[00:02] shortcut right now. But, what if AI is actually the thing that breaks their >> Man, we've come a long way. >> Because while AI is getting better, your customers are also getting really good
[00:14] at ignoring it. Today, I want to show you why the gold rush of AI content in wall. How actual writing is once again becoming the most valuable skill in affiliate marketing, and what you can still use AI for without losing your
[00:27] edge. By the way, if you're new here, my name is Daniel Thrasher, senior content manager here at ClickBank. I use AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude every day, and I also write every day. So, I'm on top of every side of this important
[00:39] affiliate trend. Now, to understand the risks of AI as an affiliate, we need to talk about this AI gold rush and why it's already starting to fall apart. The AI gold rush is over. Think back to the first time you saw an
[00:51] AI-generated video of a cat and a bear bouncing on a trampoline at night, doorbell camera through the night vision. You remember that? You were pretty cool. For a while, there was something novel and intriguing about
[01:04] images and videos that were generated by AI. But, along the way, something changed. Here's how I like to think of it. Imagine there's a street full of sit-down restaurants, and all of a sudden one fast-food restaurant opens up
[01:17] stands out from the crowd, and you're naturally going to want to try it, if only for the novelty of eating something different. But, what if 50 more fast-food restaurants open up that are identical to the first one? Before long,
[01:30] you don't want fast food anymore. You're craving something real again. And basically, that aversion to slop is what we're seeing with content and ads right marketing, there are actual consequences if you're depending on AI-generated
[01:44] output. Things like lower search rankings, ads that just flop, limited engagement, and worst of all, fewer affiliate sales. But, don't just take my word for it. Let's quickly go through some recent headlines for each of the
[01:57] big three affiliate marketing traffic channels, including organic search, organic social, and paid ads, so you can see what's happening for yourself. that's happening [music] in organic search. Organic search is all about
[02:10] results on everything from search engines like Google and Bing to AI tools like ChatGPT. These days, many publishers and website owners have moved actually writing their content from start to finish, and they've started
[02:25] experimenting with scaled AI content production. It makes sense conceptually to keep up with producing quality content, and AI does a good job of filling the page with serviceable, somewhat relevant text. Good enough,
[02:38] the pattern for what happens next is so common that the phenomenon has earned a nickname, Mount AI. Here's what it looks like, based on a graph in Ahrefs. you're publishing lots of pages, you're seeing a sustained rise in traffic, and
[02:54] then, well, it all drops off a cliff once Google gets wise to what's been >> That's not a great way to maintain a successful affiliate business. Here's Search Console. Here you've got sustained growth on the back of scaled
[03:07] AI content, then [music] a complete bottoming out, and today is a an unfortunate new era with almost no visibility or traffic. Not great. And if there's any doubt as to why all this is happening, then let's just look at
[03:19] Google's recent push for non-commodity content, which they define as original, experience-led material that cannot be easily replicated by AI. Non-commodity content requires hands-on expertise, firsthand data, and a unique
[03:32] perspective, moving away from generic, interchangeable, listical information, for example, seven tips for buying running shoes. Now, so far, I've only talked about AI content publishing from the algorithm's perspective, where
[03:45] really good at detecting when content is AI generated in a commoditized way and penalizing those sites. But, you should that traffic that you're getting with AI-scaled content. In other words, how
[03:58] likely is all that traffic to actually convert? Because the point of creating audience will buy the products you promote and earn you a commission. But, if your content misses the mark, reads as robotic, and isn't really any more
[04:11] useful or credible than what a user could get in a ChatGPT response, then your blog content isn't going to do its most important job, making you money. Clearly, search isn't a friendly place for primarily AI-generated content right
[04:24] now. But, maybe you're thinking Google is kind of off in its own weird journey, right? Well, let's talk about the huge moves that are happening with organic social next. In the world of organic social, major platforms like YouTube and
[04:37] Instagram are also showing weariness about AI. Check out this headline I just came across on Reddit a few days ago, from the time of [music] this recording. destination for users when the content on their platform is actually
[04:50] interesting and engaging. The supply of AI slop is infinite, certainly in comparison to the careful scripting and editing by dedicated content creators. So, AI threatens to bury those legitimate videos if YouTube doesn't
[05:02] AI-generated content from human-based content. So, what does this mean for you talked about with organic search, you basically have two primary areas of concern if you're heavily reliant on AI to produce content for organic social.
[05:16] [music] First, algorithm penalties. If a major platform detects significant AI content within your post [music] or your video, will its algorithm purposely throttle that content and limit your reach, or maybe even ban you outright?
[05:29] This is always a threat if you're leaning too heavily on AI for your content. Next, we have user behavior. If users continue to be uninterested in or even hostile toward AI-generated content, then you risk your content
[05:42] getting buried by poor engagement signals to those same algorithms. And, as I just noted, platforms are starting to make it easier to tell when AI was used. So, even if you don't label your content as AI, sites like YouTube are
[05:54] going to do so. Now, full disclosure, you may be able to get a lot of views if you publish AI-generated fluff at scale. But, as an affiliate, remember that the goal is not just views. You want high-quality views that can lead to
[06:07] conversions. 100 views from real people in your target audience are literally from strangers who would never buy from you. And AI-generated content, particularly AI avatars, just don't accrue trust over the long term, which
[06:21] means it's much harder to convert views into affiliate sales. Now, say you're just want to know how paid platforms are viewing AI-generated copy and creatives. Does it seem like big tech platforms are actually obsessed with AI? In Google
[06:37] built-in AI to generate headlines and descriptions for your search and PMax would just love for you to use their AI in every stage of the setup process for a new campaign. But, here's the thing. Meta and Google don't care about AI per
[06:52] se. They just care about what will help them grow shareholder value. The truth is, they incorporate AI into their paid ad platforms not because it creates better ads, it's because AI enables more people who aren't copywriters or
[07:04] designers or videographers to actually run ads in the first place. For big tech, whether you're profitable or not, they make money when you run ads on their platform. And the fact that so many people are generating AI copy,
[07:17] images, and videos for ads is actually a great thing for you if you're a paid affiliate. Because more and more of your competition is going to feel bland, samey, and unappealing to the most valuable demographics in the world.
[07:30] Here's proof. A recent study found that the coveted younger demographics just aren't feeling AI-generated ads, especially in cases where AI was used in of it. According to the research from
[07:42] IAB, Gen Z consumers describe brands that use AI for ads more negatively than millennial consumers. 30% call AI-using brands inauthentic versus 13% of millennials, 26% disconnected versus 8% of millennials, and 24% unethical versus
[07:58] world of affiliate marketing, many top brand might feel less important. But, if you are in danger of consumers discovering that fact for themselves.
[08:11] you anymore. [music] Beyond that, you risk ads that just will hurt engagement and lead to higher costs that squeeze your margins. To rise above the massive amount of noise online, your advertising needs to stand
[08:25] grain. AI tools tend to generate an average of what's already out there, but envelope, at least not without a lot of skill and vision behind the marketer who uses them. Ultimately, your best way of standing out is either with more ads or
[08:40] better ads. And contrary to what a lot of media buyers believe, more isn't Which play are you betting on to succeed? Okay, we've looked at the state of play for AI in organic search, organic
[08:54] social, and paid media for affiliate marketers. And I know I've focused a lot on the negatives about AI so far in this video, but that was on purpose. Because as an affiliate, I want to make it super
[09:06] clear how detrimental it can be if you don't use it wisely. So, let's quickly AI-generated output across these major traffic sources. [music] First, AI produces serviceable but average copy and media that just doesn't really stand
[09:19] out or add a lot of value on its own. Next, big tech algorithms are moving toward greater disclosure of AI usage in content and may penalize those who rely too heavily on AI. Third, many of your potential customers, especially the
[09:31] younger ones, are skeptical of or even hostile toward AI-generated content, and that can hurt the performance of your content, your ads, and your brand marketing, trust is everything. And if you outsource your ideas, your likeness,
[09:45] there's nothing left of you in your work for an audience to trust. [music] I know that sounds intense, but in spite of all this, I do use AI regularly, and you competitors are going to use it, and the ones who know how to use it well are
[09:59] going to surpass you if you don't. With that said, let's dig into a new way of thinking about AI, plus three specific AI-powered tactics for affiliates that actually work. The AI rule for affiliate marketing.
[10:14] takeaway I want you to remember from this video. The problems we've talked about with AI can all be broken down into one key issue, that AI is having of what affiliate marketers are producing. Whether that's for organic
[10:28] social, organic search, paid media, you name it. So, how do we use AI for marketing and get the benefit of it without all of the serious drawbacks? Well, by following this ironclad rule. Only use AI in ways that cannot be
[10:42] it. If someone can instantly tell that you If someone can instantly tell that you used AI, you lose. If they can't tell, smarter with the help of AI, then you win. Let me give you a few examples.
[10:55] [music] Asking AI for feedback on your script, not visible to your audience, so thumbs up. Asking AI to generate an AI avatar of you for a video, very visible to your audience, so thumbs down. Asking AI to write your entire script for you,
[11:09] super likely to be noticeable, so thumbs down. Asking AI to give you some hook ideas for your next campaign, [music] if you copy and paste them as is, thumbs down. If you use them as a jumping off point and keep iterating until you find
[11:22] something quality to pursue, thumbs up. Now, with this new AI marketing rule, this in a real-world situation. These days, I write a lot of video scripts for YouTube videos and there's a ton that goes into this process including
[11:37] same niche to see which topics are getting engagement, ideation, coming up with effective ideas for titles, thumbnails, intro hooks, outlining, points to cover in the video, the actual meat of the content, writing, crafting
[11:52] the full script, recording, filming the video, thumbnail creation, putting together production-ready thumbnail images, video editing, producing the video, and publishing, uploading the final video to
[12:04] YouTube. So, let's analyze this workflow real quick. Which steps in the process can AI support the work involved in creating a new video without making the finished video come across as AI generated? In my mind, it all comes down
[12:17] to those early stages, research, ideation, outlining. By the time you're writing, recording, editing, and publishing, handing those steps off to AI will be super obvious and those are the steps where you're letting your own
[12:29] personality and value shine through. Or put another way, don't use AI as a replacement but as a multiplier. Now, in case you're wondering, yes, I put my money where my mouth is. For this video you're
[12:41] watching, I got feedback from AI to help me come up with a quality title and thumbnail concept, refine my intro until it was super strong, and even suggest the best way to express that fast food versus sit-down restaurant analogy I
[12:53] shared earlier. This is the actual thread. But notice what didn't happen. I entire script to AI. These are my own words. I didn't let an AI avatar record the script. For better or worse, this is really me talking. I didn't upload a
[13:08] hopefully if you've been watching the videos that we're putting out on ClickBank's YouTube channel, you're getting real value and you're feeling confident that it's coming from someone who has direct experience to share.
[13:20] happen if AI does the whole process for you. But with the invisible parts of the workflow, go ahead and use AI. Like I shared in my prompt engineering video on this channel from a little while ago, I
[13:32] still think of AI as a smart intern. It may have good ideas or suggestions to make my vision a reality, but I'm in control. I'm the editor in chief. I'm managing the campaigns. It's my face and my words out there in the world. And for
[13:45] you, as an affiliate marketer, whether you're focused on websites and blog articles, organic social posts, ads, or another format, I believe that's what you should be doing, too. As for how to implement AI in your unique processes
[13:57] and workflows as an affiliate, it could be as complex as an in-depth Claude skill, an elaborate innate in automation, or a full-fledged AI agent, and forth [music] where you explain your goal, provide some context, and then
[14:11] just ask for what you want. Then, when you get a response, you keep going until I've watched a lot of content from experts about how to create great YouTube videos, and I've compiled those into one epic doc. I uploaded the notes
[14:25] from that doc, along with a template I created based on how I write YouTube scripts, and I shared those within a project for ClickBank YouTube videos. Now, when I go to get feedback on a new idea for a YouTube video, I have an AI
[14:37] set up that already has a ton of context to work with, and I don't have to start from scratch in prompting. And there's one other important consideration that I want to mention. AI is still cheap right now, as of the recording of this video,
[14:50] but the frontier AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have poured untold their AI chatbot tools. We've actually seen headlines recently where Anthropic suddenly changed their AI token pricing structure because AI agents from the
[15:04] can happen at every level, from the giant enterprise that got slapped with a $500 million AI bill down to the individual power user of AI tools. So, using AI in those early stages I talked about is a lighter use of AI, research,
[15:18] ideation, et cetera, but building your whole business around massive AI and leaves you very vulnerable to these kinds of price increases. I'm talking about the difference between an occasional prompt versus having AI write
[15:31] the images and videos you use in your ads. The more you have to lean on AI to tighter your margins will be as AI costs inevitably rise in the next few [music] years. Okay, I know I threw a lot at you here, so let's tie it all together with
[15:45] a quick recap and some final takeaways. Hopefully, this was a helpful video and got some gears turning about how you can use AI effectively in your [music] own over-reliance on AI can be a huge problem for your affiliate marketing
[15:58] content and ads across key traffic channels like organic search, organic introduced what I consider to be a crucial rule on how to benefit from AI without all the huge drawbacks we talked about, which was [music] only use AI in
[16:12] final product. I highly recommend working with AI tools in the early stages of a campaign or project to pull in insights and research, to generate ideas, to provide feedback. This can be invaluable for speeding up your creative
[16:25] process. But, the important thing is that you keep yourself involved as a human in the loop, or perhaps more accurately, you have an AI in the loop at a few stages, but are primarily making yourself or your team of experts
[16:38] the true doers of your marketing work. Because make no mistake, AI has already commoditized content. It's already possible to generate endless copy, a button. So, the temptation will be to cut corners using AI tools, maybe at
[16:51] scale. But, I hope I've shown you that to be truly be effective, what you produce needs your unique humanity more than ever. You'll be able to stand out quantity. [music] Okay, that's all I've got for you guys
[17:03] it, please give us a like so I know to keep producing more content like this. I prompt engineering one throughout this video, so I'll link to those below if you want to learn more. And if you're new to ClickBank, it's super easy and
[17:16] account. Just head over to clickbank.com/start and follow the steps there. I think this was an important video because I don't believe in completely ignoring huge technological leaps like AI, but I also
[17:29] see the downsides in making AI do everything for [music] you. So, what do used in creating content or ads? Do you agree with my ironclad rule about AI? I want to hear what you think, so sound off in the comments below. All right,
[17:43] campaigns you're working on right now, and until next time, happy scaling.