Is ChatGPT Making Content Strategy... Dumber?

Maria-Cristina Muntean

Co-Founder / CMO

May 20, 2025

Blog posts, social updates, emails. Tools like ChatGPT can create mountains of stuff incredibly fast.

It feels like a game-changer, a huge productivity boost.

But there’s a question we keep coming back to at Yahini, especially when talking with top strategists: Is this constant focus on making stuff with AI making us weaker at the thinking part?

Some folks see AI purely as a way to get more done, faster.

Others worry we're letting the tools do the hard thinking, and just ending up with okay-ish content, but lots of it. And many are just trying to figure out how to use these powerful tools without falling into traps.

Our take is that AI tools are incredibly useful, but using them well means having a plan and knowing when and how to use AI so it helps your human strategy.

We call this planned approach the Strategic AI Content Stack. Let's walk through the steps and how you can use it.

Step One: Strategy First (The 'Why' & 'Who')

Before you even think about using an AI tool, you need a solid, human-made content strategy.

This is the foundation and AI can't figure it out on its own. Getting this right involves significant research, analysis, and planning, often taking dozens of hours (or use Yahini to do it for you in minutes).

If you want your content to actually do something for your business, get these basics nailed down:

Befriend Your Audience

Knowing your audience is job number one, and it goes way beyond just their job title or company size.

Think about who they really are.

Not just "Marketing Manager," but maybe "Iris, the overwhelmed Marketing Manager at a startup, trying to prove ROI with zero budget."

What specific headaches keep her up at night? Is it:

• proving value to her boss?
• feeling behind the curve on tech
• a constant pressure to generate leads?

Understanding the triggers that make them search for help now is how you stop writing generic fluff.

Then, think about how they look for answers and what language they use.

People ask different questions when they're just realizing they have a problem versus when they're ready to buy.

Map content to these different funnel stages (Top, Middle, and Bottom of the Funnel or TOFU/MOFU/BOFU).

And listen to how they talk! Pay attention to the words they use in places like:

• Reddit or industry forums
• Customer reviews
• Sales call recordings
• Support tickets

Using their actual language makes your content feel like it gets them.

Have Clear Business Goals

Think of it this way: every piece of content you create needs a job (don’t we all? :D)

What specific task do you need it to do for your business?

If you don't know the answer, you're basically just throwing content out there hoping something sticks, which is a great way to waste time and money.

"Getting more traffic" isn't really a goal; it's a potential outcome. You need to be way more specific.

Each of your goals requires a different type of content, a different call to action, and different ways to measure success. Fuzzy goals lead straight to fuzzy, ineffective content.

Find Your Unique Angle & Voice

Ever read three blog posts on the same topic and felt like you just read the same article three times?

I do it all the time when browsing for new tools.

To avoid it, you absolutely need your specific viewpoint, something that cuts through the usual chatter.

What unique insight can you offer? Beyond just the what, consider the how.

Your brand needs a personality, a consistent voice. Without a defined angle and voice, you're just contributing to the background noise.

Remember, pulling a unique perspective or a distinct brand voice out of thin air is something generic AI really struggles with. It leans towards the average. Defining these human elements is a core part of your strategy.

Set Up Your Core Messages

Getting clear on your core messaging helps your content become more than a collection of one-off pieces, a part of a bigger, coherent story.

What are these essential takeaways you want drilled into your audience's mind? They might include things like:

• Your primary value proposition
• Key differentiators vs. competitors
• Your unique methodology or approach
• The main benefit of solving the problem you address
• Your brand's core belief or mission

When these core messages show up consistently (without sounding robotic, of course), it reinforces your positioning and makes it much easier for your audience to understand who you are, what you offer, and why it matters.

Step Two: Smart AI Teamwork (The 'How' & 'With What')

Okay, strategy's set.

Now, how do you bring AI into the mix?

This is where you use AI tools to help with specific tasks, making your team faster and better, not replacing their judgment.

Picking Your AI Tools

First off, know that "AI" isn't all the same. Different models (like the engines behind ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) are good at different things. Testing them out is important.

(the below models are evaluated today, the 20th of May 2025)

• GPT-4 Series (OpenAI): Still a top choice for complex thinking, following tricky instructions, and writing structured text. Good for deep dives or outlining, but watch out cause it can sound a bit stiff or corporate if you're not careful with your prompts.
• Claude 3.x Series (Anthropic): Often better for more creative or natural-sounding writing. It can handle long documents well (good for summaries) and sometimes gives you a more unique voice right away. We like it for brainstorming different ways to tell a story, but maybe double-check its facts on super technical stuff.
• Gemini Series (Google): Connects well with Google search and is getting good at pulling info from lots of places (even video soon). Great for research, seeing what's trending, and grabbing data. Its writing style and deep thinking are getting better fast, but might need a bit more polish for tricky strategy tasks right now.

The Yahini Take: There's no single "best" AI for everything. You need the right AI tool for the job. Are you researching? Brainstorming? Drafting? Analyzing? Smart teams use different AIs for different steps. Just using the free, basic version of one tool really limits what you can do and makes generic content more likely.

How Strategists Use AI vs. How Not To

Good strategists use these tools within their plan. They focus on getting help, not handing over control:

The Super-Fast Research Helper

Use AI to quickly dig through competitor sites, research papers, customer reviews, or search data.

Find themes, gaps, and questions people are asking.

The key is asking specific questions based on your strategy, not just "tell me about X."

Try prompts like, "Analyze the top 5 competitor articles on [topic] and identify the main arguments they don't address," or "Summarize the key pain points mentioned in these customer reviews regarding [problem]."

This focused approach turns AI from a simple summarizer into a strategic research partner.

Of course, dedicated strategy platforms often automate parts of this analysis, like how Yahini digs into SERPs and competitor content to inform its brief recommendations.

Here's how Matthew Mace uses AI for real research:

I mostly use AI to find recent reports and studies. A prompt I use would look something like: “find me studies from 2020 onwards that highlight the benefits of strength training for runners and provide links for each.” Here’s the kicker—you actually need to read the studies or at least the abstract. AI sometimes makes things up… so you really need to do your due diligence and dive into the research.

The Idea & Angle Machine

Use AI to brainstorm lots of headline ideas, different ways to structure an article, potential counter-arguments, or related topics.

AI gives you options; the strategist picks the best ones based on the goals from the first step.

At Yahini, we’ve got a huge 30+ page document about what it is, what it does, unique value propositions, audience, pain points, etc. We always use this doc when prompting the AI to help us with marketing materials.

The First Draft Assistant

Give the AI a detailed brief created by a human, based on the strategy (audience, goals, key messages, voice).

Let it generate a first draft.

The AI builds the basic structure (saving time), but the strategist then heavily edits, adds unique insights, puts in real examples or data, and makes sure it fits the strategy. _The human drives the process.

Carlos Silva, Senior Content Writer at Semrush, says:

I use AI strategically—ChatGPT for ideation and research, Claude for writing. I don't usually rewrite extensively, but I always edit for: redundancies, fluff, and BLUF (putting the main point up front). I'm currently also exploring using AI to help me edit AI content, which creates a fascinating feedback loop. I love the process of finding that sweet spot where AI amplifies our creativity rather than replaces it.

Now, contrast that with some common, but risky, ways people use AI

• The "Just Get Something Out" Approach: Pushing for quantity over quality. Asking AI for generic posts ("write about X") just to fill the calendar, with no real link to strategy.
• The "Good Enough" Shortcut: Using AI for website copy or ads without real strategic thought, audience checking, or clear positioning. It might sound okay, but often misses the mark on what actually works.
• Trying to Sound Like an Instant Expert: Getting AI to write about complex topics the person doesn't deeply understand. Big risk of sounding shallow, getting things wrong, and hurting credibility. As Peter Rota, an experienced SEO boosting revenue for top brands says, "If it sounds nothing like you or what you would say, it's probably not going to go over well.".
• The Sneaky SEO Stuffer: Focusing prompts only on keywords ("write an SEO post for keyword Y"). This often leads to robotic content stuffed with keywords that real people don't want to read.

The big difference is using AI as a tool guided by human strategy versus letting AI be the strategy.

Step Three: Human Check & Polish (“QA”)

This is where humans step back in to make sure the AI-assisted content actually works, that it hits the strategic goals and meets quality standards.

Check for Real Insight

AI is brilliant at making sentences sound good, even authoritative.

But don't mistake smooth writing for sharp thinking.

Your job now is to look past the polish and ask: Is there actually any real insight here for our specific audience? Or is it just cleverly rephrased common knowledge they could find anywhere else?

Treat the AI-assisted draft like a first pass from a very fast, sometimes overconfident junior writer.

Scrutinize it.

Does it offer a unique angle?

Does it connect dots in a new way?

Or is it just surface-level?

You must fact-check any specific claims, stats, or data points. AI models can, and do, make things up (often called "hallucinations"). Question everything it gives you.

Make Sure It Connects with Humans

Alright, the facts might be right, the insights might be there, but does the content actually feel right?

This is the human empathy check, something AI struggles with.

Forget your editor hat for a moment and read it purely from your audience's perspective.

Does it land? Does it sound like it was written by a person who actually understands their world, or does it have that slightly off, cold, robotic feel?

Here's what to look for and adjust:

• Does the tone match the topic and audience? (e.g., empathetic for sensitive issues, enthusiastic for exciting news).
• Are you using relatable language, stories, or analogies?
• Does it address potential emotions or underlying concerns?
• Is it conversational where appropriate, avoiding jargon?
• Does it sound like your defined brand voice?

If the content feels sterile or detached, it's time to inject more warmth, personality, and genuine understanding. Tweak sentences, add a relevant anecdote, rephrase overly formal language.

Tanaaz Khan, a content strategist that puts customer research first, and focuses on conversion-focused content says:

Whether or not AI writes the piece, I'm more concerned with whether we've hit the right pain points and show our readers we really get them. For example, using subtle cues like phrasing they use, explaining a really painful process relative to the product we're selling, or explaining the root causes behind workflow issues. All of this comes from first-party data like surveys or interviews we've done. This way, you know for a fact the piece will connect since you've heard your audience say this a million times already.

She also adds:

Other than that, I'd also say to avoid using a condescending tone. Nobody likes being talked down to or blamed for the problems they're dealing with right now. If you want to "twist the knife" there are many ways to do that without acting all high and mighty about it. This is something I've been editing out in a lot of articles writers send me or even when I'm auditing content for a client.

Keep Your Eye on the Goal

Always go back to the business goals you set in the first step.

If your piece of content doesn’t help achieve that goal, fix it or rethink why you're creating it. Content needs a purpose.

Balance SEO Needs with Reader Value

Warning: AI tools might spit out a dozen "optimizations." Keywords crammed into places they don't belong. Headings twisted into unnatural shapes. It's easy to think, "The AI said so"

Stop.

Take a breath. Ask the simple, human question: Does this actually make the piece better for someone reading it?

Your priorities are clear:

1. Reader First: Deliver value, clarity, and a good experience.
2. Goal Second: Make sure the content achieves its strategic purpose.
3. SEO Third: Optimize where it fits naturally and doesn't compromise #1 or #2.

If an AI suggestion, or any SEO tactic, makes your content clunky, confusing, or sacrifices the core message for clumsy keyword insertion, just say no.

Getting found is pointless if what people find isn't worth reading.

Let the Stack Boost Your Strategy

The ideas behind the Strategic AI Content Stack – strategy first, smart AI teamwork, and careful human checks – give you a solid way to move forward.

Great content comes from knowing your audience deeply, having unique insights, offering a clear point of view, and connecting on a human level. Brands that build a strong strategy (first step), use AI to help (second step), and carefully check and polish the results (third step) will create content that actually gets noticed, connects with people, and helps the business.

If you need help figuring out where your process fits in the Stack, finding ways to use AI smarter, or setting up the human checks needed for truly strategic content—let's chat. Yahini can help you make sure AI speeds things up, without losing the thinking that makes content great.