• Drafting and revising effectively: Most people expect AI to nail it on the first try. We’ll show you how to iterate your way to better content.
• Fact-checking AI output: AI tools regularly make things up (this is known as hallucination). We’ll cover how to catch those mistakes before they sneak into your published content and hurt your relationship with your audience.
• Editing and final proofing: Even good AI content needs plenty of good old human polish. We’ll walk you through what to look for and how to make it shine.

But first things first: Here’s what you should actually expect from your initial AI output

Most people expect AI to work like a junior writer who just needs light editing. The reality is more complex.

• AI will hallucinate and get stuck in grammar and vocabulary ruts. Chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity might confidently state false facts or use the same phrases over and over until your content sounds robotic.
• It will take significant time to edit and fact-check. Plan for this. Good AI content isn’t fast content — it’s the result of careful review and revision.
• You’ll need multiple iterations to get decent writing. Your first prompt rarely produces your final draft. Expect to refine your requests several times.
• AI doesn’t understand your specific audience or context. It writes in generalities unless you give it very specific guidance about who you’re talking to and why.

As you’re going through this process and working with the tools, keep in mind that the current situation with AI content writing may not last forever. Recent market shifts suggest we might be in the middle of an AI reality check.

Market shifts on the horizon

A recent Fortune article highlighted what many people are feeling: AI isn’t living up to the hype. As researcher Gary Marcus put it, “It’s not a terrible model, it’s not like it’s bad, but it’s not the quantum leap that a lot of people were led to expect.” The piece points to mounting evidence — from disappointing model releases to a mind-boggling 95% failure rate for AI pilots at companies — that suggests we could be witnessing an AI bubble.

But big companies move slowly. Even if the AI market corrects, the investments have been made, and the mandates are already in place. Startups can pivot quickly, but mid-market and enterprise businesses are likely to keep pushing forward with AI initiatives, regardless of market sentiment.

In other words, you may be stuck using AI in your job, even when it seems like everyone else is abandoning it.

While we navigate the current limitations, the pressure to use these tools is real — so let’s focus on making the best of where we are today. That’s what this series is all about.

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What you should know going in

Good AI content takes real work. The drafts may start out robotic, but with the right process, they can become more useful, human and effective.

That’s what this series is here for — to give you a method, not magic. Each post will break down one part of the workflow so you can spend less time wrestling with tools and more time sharing ideas that matter.

If you’re looking for a faster path to quality content (one where experienced strategists handle the complexity while you focus on doing your job or running your business), let’s talk. That’s what HPC is here for.