• by Joe Mandese and/or Persado , September 6, 2013

Thanks for clicking through to read this full story. It’s actually more of an experiment that you, me and a machine named Persado are conducting together, the results of which are intended to demonstrate which is better at writing something that would interest someone (you) in reading a story (this): a man (me) or a machine (Persado).

The idea for the test came to me when I was interviewing some of the executives responsible for making and marketing Persado, which they call a “marketing language engine.” They told me that Persado utilizes a combination of computer, language and marketing sciences to process trillions of possible combinations of words to write, test, refine and perfect the perfect copy -- copy that is better than any human being could possibly write. Since I’m a human being whose livelihood could be affected by that, I threw down a challenge, and asked whether they would participate in an experiment -- this story -- to see which writer generates better results, Persado or me.

In fairness, Persado was not built to optimize a journalistic story like this one. It was created to optimize advertising copy and marketing performance -- usually words that appear in an advertising banner, search ad or similar digital marketing appeal. Based on seven years of analyzing which words sell better -- or at least motivate people toward some sort of conversion, often a click-through -- they say the words Persado crafts can improve results dramatically over what old-school human beings could on their own.

In truth, Persado is a man/machine collaboration. It does not write copy in a vacuum, and usually starts with campaign copy created by people, which it then breaks down into their five most essential semantic elements -- emotional, functional, descriptive, formatting and positioning -- to determine which ones would work better. It draws on years of historical information in its database on which combinations of words have been proven to work the best, and then it creates 32 new variants that are then tested in real-time to see which ones generate the greatest conversions to determine the perfect copy to be used as the basis of the actual campaign.

To understand why no human could process copy better than Persado, their executives pointed out that those 32 variants were generated from 4,194,304 possible combinations. I will admit -- that is a lot more than I considered when writing this story.

Because we could not test all 32 variants (33 if you include my original headline and lead paragraph), we agreed to randomly pick one of Persado’s and conduct it as an A/B test against my original copy (although the other 31 are published at the end of this article, in case you’re curious). We then split the email distribution list of this letter into two, and randomly sent version A) my copy and B) Persado’s to see which one performed better -- meaning, which ones got you to click through to read this full story.

If you are one of the people who clicked on my copy -- yippee! I still have a job. If you are one of those who clicked on Persado’s -- boohoo, you may have convinced my management at MediaPost to swap me out for a set of algorithms.

The results of this test will be reported in a more extensive version of this story, along with some coverage of some other interesting developments in technology that could change the way we consume media -- especially journalism -- that will be published in the soon-to-be-released fall issue of MEDIA magazine, which is an annual devoted to “The Future of Media.” Come back and read it to see if I still have one.

Editor's Note: The headline and lead of this version you received was written by Persado. The version written by Joe Mandese that was sent randomly to other subscribers read like this:

Headline: If You Don't Read This Story, A Machine Will Take My Job

Lead: The words you are about to read most likely were written by a machine. The people who built the machine say it can write better than a human -- in this case, me. And if the headline and opening of this article you have just read are among the ones written by their machine, then they were right -- and I may be out of a job very soon.

Thirty-One More Reasons To Fire Joe Mandese (Persado's Other Variants):

Headline: This Article Was Generated By A Machine -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: Dear reader, you are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something... And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: You are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: They've Cracked Creativity 

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: They've Cracked Creativity -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: You just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Words Have Secret Powers… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: Dear reader, you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Words Have Secret Powers -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: Check this out: you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Exclusive: This Article Was Generated By A Machine… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: You are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Exclusive: This Article Was Generated By A Machine -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Exclusive: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something 

Lead: Check this out: you are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Exclusive: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: Dear reader, you are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Exclusive: They've Cracked Creativity… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: Dear reader, you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Exclusive: They've Cracked Creativity -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: Check this out: you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Exclusive: Words Have Secret Powers 

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Exclusive: Words Have Secret Powers -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: You just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Must-read: This Article Was Generated By A Machine… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: Check this out: you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Must-read: This Article Was Generated By A Machine -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: Dear reader, you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Must-read: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something 

Lead: You just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Must-read: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: Must-read: They've Cracked Creativity… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Must-read: They've Cracked Creativity -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: You are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Must-read: Words Have Secret Powers 

Lead: Dear reader, you are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: Must-read: Words Have Secret Powers -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: Check this out: you are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: This Article Was Generated By A Machine 

Lead: You just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: This Article Was Generated By A Machine -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: Check this out: you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: 16 Million Different Ways To Sell Something -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: Dear reader, you just got randomly selected to be part of an experiment: it's me vs. a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. So this human is soon getting fired.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: They've Cracked Creativity 

Lead: Dear reader, you are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write better than humans. Are they right? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: They've Cracked Creativity -- That's Not A Joke

Lead: Check this out: you are about to read a story that was probably created by an algorithm -- an algorithm that can allegedly, according to its creators, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Are they right? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: Words Have Secret Powers… And This Could Cost Me My Job

Lead: I never thought I would say this, but you are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to the company that built it, write a more effective text than humans, including myself. Could it be true? Well, if the text you are currently reading was indeed generated by their technology, then this experiment is successful. And I probably need to start looking for a job.

***

Headline: The Power Of Emotions: Words Have Secret Powers -- Or, How Language Meets Math

Lead: You are about to read a story that was probably created by a machine -- a machine that can allegedly, according to its creators, write better than humans. Could it be true? Well, if the words you're reading right now are indeed among the ones their algorithm created, then I guess machines win over humans. And I probably need to start looking for a job.