Who is tailoring your content wardrobe?
4 mins
The AI boom has transformed the way content is created and consumed. But not all content is cut from the same cloth. In our recent article in Le Figaro (page 7), we explored how today’s content landscape is shaped by three distinct content tiers – fast, tailored and boutique – each with its own purpose, process and balance between AI and human input.
The three tiers of content
Fast content is automated, instant and global. Created by AI at high volume and speed, it encompasses customer support responses, real-time translations, product descriptions and, generally, ephemeral content. The focus is on speed, efficiency and functionality – not on nuance. This is the mass-produced content equivalent of fast fashion.
Tailored content is customized to meet the needs of a specific target audience. It is the prêt-à-porter of content: standardized at scale but carefully fitted to suit a specific audience. It is good for content such as regional campaigns, marketing emails and training materials.
Boutique content is highly customized and impactful. This is the haute couture of content. Being unique and emotionally resonant, it is the right tier for flagship marketing campaigns, key product launches and high-stakes storytelling.
Just like a well-rounded wardrobe contains casual wear, tailored pieces and outfits for those special occasions, a successful content strategy should include all three content tiers: fast for reach, tailored for relevance, and boutique for impact.
Behind the seams: The role of AI and humans
It’s a mistake to assume fast content is entirely AI-driven, tailored content is hybrid AI/Human (part-AI, part-human) and boutique content is purely human. In reality, both human specialists and AI play a role in each tier, but the roles differ depending on the level of precision, emotion and strategy required.
Fast content: Built by AI, checked by post-editors
AI can generate fast content instantly. But for all its speed, AI has blind spots. It can mistranslate, hallucinate facts, or overlook context.
That’s where post-editors and human validators step in. Much like quality control technicians on an assembly line, these specialists don’t create content from scratch. Instead, they review, validate and correct. They ensure that tone and terminology follow the brand standards and verify that the content is safe to publish.
They come in at the end of the process and are accountable for the final result. Their corrections must be captured in a feedback loop and be used for future training to improve future AI performance.
Tailored content: Designed by experts, delivered with AI
Fast content creates visibility, but tailored content builds trust. It speaks the audience’s language. In this tier, AI is not simply churning out generic text.
Firstly, AI must be fine-tuned on brand voice and domain-specific terminology to generate drafts that are brand- and context-aware.
Secondly, AI doesn’t act alone. These fine-tuned AI solutions are built by domain experts – professional linguists who understand both the subject matter and the audience, and who know how to guide AI to produce meaningful content. They are data curators, linguistic prompt designers, and content architects. They curate training datasets and craft professional prompts.
Crucially, such experts come in at the beginning of the process to steer AI toward a meaningful, accurate and relevant output.
Boutique content: Human creativity at its finest, assisted by AI
When it comes to emotionally resonant campaigns, flagship product storytelling, or brand-defining content, there is no substitute for human creativity. Such content requires originality, emotion and deep cultural understanding that only humans possess.
In this tier, the human is at the very center. AI plays a limited, supportive role. It assists with brainstorming, idea generation, or linguistic variation. Still, all the heavy lifting – the story, the voice and the soul – is done by the content creators and expert linguists.
Stitching it all together
Success is not a choice between humans or AI. It is a balanced combination of the right expertise with the right technology.
The role of humans evolves across these tiers: from high-volume validators to AI-savvy architects to elite creative experts. AI is present at every level, tuned to support the task at hand in the appropriate way.
In the end, content is like fashion: what matters is not who made the fabric, but who designed the final look, and how well it fits the audience.
Check out the original Le Figaro article – page 7. It's in French, but we can help on the localization.
Marina Pantcheva
All from Marina Pantcheva
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