I’ll save you my AI spiel and cut to the chase of why you’re here: you want to drive more traffic to your website. You want that traffic to actually be in your target audience. You want that target audience to decide to make a purchase. It’s what everyone wants when they decide to add a blog strategy to their marketing plan. And you want the best return on investment. So what’s better for your brand, AI content vs. hiring a writer? Let’s take a look.

How does SEO work in 2026?

If you’re hiring a freelance writer for blogs, make sure you verify that they’re up to date with SEO best practices. How SEO works has shifted a lot over the years and some SEO writers have yet to catch up, opting to rely on outdated practices that no longer serve the 2026 algorithm.

Let’s go over a few 2026 SEO basics so you can better understand the pros and cons of using AI vs a freelance writer.

2026 SEO basics:

Content needs to actually be good to rank in 2026. Gone are the days of generic, keyword-stuffed blogs ranking at the top of Google searches.
Content should be structured around AI searches too, with an emphasis on question formats. (Eg: how does SEO work in 2026?)
EEAT is everything: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. If you don’t have it, Google couldn’t care less about your blog.
Think holistically. Google’s AI mode answers questions by pulling from a bunch of sources and expands a single question into several related subquestions. Your blog should cover more than just the main question it’s answering.

Is AI writing good enough for blogs?

I may be a bit biased as a freelance content writer and journalist, but I’m not so dense that I don’t recognize AI’s potential to write good blog content. In some cases, AI can write blogs for your company. But there are some huge caveats to look at before deciding between a freelance writer and AI for your company.

What companies should use AI for blogs?

If your company is looking to write general information about a topic that’s widely researchable, with no intent to make any sales or conversions, AI can be a helpful tool. With just a few seconds, you can generate a good-enough blog that covers the basics.

As a freelance cannabis writer, I’ve seen some companies use AI for blogs with success. Typically, these companies aren’t looking for conversions, but rather want to provide a pool of content that covers FAQ, without intending to use those questions for conversions. That’s not to say AI can’t produce content that converts, it’s just that the content needs to rank and actually be seen by readers in order to convert. And that’s difficult to do with AI these days, because the Google algorithm prefers human-written content that includes personal experience.

Here are some cases where companies might see success with AI written blogs:

Needing a blog to answer frequently asked questions
Launching a brand new website with zero content
Covering a lot of similar, low-stakes topics with no conversion goal
They’re using a blog to build an appearance of credibility and authority
Creating simple how-tos and glossaries
Writing product description-rich blogs

But here’s a main catch to keep in mind: these use-cases are often difficult to rank for. They’re the most saturated, generic content available, and Google knows that. If your blog is not being used as a lead generator, then that’s totally fine. But if your goal is to drive more traffic and make more sales or conversions, ranking will be much more difficult.

When should brands use human written content?

For companies that plan to use their blog as a lead generator, hiring a blog content writer is generally a more cost-effective option. AI can’t replicate the EEAT (remember, that's Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) that humans provide.

When a freelance blog writer for wellness companies, freelance cannabis writer, writer for telehealth blogs, and other professionals write content for brands, they can insert their own human touch, which often helps the content rank higher. They can add nuance, personal (or brand-related) anecdotes that can only come from a real human.

As I said before, I’m not discounting AI as a useful marketing tool. For some, AI blogs can perform well enough to meet a brand’s goals. But for many situations, human writers outperform AI writing on many levels.

It mostly comes down to Google’s preference toward originality and perspective. But it also follows something crucial that many brands overlook: readers know when content is phoned in, generic, or feels overly recycled. By appealing to the algorithm through an emphasis on EEAT, content has a much better chance to rank higher, bring in more traffic, and result in more conversions.

Do people care if a blog is AI written?

A 2026 British study found nearly ¾ of respondents would be less likely to read an article if they knew it was written by AI – either partially or entirely. People generally want content that includes a human touch. After all, anyone can submit a prompt to get a well-written article, but only credible, authoritative websites can provide something that’s truly of value. Many of these are human-written.

As I promised at the beginning of this blog, I’ll save my AI spiel. But you can probably guess how I feel about it based on my content. But I’m not alone in my feelings.

Another 2026 study found that half of consumers would prefer to give their business to brands that do not use GenAI. Half! That’s worth reflecting on when it comes to deciding between a freelance writer vs. AI for your brand.

I will note that my personal experience with conscious consumers aligns with the above study, especially with brands positioning themselves as sustainable. For example, as a freelance cannabis writer, I often see companies talk about their commitment to sustainability. Some of these brands have lost credibility among consumers by claiming to prioritize sustainability while opting to use AI, which is well-known to take up a lot of resources.

Bottom line: AI content vs. hiring a writer

Hopefully this blog will help you decide whether you want to use AI blogs or hire a blog writer for your company. It comes down to your specific needs, but it’s important to weigh out the drawbacks and benefits of both options. Blog writers are obviously the more expensive choice, but the payoff is generally worth it as a skilled SEO writer will produce optimized content that actually converts.

Need a freelance writer for blogs? Send me a message to get the ball rolling.

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