Slowly but surely, content marketers are finding greater value in artificial intelligence, and natural language generation (NLG) in particular.
NLG uses deep learning to create human-like readable text, a unique article based on a language prediction model.
NLG isn’t at the point where machines can converse in human language, but we’re getting there. In the meantime, content marketing can experience some real benefits in using the technology.
Below, we outline five valuable benefits of NLG that many marketers are already using to increase efficiency, content effectiveness, and revenue.
1. Consistent, High-Quality Content
Before publishing a new article, you’ll probably check the content using a grammar checker. If you’re using Grammarly, AI is giving you a helping hand. Technically, it’s not NLG, but natural language processing, machine learning, and deep learning of which you’re taking advantage.
That gives you a taste of what NLG is capable of. Algorithmic models drive natural language generation. As such, the more training they receive, the better the output across the board. With well-trained NLG algorithm, your content team can enjoy consistently accurate, high-quality outputs that save time while enhancing results.
2. Increased Content Generation
Natural language can substantially increase an organization’s content output. Simply put, NLG can create content faster than a human writer.
In the case of the Associated Press, they use NLG technology to take raw quarterly earnings data and turn it into publishable content. In their case, they’ve experienced a 15 times increase over manual story creation.
3. Topical Coverage That Would Otherwise Be Unprofitable
With natural language generation, it’s like having your cake and eating it too. The ability to generate quality content in such a large volume brings down the cost per unit.
As a result, organizations can cover topics that otherwise would be too costly. Take, for example, Yahoo! Sports. They use NLG to produce over 70 million reports and match recaps. Doing this manually would be cost-prohibitive. Natural language generation not only makes it possible, it also makes it profitable.
4. Conserving Human Energy for High-Value Activities
Where do humans fit into the content equation? If NLG is taking over all these content generation tasks, can humans even play a role in content creation?
Unequivocally, the answer is yes. However, the nature of human participation is changing as we carve out these new roles.
Natural language generation takes care of repetitive and mundane content creation tasks. No one really wants to write a few hundred earning reports or product descriptions. Once you’ve done a few, the rest are all the same. Boring.
But NLG technology creates room for human ingenuity. For example, an NLG tool could handle the initial text generation of an article. Then a human takes that article, edits it adding their own personal insight, and turns a rough draft into a publication-ready narrative.
5. Personalization at Scale
Another vital area where organizations can benefit from NLG is personalized digital experiences. Here's an example.
A large global e-commerce company with over a billion members uses Quill to create personalized customer experience in the form of performance reports. The result?
These reports generate over a million dollars in revenue, save $50,000 in time, and reduce churn by 20%.
The benefits that organizations experience in using NLG continue to grow. The ability to rapidly produce content at a sufficient level of quality not only saves money, but allows coverage of topics that otherwise would be ignored.
Done properly, more NLG content means more opportunity to connect with a human audience.
Editor's Note: This is a sponsored blog post from Marketing AI Institute partner MarketMuse.
Stephen Jeske
Stephen leads the content strategy blog for MarketMuse, an AI-powered Content Intelligence and Strategy Platform.