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AI's rapid development is sparking conversations about what companies can — and should — automate to improve their productivity. And while it is tempting to automate all that is mundane, it doesn't mean it's the right path. That is especially true when it comes to content collaboration, defined as the process of creating, editing and managing content among multiple contributors, often across different teams, locations and platforms.
The challenge extends beyond the process of automating a task to determining what part of it should be automated — and which part needs a human touch.
How, for example, do you automate business workflows? How do you even know which parts of the workflows can or should be automated? And how do you verify and structure the ton of unstructured data that goes into these workflows before automation can be considered? Can AI even help with that, and what other technologies might need to be roped in to render this process effective?
We spoke to three in-the-know people to explain and provide insights into the burning question: To automate or not to automate the content collaboration process?
The Value of the Human Touch
Content collaboration offers efficiency and swiftness in task execution because everyone involved is on the same page, working toward the same goals and supporting each other along the way as the task at hand progresses from one phase to another. In other words, every person gets to contribute their area of expertise to the task.
That aspect is at the core of why, according to Magee Clegg, founder and CEO of Cleartail Marketing, organizations should be careful about what they choose to automate. While automation tools can play a significant role in streamlining certain aspects of content management, such as scheduling posts or analyzing engagement metrics, the actual brainstorming, writing and finalizing of content benefits immensely from human intuition, creativity and insights, he said.
Even acknowledging the efficiency that automation brings to the table, especially for repetitive tasks, automated tools cannot replicate the nuanced understanding of a human’s tone, does not have empathy and finds it difficult to align content topics with broader business goals.
“Automating the entirety of content collaboration could result in a loss of these nuanced touches that make content genuinely engaging and effective,” he said. “Additionally, creativity and innovation often arise from human collaboration, where ideas can be bounced around, iterated upon and refined. By automating too heavily, there's a risk of missing out on these collaborative sparks of genius that often lead to breakthrough content pieces.”
In short, while automation serves as a powerful tool in the digital workplace, especially for tasks like distribution and analytics, the core of content collaboration — ideation, creation and refinement — should remain a human process, Clegg said.
Related Article: How to Identify and Prioritize Workplace Automation Opportunities
The Value of AI and Automation
Bringing automation and artificial intelligence to the content collaboration process can be enabled through the use of intelligent content management systems (CMS) that facilitate real-time collaboration, automate content scheduling and ensure content consistency across platforms.
These systems can also employ natural language processing (NLP) to suggest improvements, check for tone and style consistency and even generate content based on specific prompts, significantly reducing the time and effort involved in content creation, said Paul Lee, co-founder and CEO of Patlytics, a company that specializes in automating patent discovery, analytics, comparison and workflow.
It can also play a significant role in the optimization of workflow management. Automation tools can streamline communication among contributors by setting up alerts for content review, automating task assignments based on team members' availability and expertise, and tracking the progress of different content pieces in real time.
This not only addresses communication gaps but also enhances workflow efficiency, Lee said.
AI-driven analytics can monitor content performance across different channels, enabling organizations to tailor their collaboration efforts based on data-driven insights. This approach, he said, not only improves the relevance and reach of content but also identifies and focuses on high-impact collaboration areas. Moreover, AI can assist in overcoming the challenge of maintaining consistent standards by providing tools for automatic quality control checks.
Lee also believes that both these elements should be brought into place form the very start of the process. “AI and automation should be integrated into the initial stages of the content collaboration process, including planning and brainstorming, to ensure that all team members have access to the same information and insights. Integrating these technologies into the content distribution and analysis phases can provide valuable feedback for future collaborations, creating a continuous cycle of improvement."
Related Article: Internal AI Platforms May Be Desirable, But They're Not for Everyone
Striking the Right Balance
There is good and bad on both sides of the equation. While certain aspects of content collaboration can benefit from technological assistance and even the use of AI, complete automation might not be the ideal solution, concluded the founder of AI-powered business management and development platform Pro Business Plans, Chase Hughes.
The essence of content, he said, lies in its human touch, notably creativity, emotional intelligence and nuanced understanding of the target audience, which are key problems that automation struggles to replicate. Plus, collaboration, he added, fosters diverse perspectives: Bringing together different viewpoints strengthens content and avoids potential biases that AI might inherit from its training data.
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But that should not rule technology out of the equation. Technology can and should be used for some tasks in the content collaboration process, Hughes said, noting two particular areas:
- Repetitive tasks: Automate mundane aspects like scheduling, content distribution and basic formatting, freeing up human minds for the strategic aspects.
- Collaboration tools: Implement platforms that facilitate real-time document sharing, version control and streamlined communication, enhancing team efficiency.
By embracing this human-centered approach to content collaboration, he said, organizations can use technology while preserving the irreplaceable value of human creativity, empathy and collaboration. In turn, this will allow them to create content that resonates across the workplace, which in turn engenders trust, engagement and drives results.