For the past few weeks, the SEO team has used ChatGPT and 5 other AI content generators to test how AI can work in blog posts and educational website content creation. Here’s what we found out:

The good news: AI continues to improve and can be a tool to help come up with content ideas and small sections of content.

The bad news: After trying 6 different content generators, we found that most of the content, and some of the topics, are the lowest quality of work we’ve ever seen. Some of it was laughable. Some of it was cringe-worthy. And some of it was so inaccurate that we wondered if AI content might produce lawsuits. (Do not use AI content for healthcare-related advice!)

Using AI to Come Up with Blog Topics: An Excellent Resource for Communities Without SEO or Content Strategists 

We found most generators come up with blog topics that are excellent starting points. (Read: don’t let these be the final headline! Personalize, personalize, personalize!) Below are some of the best and worst topics:

Best Senior Living Blog Post Topics

• ChatGPT: The Impact of Location on the Cost of Senior Living: How to Choose the Right Place for Your Budget
  • This has good search volume and would work well for a community in a less expensive city or town where health care and cost of living is lower.
    
• SEMRush: Are Independent Living Homes Cheaper to Live in than Regular Homes?
  • Great for independent living communities to highlight the perks of maintenance-free living and walkable neighborhoods.

Worst Blog Topics

• Rytr: Introduction: What Are the Benefits of Decorating a Senior Apartment?
  • Does someone actually want to read about the benefits of decorating an apartment? Is anyone actually sitting around, thinking, “Wow, I never thought of decorating my apartment!”
• Copy.ai: The Benefits of Living Independently
  • This topic seems rather self-evident and has little to no search volume.

Using AI to Write Blog Posts: Poor-Quality Blog Posts with Incoherent Progression and Accuracy Errors

Here’s the difficulty with AI writing: At first glance, it moves in a nice flow, mimicking natural language. But on the second read, it’s confusing; it may swap tenses and audiences mid-paragraph, and churn out fluff rather than actionable items. As editors of magazines who have been inundated with AI writing have said, this generated content “does not sound like natural storytelling” and is “bad in spectacular ways.”

The SEO team spent the last 6 weeks testing various AI writers and found more poor-quality writing than acceptable content. Here are two examples of writing that may look good at first glance, but under scrutiny fall apart.

Examples of Some of the Worst AI Writing

WriteSonic Prompt: How to Talk to Your Parents About Assisted Living

If you’re thinking about entering assisted living, you probably have a lot of questions. How much does it cost? Will I be able to afford it? What will happen to my parent if they move in? All of these are valid concerns and should be discussed with your family before making any decisions. When is the best time to discuss assisted living as an option for your parents? Below we’ll explain why now might not be the best time for such a decision, but how and when you should have this conversation. There are pros and cons to having this talk at different times; however, it can almost always benefit from being had sooner rather than later.

 Core Issues 

• Grammar issue: “All of these” should be “All these.”
• It changes audiences within the first paragraph. It starts presumably talking to the senior. Then when it gets to the third question, it’s clearly meant to be talking to the adult child. 
• “Below we’ll explain why now might not be the best time for such a decision…” Why would we write a blog post about how to talk to parents about assisted living, and then spend the rest of the post saying this is why you shouldn’t talk to them now? Anyone coming to this post is looking for advice on how to have the conversation, not reasons why not to talk about it!
• After saying it will talk about why the adult child shouldn’t bring up the conversation yet, it follows up with a sentence on how it’s better to have the conversation sooner than later. 

Scalenut Prompt: Cost of Senior Living

“EOS: There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to senior living. Each individual has unique needs and requirements that can determined the cost of living facilities they require. While some seniors may be able to manage with basic amenities, others may require assisted living facilities or nursing homes as their health conditions evolve. We hope this blog helps you understand everything you need to know about senior living costs so you can make a well-informed decision before retirement.“

Core Issues

• How many people choose senior living before retirement?
• Would you like your community to be described as a “living facility” and “nursing home” with basic amenities?
• There is a one-size-fits-all. Many senior living communities have contracts that let you move into independent living at one rate, then if you later move to a higher level of care, you can stay in that community and pay the same or slightly more than you did in independent living, no matter how much assistance or skilled care you may need.

Examples of the Best AI Writing

While we found most AI writing tools to be more miss than hit, ChatGPT did more frequently provide better examples of writing with factually correct information and a nice flow when presented with simple scenarios, such as defining a basic concept of senior living. Below is one of the SEO team’s favorite examples of AI-generated content. 

ChatGPT Prompt: Life Plan Communities

As we age, many of us start to consider our future living arrangements. Will we stay in our current homes, downsize, or perhaps move to a retirement community? For those who are looking for a long-term solution, a Life Plan Community, formerly known as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), may be a great option.

What is a Life Plan Community?

A Life Plan Community is a senior living community that offers a range of services and housing options to accommodate changing needs as residents age. These communities typically offer independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing care, all on one campus. This means that as residents’ health needs change, they can stay within the community and receive the appropriate care without having to move to a new location.

Life Plan Communities are often described as a “continuum of care” because they offer a range of services that can support residents throughout their aging journey. The goal of a Life Plan Community is to provide a secure and fulfilling environment that supports residents in their physical, social, and emotional wellbeing.

This is a good example of using AI content in small sections of web content, such as on a pricing page to educate the reader on what a Life Plan Community is. However, even this copy had its own issues.

Core Issues

• Instead of “formerly known as,” it should say “also known as.” Life Plan Communities and CCRCs are exactly the same thing; it’s simply the preference of the senior living community to market itself using one term or the other.
• To be considered an LPC/CCRC, you must offer only one level of living above IL. Many do offer assisted living, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and memory care, but they don’t have to offer them all.
• Another grammar issue: it should be spelled well-being.

Copywriters vs. AI: 5 SEO Topics 3 Different AI Generators Couldn’t Write

We know some people are already thinking, “Hey, why do I need someone to develop a content strategy when I can just pop a few words into AI? Well, here are 5 custom blog posts  we’ve written for clients that 3 different AI writers failed to write. 

After the Move: A Checklist for Caregivers Whose Parents Just Moved into Assisted Living
AI was unable to develop anything about a post-move checklist; it only developed a checklist about finding the community with the best fit.

Lessons from COVID-19: Public Health & Safety Questions to Ask When Searching for a Retirement Community
This was too new a concept and written about too little on the internet for AI to write a cohesive piece on the topic. 

The Best Books for People with Alzheimer’s or Other Forms of Dementia
AI included basic examples like picture books but didn’t include novels and other long-form writing designed especially for people with memory loss.

How to Change Your Communication Style with Loved Ones as Their Dementia Progresses
AI could give general bullet point examples of how to talk with someone who has dementia but was unable to articulate how communication styles change as dementia progresses.

Questions to Ask Memory Care Communities About Quality of Life and Activities 
AI only developed a checklist about finding the community with the best fit; it didn’t focus on the quality of life and activities.

Can Communities Use AI Writing for Senior Living Content?

The top question the SEO team has been asked in the past few months is if it’s safe for senior living communities to start using AI-generated content. The short answer: It depends on how you’re using it.

Using AI for blog post topic ideas: B+

AI generators are excellent resources for topics. Yet, what’s provided are ideas everyone else has written about, so use it as inspiration, not as the topic itself!

Using AI to create the foundation of a blog post:  C-

It’s more often going to create content that needs to be pared down, rewritten and put through a rigorous proofing/editing process.

Caveat: There are a few common topics, as so many examples of this content live on the internet, that AI can sometimes successfully generate a blog post. However, do you really want to create content everyone else has created? Google prioritizes showing authoritative and unique content to the people searching.

Using AI to create a blog post: D- 

Most content will be generalized, may be outdated, and will take a lot of time to rewrite and fact-check. For more in-depth information about the red flags of using AI content and how it affects your website’s SEO ranking, read this blog post.

Build Custom Content that Shows Up to People Looking for Your Services

A custom blog post is a one-time investment that gives you returns for as long as it lives on the site. SEO blog posts show up to people who want your services but don’t know your community yet, bring them to your website, and move them along the customer journey.  

Contact us today to learn how your content can increase both your top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel leads.