How to write better than AI: Take your copywriting to the next level

As AI tools become increasingly popular, there’s no denying their speed and affordability. Many businesses, writers, and marketers rely on AI to churn out content efficiently. However, AI-generated copy often lacks depth and uniqueness, resulting in generic output. Think about how many blog posts you’ve seen that begin with “In today’s fast-paced digital landscape…”

While AI is great at making copy clear and concise, it often struggles with the final two key principles of effective copywriting: credibility and compelling persuasion. This blog will explore a process that helps you write with AI while enhancing it with “voice of customer” (VoC) data to create more compelling content and drive higher conversions.

The Four Pillars of Persuasive Copywriting

When writing persuasive copy, there are four essential steps:

1. Clear – The message must be easy to understand.
2. Concise – It should get to the point quickly.
3. Credible – The copy should feel trustworthy and real.
4. Compelling – It must create a strong emotional response that motivates the reader to take action.

AI writing tools excel in clarity and conciseness. They can organize thoughts, structure sentences, and deliver a sharp, easy-to-read piece of copy. But, they often fall short when it comes to credibility and emotional engagement. Why? Because all AI tools draw from the same pool of content and data available online, making it challenging to craft something truly unique, creative, or moving.

Eden sums it up well: “One of the things that AI can do is keep things short, simple, and to the point. But if the copy doesn’t include unique insights, you just end up with something that feels generic and lacks any real credibility.”

The Key to Better Copy: Voice of Customer (VoC)

Voice of Customer (VoC) is the game-changer when writing with AI. It’s all about using the exact language that customers use when describing their needs, desires, and pain points. This makes the copy feel authentic, relatable, and compelling—qualities that AI struggles to replicate without direction.

Here’s why VoC is so powerful:

• Real: It sounds like something a person would say to a friend in a casual conversation.
• Unique: It’s not copy-pasted from some standard marketing script. It’s fresh and makes immediate sense.
• Highly detailed: VoC paints a vivid picture, helping readers easily grasp what you’re saying.

“If you’re not bringing in the voice of customer, your copy will feel detached,” Eden explains. “It won’t have the same resonance as a real conversation between two people. VoC injects that relatability and realness that AI alone can’t achieve.”

If your copy ticks all three of these VoC boxes, you’re on the right track. Even a two-out-of-three can significantly boost your message’s effectiveness.

Using AI to Kickstart Your Copy, and VoC to Enhance It

So, how do you take the output from that you wrote with AI and elevate it with VoC data? Let’s walk through a simple, actionable process you can start using today.

Step 1: Write with AI

Begin by prompting your AI tool to write basic copy. A simple prompt might be, “Write a headline for a landing page selling a luxury work bag to professional women.” The AI will generate something like, “The Perfect Bag for Every Professional Woman,” or “Stylish and Functional: Elevate Your Work with Our Luxury Bag.”

Clear? Yes. Concise? Absolutely. But credible or compelling? Not quite.

This is where most people stop, but you can go further.

Step 2: Find Your VoC

To level up the AI-generated copy, you need to incorporate real language that resonates with your audience. This is where VoC comes in. You can gather VoC data from customer reviews, testimonials, Reddit threads, social media comments, or even customer interviews.

For instance, when researching luxury work bags, one Reddit user mentioned how they loved a bag because “the strap is pillowy and doesn’t dig into my shoulder.” This small detail—”pillowy strap”—can completely change the tone of your copy.

As Eden highlights: “VoC is everywhere. Go to product reviews, Reddit threads, Facebook groups, or surveys. People are constantly giving you the words you need to use. You’re just refining them.”

Step 3: Combine AI Output with VoC Data

Now, take the AI-written copy and integrate the VoC data. Instead of the generic headline “Stylish and Functional: Elevate Your Work with Our Luxury Bag,” you can craft something more vivid and relatable: “A Luxury Work Bag That’s Gentle on Your Shoulders, Built for Your Busy Day.”

Immediately, you can see the difference. The second headline is still clear and concise, but now it’s also credible and compelling. It speaks directly to a pain point (heavy bags that hurt) and offers a specific solution (pillowy straps), which customers can easily visualize.

“Once you start using customer language, you’ll see your engagement metrics shift. It’s about making your copy feel like it’s coming from a real person who understands the buyer,” says Eden.

Step 4: Fine-Tune for Impact

If you want to push it further, take the improved headline and refine it even more. Swap out words, play with sentence structure, or test multiple variations. Keep the key VoC insights intact, but experiment with how you present them.

For example, “Luxury Work Bags Designed with You in Mind—Pillowy Straps for All-Day Comfort” could resonate even more with an audience that prioritizes comfort in addition to style.

Why This Process Works

By combining AI’s strengths in structure and efficiency with VoC’s ability to humanize your copy, you’re setting yourself up for better results. You’re moving from generic claims to specific, relatable, and engaging messaging. Plus, the process is quick and scalable: AI does the heavy lifting of producing raw content, and VoC provides the finesse and authenticity to make that content truly persuasive.

Eden captures this well: “You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. AI can save you time, but it’s the human touch—through VoC—that gets you across the finish line.”

In Conclusion

AI writing tools are a powerful resource, but they alone are not enough to produce high-converting copy. By understanding the four principles of effective copywriting—clear, concise, credible, and compelling—and adding VoC data, you can write content that resonates on a deeper level with your audience.

The next time you write something with AI, don’t just settle for what it gives you. Leverage the voice of your customer to elevate the message and truly stand out from the crowd.