I Wouldn’t Hire a Content Engineer, and You Shouldn’t Either

09/22/25
Source: Content Marketing – SEO Blog by Ahrefs by Ryan Law. Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of Why the Content Engineer Role Is Not the Future of Marketing

The proposed content engineer role focuses on automating and scaling content production using AI, but this approach is becoming increasingly ineffective due to diminishing returns and search engine penalties. Generative AI raises the baseline quality and efficiency of content marketing but fails to elevate its creative and strategic ceiling. Instead of prioritizing automation, marketers should emphasize originality, unique voices, and quality content that stands out in a saturated market. The best path forward is hiring strong marketers and writers who can leverage AI as a tool, rather than specialists focused solely on AI-driven content engineering.

Optimixed’s Overview: Rethinking Content Marketing Roles in the Age of AI

The Limitations of Scaling Content Through Automation

The idea of hiring a content engineer centers on building AI-driven systems to automate and scale content creation. While appealing, this strategy is losing effectiveness as search engines increasingly penalize scaled content, and competitors easily replicate programmatic content. The value of mass-produced content is rapidly declining due to market saturation and diminishing returns.

Generative AI’s True Impact on Content Marketing

  • Baseline Quality Boost: AI has improved the minimum quality level for content, making basic content creation cheaper and faster.
  • Ceiling Not Raised: AI has not yet enabled breakthrough creativity or novel marketing forms that captivate audiences.
  • Cost Focus: Most companies use AI to stretch budgets rather than to innovate new customer acquisition methods.

Why Content Engineers Are the Wrong Hire

The content engineer role prioritizes automation, consistency, and uniformity—qualities that do not equate to remarkable or engaging content. Instead, content marketing needs creativity, individuality, and quality that embraces complexity and uniqueness. Automating content production risks producing bland, forgettable output, whereas human-led marketing can leverage AI as a creative partner.

Looking Ahead: Embracing Marketing and Writing Skills with AI Fluency

As generative AI tools become more accessible and user-friendly, the barrier to entry lowers dramatically. This evolution suggests that AI fluency should be a universal skill rather than a specialized role. Companies will benefit more from hiring talented marketers and writers who can integrate AI into their workflows than from specialists who focus solely on technical AI content engineering.

Final Thoughts

The future of content marketing lies not in scaling mediocre content through automation but in fostering originality, quality, and strategic innovation. Investing in strong marketing talent with AI proficiency will yield better results than hiring content engineers who focus on automating existing, fading strategies.