AI is the New Lorem Ipsum

It seems like overnight AI has come on the scene and is drastically changing the way many people do business. It’s been the center of conversation – a few of us at JADC were just joking about how to trick ChatGPT into saying something offensive. But how do you actually use it in a practical setting? One of the main ways that I’ve integrated AI into my workflow is using it as placeholder text.

Designers have been using Lorem Ipsum since the early days of the typesetting industry to have a realistic-looking layout while they may be waiting on content from their client or copywriter. For that purpose, it’s great – it allows designers to focus on the design rather than having to write about something they often have no clue about. The problem, however, is that the general public doesn’t really know what the purpose of it is and it can throw clients off. I literally had a client one time say “the website looks great but there’s some kind of Spanish in that one section.” And then goes my boring spiel about how it’s actually Latin and was originated in the 1500s for typesetters to be able to lay out text, yada yada ipsum.

There have been different takes on Lorem Ipsum that instead of using latin phrases will use english words that may have a theme like corporate or my favorite, Samuel L. Ipsum but at the end of the day it’s still just gibberish and isn’t really useful. This is where AI really shines. Now you’re able to quickly generate placeholder text that is actually tailored to your specific project. You can ask for a few prompts to write content for the business you’re working for while giving it some kind of an idea of who and what they do, especially if it’s a small business without a lot of information out there. I’ve found that generally business names and a short description are a good starting point. I remember trying AI for our client “DentSmart,” who is a paintless dent repair company but neglected to mention what they do, and ChatGPT thought it was a Dentist. Which brings me to my next point.

AI is not perfect.

As good as AI is, it can be scary, but it can often lack the personal touch. I don’t believe we’re at the point or will ever be where AI completely replaces copywriters. Back to my main point, it replaces Lorem Ipsum, but I think it’s still important to think of it as more of a placeholder than as an easy button copywriter. For this reason, it helps to communicate with the client that you’ve written up a section as a placeholder but to ensure they read through and make any necessary changes. Letting them know that it may not be accurate to who they are or what they do. This, at the very least, gives them prompts for what to start writing and thinking about themselves. But sometimes AI just nails it – I recently had a client who was super excited about something I used AI to write up and to my surprise didn’t want anything changed.

Here’s a few AI Prompts to Get Started:

• Write (desired length) of content for (business name) who (short description of what they do and where they’re located).
• Write a headline with an accompanying subheader, paragraph, and call to action for (business name) who (short description of what they do and where they’re located).
• Write (desired number) values of (business name) who (short description of what they do and where they’re located) with a short accompanying sentence.

If at first the prompt isn’t what you’re looking for, perhaps it’s too long or even the tone is too corporate or too friendly. Simply ask follow-up questions to refine the text to get it where you want it.

I know what you’re thinking. So, did you write this blog using AI? No, but I did try out of curiosity. And although it was able to write something up, it wasn’t much more than placeholder text. It didn’t have stories or real-life examples of working with a client. But it did hit the conclusion, on the head, “As we look to the future, it’s clear that the era of Lorem Ipsum is fading, making way for a new era of dynamic, AI-powered design.”