Every year, an organisation called ProCopywriters (which we're a member of), commissions and publishes a major survey that asks professional copywriters about key aspects of their jobs, such as how they find work, their wages, how they tackle projects and the presence of AI tools.
(For editorial clarity and context, it's important we state that Haddington & Haddington did not take part in this 2026 survey, and that our position on copywriting has always been that it's better when the writing is 100% produced by a human brain alone).
For ProCopywriters' 2026 survey, 573 copywriters were surveyed from across the UK and other countries offering copywriting services. Probably the most striking statistic is the use of AI in copywriting work in 2026 – up from 59% in 2024 to 74% in 2026. 28% of copywriters believe that AI-generated content is now a component of delivered work.
That said, by contrast, 64% of copywriters claimed that if there was a magic button to completely eradicate AI from the world, they'd press it. When asked the same question two years ago, 45% of respondents claimed they'd press the button, so the trajectory is certainly sweeping upwards.
What tools are copywriters using?
Chat GPT is the most common AI tool used by copywriters surveyed (at 54%), closely followed by Claude at 40% (a jump from 12.5% in 2025). Grammarly comes in at 23%, and Gemini at 19%. The most common task copywriters use AI for is research and information gathering (61%). Generating ideas comes in at 52%, 39% use it for creating outlines, and 28% use it for generating first drafts.
What is AI being used for in copywriting?
Using AI for research alone has soared between 2025 and 2026 (from 38% to 61%). 28% of respondents claimed that AI generated content was present in the final drafts of work presented to clients. 35% of copywriters were instructed to use AI based on client requests.
A question of ethics
Another striking statistic from the survey is the number of respondents who wrote unethical copy without pushback when the client requested it of them. 13% of respondents said they'd been asked to write either unethical or misleading copywriting in the prior 12 months. The survey doesn't state how this links to AI, or whether some of this unethical copy is being produced or suggested by AI models.
Despite it being unethical, 23% wrote the copy and didn't challenge it. 9% escalated. 53% pushed back. Having almost a quarter of people in this group writing the copy anyway raises some serious questions that have wider implications for how brands and institutions are perceived, received and understood. It also raises questions whether this unethical copywriting was produced for companies within regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, energy, environment, science and so on.
Our thoughts
It's interesting that the ProCopywriters survey turned out many opinions that we have been wanging on about for some time now. A client only really favours AI when they prefer speed and price over quality of work. AI can turn out copy to get something 'over the line', but whether it's genuinely 'good enough' will always be an issue. For some, the bar will be low, for others, they'll prefer something that has the deep complexity of a human touch and will appreciate the value that brings.
As ever, it's a topic with opinions that vary from one individual to another. AI has definitely brought about a market shift – to the point where we find clients actively seeking out companies like us who have shunned AI completely (both in their day-to-day running, processes and creative output).
As a creative agency, we don't believe AI copy will ever master writing that can come out of something as nuanced and complex as the human brain. We've served clients who have tried to save money by turning out things like blog posts using AI. It didn't lead to more traffic – if anything the numbers took a decline due to AI slop. We're now managing their (human written) content on a regular basis.
Source: ProCopywriters Survey 2026
