A very embarrassing thing that happened last year. And before you ask – yes, I’m sharing this voluntarily because the results were rather amusing. I know it sounds like I only write about disasters, and that’s probably not doing myself any favours. But hopefully sharing these cock-ups will help you avoid making the same mistakes :)

Common AI content mistakes

Understanding common AI content mistakes can significantly improve your writing process. By recognising these pitfalls, should enhance your content quality and engage your audience more effectively.

How it all went wrong

I’d been testing this AI writing tool for client work. You know the drill – trying to speed things up, stay competitive, and all that. Set it up to draft some blog posts overnight while I slept. Smart, right?

Except I forgot to turn the thing off.

The next morning, I wake up to find it had published 17 articles directly to a client’s WordPress site. SEVENTEEN. My heart properly sank. This was a consultant’s website, for context. Very serious, very professional.

The damage report

Most of the articles were… fine. Boring, but fine. Standard stuff about property law, conveyancing, the usual. But then there was this absolute gem: “Why Your Solicitor is Like a Medieval Knight: A Quest for Justice in Modern Britain.”

The AI had written 2,000 words comparing legal proceedings to jousting tournaments. It included sections like:

“Choosing Your Legal Armour (The Right Solicitor for Your Case)”
“The Courtroom: Your Modern-Day Battlefield”
“Why Legal Documents Are Your Sword and Shield”

There was even a bit about how witness statements were like “summoning your allied forces to the battlefield.” I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

A happy client

I rang the client immediately, apologising profusely, ready to spend my entire day deleting and fixing everything. But they stopped me mid-grovel.

“Have you checked the analytics?” they asked.

Turns out that ridiculous medieval lawyer article had gone mini-viral on LinkedIn. Some barrister with 50,000 followers had shared it saying “Finally, someone explains what we do in terms people understand!”

The numbers were mental:

8,000 visits in 36 hours
400+ LinkedIn shares
127 enquiry form submissions (their monthly average was usually about 30)

What actually happened?

Here’s my theory, legal content is usually dry as toast. Everyone writes the same “What to do after a car accident” posts. But this accidental nonsense stood out because it was different. People actually read it, shared it, and remembered which firm wrote it.

The client ended up keeping the article (with a note added explaining it was “a creative take on legal services”). They’ve since been deliberately writing unconventional content themselves. Their organic traffic is up 180% three months later.

The real lesson here

I’m not saying you should let AI run wild on your website. That would be terrible advice. But this cock-up taught me something important: being too safe with content is just as risky as being too wild.

Everyone’s so worried about sounding “professional” that they end up sounding like everyone else. Sometimes the thing that makes you cringe is exactly what makes you memorable.

Also, for the love of God, always double-check your automation settings. I got lucky. You might end up with an AI writing about why tax law is like interpretive dance or something equally career-ending.

Quick disclaimer

Yes, I’ve changed the client’s business to protect the innocent (and my professional reputation). The article titles were actually rewritten by AI for this post, which – ironically – did a rather good job matching the ridiculousness of the originals. But you get my point.

Anyone else had their AI tools go rogue? Please tell me I’m not alone in this.

Need help with content that stands out (intentionally)? Please get in touch.