5 Career Paths for Content Specialists in the AI Era

On 14 November, blended agency iO hosted the Content Marketing and Web Editing conference: the premium industry event where versatile content specialists gather to refine and develop their skills toolbox.

Technology entrepreneur Peter Hinssen and neuroscientist Ayca Szapora provided keynotes, and there were break-outs covering all the developments and challenges facing the content profession. Our delegates gained professional insights into which skills they’ll need to remain relevant as content specialists in an AI-dominated field. There were 5 possible routes for content specialists to delve into:

Route 1: Prompt Meister

Prompt writing as a profession. And who better to do that than a content writer? As a Prompt Meister, you are the expert in formulating perfect prompts, learning the nuances of language that AI systems best understand and developing skills to turn ideas into effective instructions. Web editors and online content consultants have long been a bridge between communication and IT and have unparallelled understand of both languages.

Route 2: Content science specialist

Peter Hinssen described the science of content, as opposed to traditional data science. It’s an emerging field that focuses on managing and leveraging unstructured data such as texts, images, and videos. As a content science specialist, you are your organisation’s content curator, also jokingly called 'Conan the Librarian' by Peter. Crazy or not, you are a linchpin of all content flows within an organisation and take responsibility for keeping it manageable. Your role is crucial in optimising workflows and maximising resources.

Route 3: Content marketer plus

The role of the content marketer is no longer just about picking up campaigns, briefing agencies and making measurable results. You can also be expected to generate creative ideas, assess the quality and create content in various forms yourself. You'll coordinate projects refining AI-generated content with human expertise, ensuring seamless integration of different content sources, and ensuring consistency and quality of the final product.

Route 4: Brand voice specialist

Hinssen argues that the rise of AI is also leading to a shift in the quality of content. According to him, the improvements offered by AI will make "horrible content" disappear. At the same time, he predicts that mediocre content will increase. Mediocracy is becoming a commodity.

However, quantity should not be confused with quality. That is why expertise is becoming even more important. After all it takes a skilled content specialist to distinguish a good text from a mediocre one. The brand voice specialist maintains and refines a consistent brand identity in a content landscape where AI has undoubtedly found its place. Attendees learned to develop skills on customising AI output to seamlessly match a brand unique voice.

Route 5: Neuro-content marketer

Content specialists are always looking for efficient ways to communicate with their target audience. But underneath there is another layer: understanding your target group’s brains. And according to neuroscientist Ayca Szapora, the human brain is lazy.

That doesn't mean we don't want to do anything.

The brain wants to automate everything and do it efficiently, so that it doesn't have to work as hard. Understanding this and translating it into content is key. Neuromarketing has long been an essential part of the marketing mix in 2024 but translating it into good content is just as important. Not only in feeding AI systems and making them more "human", but also in keeping communication human.

And all the other routes

In our industry, we are increasingly moving towards a mix or cocktail of disciplines; disciplines will continue to merge. Apart from these 5 routes, there are many more possibilities and cool challenges for the content specialist that is seeking fresh inspiration from new developments. For example, get your early bird tickets to the iO Content Marketing and Web Editing Conference on 20 November 2025. See you there.