When ChatGPT and other AI writing tools exploded onto the scene, the prediction was swift: copywriters would be obsolete within months. Fast forward to today, and something unexpected happened.
Jennyfer Register, a professional marketing copywriter, isn't just surviving in the age of AI—she's thriving. Her practice has actually grown, and she's getting more client requests than ever.
The reason? Business owners tried DIY AI copywriting, hit a quality ceiling they couldn't break through, and came back to hire professionals.
We spoke with Jennyfer about how she actually uses AI in her workflow, where these tools excel, and—most importantly—where they consistently fail. Her insights reveal why AI is a powerful tool but not a replacement for strategic human expertise.
When asked how AI has changed her work, Jennyfer's answer surprises most people:
"I love AI! It's been a game changer for me and has helped me create more copy faster. But I never use it for actually writing copy—it's got a long way to go for that."
Here's what she does use it for:
"I use AI for the ideation phase to throw ideas back and forth, crystallize abstract thoughts and turn them into something more concrete."
AI generates dozens of variations quickly. Jennyfer evaluates which ideas have strategic merit and align with brand goals—but the brainstorming phase that used to take hours now takes minutes.
"I use them in the research phase in better understanding an industry or an audience that I'm writing for, or in looking for resources—websites, Reddit threads, blogs, or other things that I can pull information from when I am writing copy to get more perspective from the voice of customer."
AI aggregates information fast. But Jennyfer makes the critical judgment calls: which sources are credible, which insights matter, and how to translate data into persuasive messaging.
"Editing is the biggest one for me—it makes the process much faster. Throughout my creative process, I treat AI like a partner. I'll draft something, run it by AI, refine it further myself, then check it again with AI. That back-and-forth helps me move faster and also improves the quality of my work."
AI catches grammar issues and suggests clarity improvements. But final decisions on voice, tone, and strategic messaging? Those remain human calls.
"I rely on AI heavily for data analysis. If I have long survey answers, voice-of-customer transcripts, or my own notes from researching an audience, industry, or customer, I feed that data into AI. It quickly helps me spot patterns and insights, which I then align with what I already know about the audience."
Processing hundreds of customer responses manually could take days. AI identifies patterns in minutes—but human expertise determines which patterns are meaningful versus noise.
Notice what Jennyfer doesn't do:
❌ Let AI write final copy ❌ Trust AI with strategic decisions ❌ Use AI output without heavy editing
✅ Use AI for research and ideation ✅ Use AI to accelerate repetitive tasks ✅ Use AI as a refinement partner
The pattern: AI handles time-consuming tasks. Humans handle strategy, judgment, and creativity.
When asked whether AI raises or lowers the quality bar, Jennyfer's answer reveals the uncomfortable truth:
"I think it raises the bar for those actually working as professional copywriters, but lowers it for getting started. Business owners can now use AI to DIY their copy and get something usable out there. If they know how to prompt well, they can even produce decent copy—but it usually caps out at a beginner-to-intermediate level. A skilled copywriter can deliver several levels above that."
Jennyfer shared what happens when businesses try the DIY approach:
"One client tried using an AI tool to generate all their ads, scripts, and website copy. They quickly realized the results weren't hitting the mark, came back, and hired me instead."
What went wrong?
"I've noticed especially smaller businesses (often under six figures) believe they can do it all themselves with AI."
The appeal is obvious:
The hidden costs aren't as obvious:
Beginner AI Output (poor prompting):
Intermediate AI Output (good prompting):
Professional Human Copywriting:
As Jennyfer puts it: "AI can generate words, but it doesn't grasp human experience. A skilled copywriter can analyze data, spot what truly matters to customers, and present it in a way that resonates emotionally."
When asked what human copywriters still add that AI can't, Jennyfer identified five critical capabilities:
The ability to look at data and customer feedback, then identify the one insight that changes everything. AI processes input literally—it sees keywords and optimizes for them. Humans read between the lines and understand the emotional experience behind the words.
Understanding not just what your audience thinks, but how they feel about their problem. AI can use emotional language, but it can't genuinely understand what frustration or relief feels like. That understanding comes from human experience.
Knowing when to break the rules and take creative risks. AI optimizes for patterns in training data—it generates "safe" outputs. Humans can take calculated risks based on deep audience and brand understanding.
Understanding not just what to say, but when to say it. AI sees keywords and patterns. Humans understand the broader cultural moment and what messaging will resonate versus feel tone-deaf.
AI can mimic tone—"friendly" or "authoritative" or "casual." But it can't create a truly distinctive voice that makes your brand recognizable. Think MailChimp, Basecamp, or Innocent Smoothies—you know which brand from three sentences. That's brand personality, and it requires human strategic thinking.
Here's what's fascinating: professional copywriters using AI are more effective, not less.
Which is why Jennyfer's practice has grown in the AI era, not shrunk.
When asked what she'd tell new copywriters adapting to AI, Jennyfer's answer applies to anyone building skills:
"Don't stress about AI 'taking jobs.' Instead, learn how to use it well. It's not going away—it's only improving. Think of it like the early days of computers: people who grew up using them developed an intuitive edge. The same will be true with AI. The key is to use it as a tool, while developing your own ability to think strategically, analyze deeply, and bring creativity that AI can't replicate."
The pattern holds across decades:
If you're creating content:
If you're building marketing that drives revenue:
If you're scaling automation workflows:
AI isn't replacing copywriters—it's creating a new tier of AI-augmented professionals who deliver results neither pure AI nor pre-AI humans could achieve.
The companies winning in 2025 understand which tier to use for which task: AI tools for speed on straightforward work, human expertise for strategic differentiation, and custom systems when scaling beyond tool limitations.
Jennyfer Register is a professional marketing copywriter who has built a thriving practice in the AI era. Rather than being displaced by AI tools, she's leveraged them to deliver even better results—proving that strategic human expertise becomes more valuable, not less, when paired with AI.
Connect with Jennyfer on LinkedIn.
Thanks to Jennyfer for sharing her honest perspective on working with AI. Her experience mirrors what we see across many fields: AI is a powerful tool that amplifies human expertise rather than replacing it.
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