Emotion, Insight, and the Future of Copywriting
I was recently asked by postgraduate student from Harvard University to contribute my thoughts to a study on AI and copywriting. During our chat, we touched on many aspects of AI and its role in copywriting. And the conversation gave me plenty of interesting points to mull over afterwards.
One of these points was the need for emotional intelligence in copywriting, especially today when the internet is flooded with AI-written text and is even being given authority over human-written content in the SERPS a la Google’s AI Overviews.
So, I wanted to write this post to provide some thoughts on why emotional intelligence is more important than ever in copywriting, and how original, human thinking can engage and persuade readers far beyond the abilities of AI-generated text alone.
Case in point, according to a study by the Harvard Business Review, emotionally intelligent organisations report significantly stronger customer experiences (37% vs. 8%), higher levels of customer loyalty (40% vs. 12%), and customer advocacy (31% vs. 8%) than companies that don’t value emotional intelligence.
What is Emotional Intelligence in Copywriting?
Emotional Intelligence (EI) in copywriting refers to the ability to recognise, understand, and respond to the emotions of a reader, all the while being aware of tone, intent, and delivery.
In copywriting, emotional intelligence goes beyond empathy. It’s about knowing when to lean into a reader’s doubt by addressing buying objections. It’s about knowing when to reassure the reader without overpromising on the offer. And it’s also about knowing when less is more when it comes to persuasion.
So, essentially, emotionally intelligent copy speaks to the reader as a human being rather than a demographic segment, or a customer persona (as useful as they can be).
Why Emotional Intelligence Matters Today
It’s often said that nowadays, consumers are more sceptical/aware of being sold to than ever. Readers have more awareness of marketing techniques and can spot insincerity a mile off.
Recent research from NielsenIQ finds that consumers perceive AI-generated ads in particular, as less engaging, more annoying, boring, and confusing compared to traditional advertisements.
What readers value now is clarity, honesty, and a sense that the person behind the copy understands where they’re coming from.
Brands that demonstrate emotional intelligence in their copy tend to feel more grounded. They don’t overreach, they don’t sound like they’re trying too hard, and they don’t default to tired tropes. They come across as aware and considered. And that kind of tone is difficult to fake, which is exactly why it works.
Consider the following example from Transport for London:
I mention this advert a few times in The Brand New Copywriting Course because it’s a great example of emotional intelligence in copywriting. I took the photo on the tube in London and it’s of my favourite copywriting examples. The reason I think it works so well is that it drives home a serious message in a simple but creative way.
By writing the copy from a child’s point of view, it creates a fragile, innocent tone of voice that puts the issue into real perspective. And of course, it was written by a human, before Chat GPT was even a thing.
There’s also a practical benefit to emotional intelligence in writing. In a world where personalisation is becoming more automated, EI is one of the few differentiators left that can’t be easily templated. It makes your writing feel like it came from somewhere specific – which builds trust. And of course, trust drives buying decisions.
In marketing, EI bridges the gap between emotion and reason. People don’t act on their logical reason alone when making buying decisions. Nor do they rely solely on their emotional impulses. They use a combination of the two. Copywriters that understand this relationship can write messages for brands that resonate emotionally, while also appealing to the reader’s rational considerations.
How Emotionally Intelligent Copy Can Help Meet Google’s EEAT Standards
I mentioned AI Overviews earlier, and how Google now prioritises its own AI-generated answers in its search results hierarchy. As a result, click-through rates to organic listings have significantly dropped, especially for non-branded queries.
For brands, this means it’s more important than ever to covet Google’s top positions if they want to drive traffic through organic search. And the way to do this is by adhering to Google’s EEAT framework.
EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust, and I’ve written before about how brands can write to meet EEAT guidelines. However, at its core, the framework is about giving users a better experience, and emotionally intelligent copywriting directly supports this.
For example:
- Experience: Copy that reflects lived experience requires emotional insight. You can’t fake nuance. Readers pick up on generalisations and empty claims. EI helps you write with specificity and grounded understanding.
- Expertise: This is about knowing what matters to your audience. Emotionally intelligent writers know where to place the right messages in a page’s hierarchy, and how to present them persuasively.
- Authority: An authoritative voice is clear, and confident. EI can help you strike that balance by allowing you to write in a way that feels informed without being condescending.
- Trust: This is where emotional intelligence plays its strongest role. Trust is emotional. You build it by showing that you understand your reader’s concerns and by giving them the space to decide for themselves. That means giving information plainly, using social proof where needed, and not relying too heavily on pressure tactics.
When copy shows emotional intelligence, it tends to perform better over the long term. It gets shared more, saved more, and quoted more often because people feel seen by it. In turn, this makes it easier to satisfy both humans and algorithms.
How to Write Emotionally Intelligent Copy
Writing with emotional intelligence starts with paying attention to your own instincts. Here are a few approaches that I find helps:
Write for one person
It’s easy to fall into the habit of writing for a ‘target audience’. But real emotional insight comes from imagining a single reader with specific doubts, pressures, or motivations. Ask yourself: What do they want to avoid? What have they tried already? What might they be feeling unsure about?
Read Your Copy Out Loud
Emotionally intelligent copy flows in a way that feels natural. If you’re tripping over your own sentences, there’s probably a simpler way to say it. Reading out loud helps you catch points where your tone feels off, your rhythm drags, or your argument feels rushed.
Use Qualifiers
Qualifiers are words that affect the certainty of a statement, like ‘‘really’’, or ‘‘almost’’. Emotionally intelligent copy doesn’t pretend to know everything. Phrases like “you might find that…” or “in most cases…” can signal honesty. A word to the wise though, they can make you sound unsure if they’re over-used.
Give the Reader Time to Reflect
It’s important to give the reader time to reflect on the problem or issue that they’re facing. For example, if you’re writing for someone who feel frustrated, don’t jump straight in with a resolution. Acknowledge the frustration and build empathy by demonstrating that you understand their feelings.
Know When to Cut Clever Lines
I mention this in my free copywriting course on strategic thinking as well. Sometimes the smartest-sounding line in your draft is the one that gets in the way of a real connection. If you find yourself writing a sentence to impress rather than express, try cutting it. Ask yourself if it helps the reader or just flatters the writer.
This is the approach I took when rewriting the website for electronics consultancy, Ripcord Designs. After scheduling a tone and messaging workshop, we settled on an empathetic, human, professional tone of voice. And one of the ways we achieved this was by avoiding making over-hyped claims.
Here’s a snapshot from their website showing this in action:
Closing Thoughts
When it comes to writing with emotional intelligence, the copywriting strategy should be embedded in the writing from the start. It can be tricky trying to make a piece of writing ‘‘emotional’’ after it’s already been written.
As AI-generated copy increases, the writers and the brands who can demonstrate real emotional insight will stand out more.
The more human your copy feels, the more credible your message becomes. And that credibility has a way of lasting longer than any short-term optimisation.
In a way, the rise of AI writing raises the bar for copywriters. It pushes us to pay closer attention to emotional nuance, which is one area requires human sensitivity and judgment.
Related posts:
How to Learn Copywriting: A Practical Guide for Beginners
