Scaling content with AI = soulless content?

According to Head of Creative Patrick Severein of iO Campus Utrecht, content at scale is often misunderstood. 'It offers brands the opportunity to cleverly scale valuable, thoughtful and creative content for different audiences, as part of your content strategy,' he says. 

That nuance is important, because content at scale is no longer a nice-to-have. 

 Organisations have increasingly more touchpoints: apps, portals, social media, help centres, personalisation systems, Lensink explains. 'You need to be able to offer something relevant at every moment. It then becomes impossible to continue making everything manually. So you need to be able to work scalably – without losing quality.' 

The promise of content at scale is clear: higher speed, greater relevance, lower costs. But that only works if you make the right strategic and technological choices, argue Lensink and Severein. 

According to Severein, the biggest misconception is that content at scale simply amounts to automating production. 'You need a strategy. What do you want to say, to whom, why, and at what moment? Only when that's established can you start scaling up. Without direction, you're simply reinforcing mediocrity.' 

A good approach is to start small. 

'We advise clients to begin with one domain or one campaign,' says Lensink. 'Look at where you can automate, which processes you can organise cleverly and where AI can make the difference. Then you learn by doing and avoid drowning in complexity.'

To maintain control over tone of voice and consistency, iO developed 'BonzAI': their own GPT-agent in which brand values, tone of voice and existing content are loaded per client in their own secure environment. This ensures generated content remains recognisably true to brand. 

iO is also working on AI solutions that safeguard brand identity on the design front.  

'Our colleagues in Sweden are already building brand design agents that generate on-brand visuals,' says Severein. 'Our designers and art directors are at the strategic foundation, developing creative concepts and adding human value.' 

For iO, the real strength of content at scale lies in the mid-funnel: the area where brands need to build relevance, expertise and trust.  

'That's precisely where many brands can demonstrate their brand value,' says Lensink. ' For example, with content where a bank explains how the specifically Dutch concept of a renovation mortgage (or ‘bouwdepot’ in Dutch) works. It's more powerful to illustrate this with specific situation the reader can relate to – say, a € 450,000 house in a new development in Almere – than by telling one generic story. AI makes it possible to organise that segmentation efficiently, without constantly reproducing from scratch, but by cleverly reusing and programming. That's scalability.' 

Despite all the technology, human creativity remains essential, emphasises Severein. 

 'The added value lies in the insight. What is your brand's own perspective on this subject? Without that insight, everything becomes generic. Then you do indeed get that AI-generated blandness.' 

Lensink cites the ABN Amro campaign The Exit Years as an example. 'The bank wanted to do something around business sales. You could start explaining how that works – everyone does that. We added the insight that it feels like letting go of your child. That brings emotion to a rational subject. That's what makes content meaningful.' 

Content at scale isn't a tool, but an ecosystem. 'You need to think about how you plan, produce, distribute and optimise content,' says Severein. 'And you need to integrate that into your existing processes. Otherwise, it becomes something separate.' 

Lensink expects the Netherlands will quickly follow the US. ‘Seeing how rapidly content is being generated in real-time over there, for example by investment sites, I think we're still at the beginning over here. But the trajectory is clear: this isn't a fad, this is how brands will operate.‘ 

What should brands do right now? 'Start small, think big,' says Severein. 'And dare to make choices. That's not always comfortable. But it's inevitable. It also requires courage: daring to choose a new approach, letting go of the familiar, and not trying to solve everything at once. Content at scale isn't a threat, but an opportunity – provided you approach it properly.'

• Start with a sharp strategy: who do you want to reach, with what message, and at what moment?  

• Begin small. Choose one domain or project and learn by doing 

• Ensure brand consistency. Use AI brand models for recognisable content  

• Work modularly. Build content in reusable blocks for different formats and channels • Deploy AI cleverly. Let technology handle repetitive work, and focus yourself on creativity and insight  

• Keep testing and optimising. Measure what works and adapt – content at scale is never finished 

• Integrate it into your existing processes. Make it part of your workflows, not a separate tool 

Want to know more? On 20th November, iO’s Content Marketing & Web Writing Congress (CWC) at Jaarbeurs Utrecht will focus entirely on content at scale. Not generating more content using AI, but generating better content. Ensuring this content is personal, efficient and impactful. Listen to inspiring keynotes from speakers including Alexander Klöpping, attend educational breakouts and go home with a toolkit full of practical tips.