From AI Tools Skeptic to Fan: My SEO Writing Journey

In the early days of AI writing tools, I warned everyone about the dangers of AI-generated content. After discussing SEO copywriting best practices for over two decades and stressing quality, reader-focused content, I feared AI-assisted content would be stilted and robotic.

And let’s be honest – I wasn’t wrong. The initial AI content writing output was 💩. Sure, it was quick and cheap, but about as compelling as a wet paper bag. I would hear about companies “firing” ChatGPT and bringing back real writers again, and I’d feel vindicated.

After all, talented content writers make the conversion magic happen.

But here’s the plot twist: I’ve gone to an AI writing tools hater to discover their time-saving benefits — and realize how life-changing they could be for small business owners, small marketing teams, and thought-leaders.

Here’s how it happened…

My journey from AI content tools skeptic to strategic user

Many professional content writers who’ve followed my SEO writing advice might think, “Heather, what happened to your ‘AI is the devil’ stance?”

Trust me, I get it. The transformation didn’t happen overnight.

Here’s what initially made me resist AI content tools:

It cost talented SEO copywriters their jobs.

Companies started churning out low-quality AI content at scale.

Digital marketing agencies saw their revenue plummet.

Plus, it used to drive me up the wall when a client emailed me, “I ran this through ChatGPT, and here’s the copy it came up with.”

You may have felt the same way.

My ChatGPT client epiphany moment

Everything changed when one of my content marketing clients sent me AI-generated content. Instead of my usual eye-roll, I had an epiphany:

Once I realized my client could use ChatGPT to get her ideas on the screen, I realized we could use it to communicate more efficiently. Her content wasn’t perfect, but it was more of a starting point than her so-so client interview responses.

Did I use any of the ChatGPT copy in my final draft? No. But it did help spark ideas. It helped us work faster and better together.

So I started playing and prompting…

And today?

I use ChatGPT and Claude every day in my business.

Here’s a snippet of my interview about effective writing in 2025 for Search Engine Journal:

“For instance, I love to set ChatGPT loose on coming up with headline variations. It can create a decent customer persona that you can test ideas against. When I’m tired on Saturday night and need to write the run report for my weekly 5K parkrun group, I have a “make it perky” parkrun prompt that turns my yawner base text into something perkier. I edit the heck out of it, but it’s like going back-and-forth with an assistant.”

Other practical ways I effectively integrate AI writing tools into my workflow include:

Headline generation: I use ChatGPT for content headlines to brainstorm variations, though I always heavily edit them.

Customer persona development: It creates decent base personas for content strategy testing.

First draft frameworks: Think of it as working with a smart but inexperienced content writer.

Content repurposing: I’ve enjoyed seeing how Claude can repurpose my older content with the help of a writing profile (not bad!).

Book and product name brainstorming: I named my branding ebook with a little help from ChatGPT.

Would I use Claude or ChatGPT for original content without heavy editing? Absolutely not. I know some writers do, but it’s just not in me. I’m too control freaky about what I write, and AI isn’t *quite* there.

And there are always some responses that are so very, very bad — or flat-out wrong. Claude reported one of my clients was Rolls-Royce. Nice, but wrong.

Having said that, I can say that the writers who embraced AI – even grudgingly – found that they could offload at least one annoying task to our robot overlords.

Bottom line: Using tools like ChatGPT and Claude saves your business time…

IF…

You’re working with an experienced writer who understands the ethical implications — and who can mix storytelling, SEO, and sales writing with a dash of expertise and authority.

ChatGPT and Claude can give you ideas and a basic structure — and make some routine tasks easier — but it’s not 100 percent ready for prime time.

It’s like working with a writing intern who is smart but not experienced. There will be bursts of brilliance — but you can’t rely on them.

You can rely on finding ways that work for you and save you time and stress.

You don’t need to be an AI Prompt Engineer or know a bunch of fancy prompting terminology. Sure, that stuff helps (just like knowing technical stuff can help you be a better SEO writer.) But even if you’re starting from the very beginning, you can still learn things to save time.

Plus, I realized major parallels existed between the early days of SEO writing and today.

Back then, writers didn’t want to learn SEO writing because it “wasn’t authentic” and “real writers shouldn’t have to do that.” (Sound familiar?)

Writers hoped SEO would just…go away.

AI is here. ChatGPT is out of the bag and into the world. Companies are (badly) using ChatGPT because they don’t know any better — and they need writers to help them polish their ChatGPT content turds into gold.

Saying, “I don’t do AI,” is like the writers who said, “I don’t do SEO writing” back in the day. It became less of a differentiator and more of a “Well, why don’t you?”

And in a way, we’ve always used writing prompts. Sales formulas like PAS (pain, agitation, solutions) are structural prompts that give us a writing format.

Granted, tools like ChatGPT take things one step further and fill in the writing blanks — but we don’t have to take its suggestions.

Just as we wouldn’t accept the first draft from a writing intern without lots of markups, rewrites, and interventions from YOU — the experienced copywriter who knows what to change and why.

Do I see a blend between AI writing and SEO writing?

Of course.

Is AI writing fun to teach? Yup. 😀

In fact, you may have noticed that I revamped this site to focus on AI training and consultation. I’ve gone from being an AI-hater to learning how it can work for me.

I’d love to help you, too.

Plus, pivoting to AI/SEO content creation allows me to chat about things we never delved into before — like newsletter creation, emails, and other forms of digital marketing.

There will be a paid community for in-house digital writers and small businesses in early 2025. For people who are new to this stuff — and need feedback — it should be a cool place.

But for now, I say AI is A-OK. Do I love everything about it? No. But instead of bitching about it, we might as well bend it to our will, make it work for us, and see how it can make us faster, better writers.

It’s here.