We surveyed 879 entrepreneurs to know how generative AI is altering content material advertising and marketing: the workflows, the prices, the outcomes…and the dangers.
On this article, we’re trying particularly on the prices and budgets related to AI content material. How a lot does AI content material value? Are firms investing extra, or much less?
Learn the total analysis report
Obtain and browse the total PDF report right here (no e-mail required): The State of AI in Content material Advertising.
It contains further analysis and evaluation on AI content material efficiency and prices, professional commentary from a dozen content material and AI specialists, and the total analysis methodology.
- AI-generated content material is 4.7x cheaper than human-written content material.
- The typical value per AI-generated weblog submit is $131, in comparison with $611 for human-written posts.
- Corporations utilizing AI spend a mean of $2,475 per thirty days on content material, in comparison with $2,442 for non-AI customers.
- 51% of firms plan to extend their spending on AI-generated content material.
- On common, firms spend simply $188 per thirty days on AI instruments.
- 38% of respondents report saving cash on writers resulting from AI adoption.
- 64% of firms spend lower than $500 per thirty days on AI content material instruments.
We requested respondents how a lot they spend to create a single weblog submit. Unsurprisingly, AI-created content material is less expensive than human-written content material.
On the lowest finish of the spectrum, 87% of AI customers reported a value of $0–100 per weblog submit, in comparison with 39% of non-AI customers.
On the excessive finish, 11% of non-AI customers reported spending larger than $1,000 per weblog submit, in comparison with simply 2% of AI customers. 4% of non-AI customers report spending larger than $5,000 per weblog submit.
We used the midpoints for every vary to calculate an approximate weighted common value. For AI-generated content material, this common value was $131; for human-created content material, it was $611, or 4.7x larger.
| How a lot do you pay for the common weblog submit? | AI | No AI |
|---|---|---|
| $0–$100 | 87.15% | 39.02% |
| $101–$500 | 8.52% | 30.49% |
| $501–$1,000 | 2.23% | 19.51% |
| $1,001–$2,000 | 1.26% | 3.66% |
| $2,001–$3,000 | 0.42% | 2.44% |
| $3,001–$4,000 | 0.28% | 0.00% |
| $4,001–$5,000 | 0.14% | 1.22% |
| $5,001+ | 0.00% | 3.66% |
Whether or not or not they use AI, our respondents spend the identical quantity on their content material advertising and marketing methods.
The typical month-to-month spend on content material advertising and marketing was nearly the identical within the AI and non-AI segments: $2,475 and $2,442, respectively.
Given the lowered marginal value of AI content material and the elevated publishing frequency it allows, this means that AI content material is primarily a cost-cutting measure, permitting firms to publish extra content material with the identical price range—as an alternative of unlocking radically new or totally different content material methods.
Segmenting the info additional by firm measurement, AI use appears to avoid wasting essentially the most cash for the smallest (micro) and largest (enterprise) firms:
What the specialists suppose
“It’s fascinating that firms utilizing AI aren’t essentially spending much less—they’re producing extra with the identical price range. Though we’re nonetheless in a tricky budgetary setting, firms are nonetheless investing to shift from the fixed wrestle of creation to specializing in technique, viewers insights, and measuring precise enterprise influence. We’ve seen the identical at Campfire—the efficiencies AI has created has allowed us to experiment increasingly rapidly (eg, AB testing advert copy at scale), and we’ve truly invested extra in our personal content material in Q1 as a result of we really feel there are economies of scale to AI use that we couldn’t generate earlier than.”
“One option to learn this information: content material budgets are comparable throughout AI and non-AI-using firms. As a substitute of utilizing AI as a justification for rising spend, AI is as an alternative getting used to make the identical price range go additional, creating extra content material for a similar complete value.”
Unsurprisingly, nearly none of our respondents plan to scale back their spend on AI content material.
Over half of respondents plan to extend spend on AI content material within the subsequent 12 months (17% “improve considerably” and 34% “improve”). 43% plan to maintain their spend the identical, whereas simply 6% plan to lower spending (5% “lower” and 1% “lower considerably”).
Grouping information by firm measurement, micro (1–9 worker) firms are the more than likely to extend their spend, whereas enterprises (1,000+ staff) are the least prone to lower their spend:
AI instruments are extraordinarily low-cost. Virtually two-thirds of our survey respondents (64%) spend lower than $500 per thirty days on content material instruments.
On the low finish of the spectrum, 47% of respondents reported spending $1–100 on AI instruments per thirty days, with 15% spending $101–250. Solely 2.6% of respondents spend over $1,000 per month.
Utilizing the midpoints of every vary, we are able to calculate an estimated weighted common spend of simply $188 per thirty days.
What the specialists suppose
Generative AI has been so disruptive partly due to its low value. We’ve entry to a freemium SaaS product that may write articles, generate code, and create photographs. API calls have gotten cheaper and cheaper too, so even superior customers with advanced workflows can entry AI for very low costs.
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Though it appears potential that AI content material will eat away at the marketplace for freelance writing, our information counsel that AI content material is way from a wholesale substitute.
When requested how a lot cash AI customers saved per thirty days, the commonest response (45%) was that they have been not saving cash.
38% of respondents reported decreasing their expenditure on writers and freelance writers because of adopting AI. Solely a really small share (2.99%) reported saving over $5,000 per month.
Probably the most generally reported financial savings fell into the $1–500 and $501–1,000 vary. Utilizing the midpoints of every vary we are able to calculate an estimated weighted common saving of $603.
What the specialists suppose
“AI isn’t right here to interchange content material groups—it’s right here to make them extra environment friendly, artistic, and strategic.
The manufacturers that put money into AI coaching now can have a transparent aggressive edge, producing high-quality content material sooner whereas sustaining authenticity and model voice.”
“One thing we’ve seen with generative AI is that it could unlock new forms of shopper demand, as an alternative of merely changing present demand. To date, AI search appears additive to conventional search—and the identical could also be true for entry to content material advertising and marketing. AI would possibly enable firms that couldn’t in any other case afford any kind of content material advertising and marketing to entry it for the primary time.”
Need to learn the way entrepreneurs use AI for content material creation, or how effectively it ranks relative to human-written content material?
You’ll be able to obtain and browse our full PDF report right here (no e-mail required): The State of AI in Content material Advertising.
