An honest assessment of AI writing, image generation, and video tools. What actually produces usable content and what's overpromised.
AI for Content Creation: What Works, What Doesn't, and What's Just Hype
Every AI tool promises to revolutionize content creation. Write blog posts in seconds. Generate professional images. Create videos automatically.
Some of it works. Some doesn't. Here's the honest breakdown.
AI Writing: The Reality
What Works
First drafts and outlines
AI excels at getting started. Blank page paralysis disappears when AI gives you something to work with.
Use case: "Draft an outline for a blog post about X" → Edit and expand.
Structured content
Product descriptions, meta descriptions, data summaries—anything with a clear format.
Use case: "Write product descriptions for these 50 items" → Light editing.
Idea generation
Brainstorming topics, angles, headlines. AI generates volume; you select quality.
Use case: "Give me 20 headline options for this article" → Pick the best 2-3.
Repurposing
Turn blog posts into social media threads. Convert transcripts to articles. Summarize long documents.
Use case: "Turn this blog post into 5 Twitter posts" → Minor tweaks.
SEO content at scale
Keyword-focused content for programmatic SEO. Quality is "good enough" for many use cases.
Use case: "Write 100 location pages for our service" → Template + AI + editing.
What Doesn't Work
Thought leadership
Original ideas, unique perspectives, genuine expertise—AI doesn't have these. It synthesizes existing content.
The problem: AI-generated "thought leadership" sounds generic because it is.
Brand voice (without significant work)
AI produces competent generic copy. Making it sound like YOUR brand requires extensive prompting, examples, and editing.
The problem: The effort to match brand voice often exceeds writing from scratch.
Factual accuracy
AI confidently writes false information. Any fact-dependent content needs verification.
The problem: You need subject matter expertise to catch errors.
Emotional resonance
Genuine storytelling, emotional connection, humor that lands—AI struggles.
The problem: AI writes technically correct but emotionally flat content.
Long-form without supervision
AI-generated 3,000-word articles tend to be repetitive, shallow, and meandering.
The problem: Quality degrades over length without human intervention.
The Honest Workflow
- Use AI for first draft/outline
- Heavily edit for accuracy, voice, depth
- Add original insights AI can't generate
- Final human review
AI handles ~40% of the work. Humans handle the rest.
AI Image Generation: The Reality
For businesses specifically looking at product photography, our guide to AI product photography for e-commerce covers real-world results and costs.
What Works
Concept exploration
Visualize ideas before committing to expensive production.
Use case: "Show me 10 different logo directions" → Pick one to refine professionally.
Social media graphics
Quick visuals for posts, stories, thumbnails.
Use case: "Abstract background for Instagram post" → Immediately usable.
Marketing mockups
Product in different settings, lifestyle imagery, ad creative variations.
Use case: "Our product on a kitchen counter, soft lighting" → Test before photoshoot.
Stock photo replacement
Generic business imagery, backgrounds, textures.
Use case: "Professional woman working on laptop" → No more cheesy stock photos.
Iteration at scale
Generate 50 variations to find the right direction.
Use case: "Ad creative testing" → Generate variants, test performance, iterate. For more on this approach, see our guide to using AI images in performance marketing.
What Doesn't Work
Precise brand consistency
Exact colors, fonts, layouts—AI doesn't follow brand guidelines precisely.
The problem: Every generation is slightly different.
Text in images
AI still struggles with readable, correctly spelled text in images.
The problem: "Sale" becomes "Sele" or worse.
Specific product shots
Your exact product with accurate details is hard to achieve.
The problem: Close but not quite. Details are wrong.
Human hands and anatomy
Better than before but still problematic.
The problem: Extra fingers, weird proportions still happen.
Photorealistic people for commercial use
Ethical and legal concerns, plus uncanny valley issues.
The problem: Rights questions, authenticity concerns.
The Tools
Midjourney
- Best for: Artistic, stylized images
- Pricing: $10-60/month
- Quality: Highest aesthetic quality
DALL-E 3 (via ChatGPT)
- Best for: Following instructions precisely
- Pricing: Included with ChatGPT Plus
- Quality: Good, very controllable
Stable Diffusion
- Best for: Self-hosting, customization
- Pricing: Free (compute costs)
- Quality: Variable, depends on setup
Adobe Firefly
- Best for: Commercial use, Adobe integration
- Pricing: Adobe subscription
- Quality: Good, commercially safe
Honest Assessment
AI images are good for:
- Internal use
- Concept development
- Social media
- Marketing tests
- Stock replacement
AI images are risky for:
- Final brand assets
- Product photography
- Anything requiring precision
- High-stakes commercial use
AI Video: The Reality
Current State (2025)
Video generation is the least mature AI content category. It's improving fast but has significant limitations.
What Exists
Sora (OpenAI)
- Impressive demos
- Limited access
- Short clips only
- No audio
Runway Gen-3
- Available now
- 10-second clips
- Reasonable quality
- $15+/month
Pika
- Consumer accessible
- Good for simple animations
- Short duration
What Works
B-roll and background video
Generic footage: clouds, cityscapes, abstract motion.
Use case: Background for talking head videos.
Simple animations
Logo animations, text reveals, basic motion graphics.
Use case: Social media video intros.
Concept visualization
Show an idea before expensive production.
Use case: "This is roughly what we're thinking" for client pitches.
What Doesn't Work
Narrative content
Coherent multi-shot stories, consistent characters, meaningful action.
The problem: Temporal consistency isn't solved.
People speaking
Lip sync, natural movement, realistic human video.
The problem: Uncanny valley, visible artifacts.
Product videos
Accurate product representation, specific details.
The problem: Products morph and change between frames.
Anything over 10-30 seconds
Consistency breaks down rapidly.
The problem: Each generation is essentially independent.
Honest Assessment
AI video is:
- Impressive as technology demos
- Useful for very specific, limited use cases
- Not ready to replace video production
- Improving rapidly (check back in 6 months)
AI Audio: The Reality
What Works
Text-to-speech
Voiceovers for videos, podcasts, audiobooks.
Tools: ElevenLabs, Play.ht, Amazon Polly
Quality: Nearly indistinguishable from human in many cases.
Voice cloning (ethical use)
Clone your own voice for efficiency. For a deeper dive into business implications and security, see our AI voice cloning guide.
Use case: Generate 50 personalized video messages without recording each.
Music generation
Background music, jingles, podcast intros.
Tools: Suno, Udio, Mubert
Quality: Good for background, not for featured music.
What Doesn't Work (Ethically)
Cloning others' voices without consent
It's possible. It's wrong. Don't do it.
Deepfake audio for deception
Possible and dangerous. Legal issues abound.
The Honest Content Creation Stack
Writing
- Claude/GPT-4 for drafts and ideation
- Human for editing, voice, accuracy
- Grammarly/similar for polish
Images
- Midjourney for creative concepts
- DALL-E for precise instructions
- Designer for final production assets
Video
- Traditional production for primary content
- AI for B-roll, concepts, simple animations
- Hybrid approach works best
Audio
- ElevenLabs for voiceovers
- Human for important recordings
- AI music for background only
ROI Reality Check
Want to calculate exact costs? Our real cost of AI pricing guide breaks down API pricing and optimization strategies.
Where AI Saves Significant Time
- First drafts (50% time savings)
- Ideation (70% time savings)
- Repurposing (60% time savings)
- Stock image replacement (80% time savings)
- Voiceovers (90% time savings)
Where AI Saves Minimal Time
- Quality long-form content (20% savings, still needs heavy editing)
- Brand-consistent visuals (30% savings)
- Video production (10% savings currently)
Where AI Creates More Work
- Content requiring fact-checking (verify everything)
- Highly specialized content (AI lacks depth)
- Precision work (fixing AI mistakes)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AI really write blog posts for me?
AI can generate first drafts and outlines, but not polished, publication-ready content. You'll still need to heavily edit for accuracy, add original insights, match your brand voice, and ensure factual correctness. Expect AI to handle about 40% of the work, with humans doing the rest.
Which AI image generator is best for business use?
Midjourney produces the highest aesthetic quality for creative work, while DALL-E 3 (via ChatGPT) is best for following instructions precisely. For commercial safety and Adobe integration, Firefly is the safest choice. None are perfect for precise brand work.
Is AI video generation ready for professional use?
Not yet for most professional use cases. As of 2025, AI video is good for B-roll, simple animations, and concept visualization, but struggles with narrative content, temporal consistency, and anything over 10-30 seconds. It's improving rapidly but not ready to replace video production.
How much time does AI actually save in content creation?
Time savings vary significantly by task. AI can save 50-70% on first drafts and ideation, 60% on content repurposing, and 80-90% on voiceovers. However, for quality long-form content requiring heavy editing, savings drop to 20% or less.
Can I use AI-generated images commercially?
This depends on the tool and your use case. Adobe Firefly is designed for commercial use. Midjourney and DALL-E allow commercial use under their terms, but there are ongoing debates about copyright and rights. Always review the specific tool's terms and consider consulting legal counsel for high-stakes commercial use.
Why does AI-generated content sound so generic?
AI synthesizes patterns from existing content rather than creating original ideas or perspectives. Without extensive prompting, examples, and editing, AI naturally produces competent but emotionally flat content that lacks brand voice and unique insights. Making AI content truly distinctive requires significant human effort.
The Bottom Line
AI content tools are genuinely useful for:
- Acceleration, not replacement
- Volume, not quality
- Starting points, not finished products
- Specific tasks, not entire workflows
AI content tools are overhyped for:
- "Replace your content team"
- "Create professional content automatically"
- "10x your output with no quality loss"
The truth: AI is a powerful tool that makes content creators more productive. It doesn't eliminate the need for human creativity, judgment, and expertise.
Use it for what it's good at. Don't believe the hype for everything else.
Need help implementing AI content workflows? Cedar Operations helps companies leverage AI effectively. Let's discuss your needs →
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