By Blaise Tracy, Director, Novitas Communications
Let’s take a simple example – blogs for instance. My argument is in the subject line and my research proved it. In 2016, writing a blog crossed the three-hour mark. But now you’re saying, “wait, that isn’t ten times” and you’re correct – that’s just the writing time. Check this out…
In 2016, ten years ago, it took six to nine hours to draft a 1,000-word piece (blog or otherwise). Now, that sounds unbelievable. And frankly, it is. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
The expectation in 2016 was six to nine hours. In 2026, it’s 36 to 54 minutes.
First, let’s take this into consideration, there was no AI 2016. No AI to write it for you, no AI for rapid research, no AI to wordsmith or fact-check or dive deep into a topic from multiple perspectives and spit out something clear and precise.
Also, timing must be considered. Is the topic current and relevant? Does it reference old data or the latest insights? Does your audience care right now? What day and hour will you send? Yes, these days, the hour matters. And that counts as more time in scheduling, formatting and posting on multiple platforms, teasing it with pithy lexes, and the like.
And then there’s quality. It must be good – great, in fact. It also must include prime hashtags, proper keywords, schema markup, alt text, compression, internal links, and be set up for SEO, GEO, and then loaded onto the audience-proper social platforms – with a unique spin for that audience, of course. Remember, enticing and approved imagery boosts engagement. Oh, you want a special design? More time.
Oh, hey, be sure AI crawlers can reach you. Why? Because it must set itself apart from the 6-8 million blog posts each day. Yes, each day. Perhaps I’ll write a blog on that topic.
I liken it to the time it took to research and write a 1,000-word report with the latest tools of the 1980’s and 90’s including the Dewey decimal system, a dozen library books, a typewriter, and the most glorious editing invention of its time, Wite-Out. Still available, by the way.
Just 10 years ago, scouring the internet to research and validate multiple proof points and sources took time. I’ve been in the business of writing and communications for more than 25 years, and six to nine hours was way more time than I originally thought. So, I did my research.
What AI said
I asked AI (and double checked it with more than three sources), “How long did it used to take to write a 1,000-word blog post, with no AI help – say in 2016?” Here’s what she said:
2016 is a convenient year for this question, because the survey average landed almost exactly on your target: the average post was 1,050 words, up 19% from 2015. So, a 1,000-word post was a typical post that year.
On drafting time, 2016 is the year the curve crossed three hours. Most bloggers — 56% — reported three hours or less: 8% under an hour, 25% between one and two, 24% between two and three. The remaining 44% said more than three hours. MarketingProfs
Here’s the full-process breakdown:
Roughly six to nine hours end to end for a researched 1,000-word post — up about an hour from 2015.
Three things drove the increase, and only one of them is word count:
- Keyword work got heavier. Google’s Hummingbird-era shift toward topic depth meant more upfront competitive analysis of what was already ranking. Writers started checking the SERP before choosing an angle rather than after. SERP? Look it up. I know, I know, it’ll take time.
- Visual expectations rose sharply. A text-only post looked dated by 2016. Custom images, screenshots, and at least one embedded video became close to standard, and Canva was just becoming widely used.
- Length inflation compounded quietly. The share of posts running 2,000 or more words doubled that year — so even a 1,000-word writer was now competing against longer pieces and researching accordingly.
Orbit found that bloggers who actually saw results from their efforts were spending upward of six hours per post — and the people reporting six hours were almost certainly counting more of the process than the ones reporting two. Spinsucks
The pieces AI compresses most are also the ones that ate the most time back then: source gathering, outlining, and the second and third revision passes. Fact-checking is the one that hasn’t gotten meaningfully cheaper — arguably it’s gotten more expensive.
Six to nine hours.
If some of you think this is still hard to swallow, I get it. My ultimate point is this – because we have AI, today’s content delivery expectation is 10 times shorter than what it used to be. So, in the case of blogs, if you think it took an hour in 2016, today’s expectation is 6 minutes.
I’m not alone in this belief. Here are more proof points:
- How long does it take to write a blog post?
- How Long Does It Take To Write A Blog Post (Really)?
- How Long Should a Blog Post Be?
Imagine your boss saying to you in 2026, “Please write a compelling blog on this topic. You’ve got a day; day and a half.” Unheard of with today’s pace and levels of expectation. Now visualize time deliverable expectations of content in 2027… and 2030.
Stress levels on managing these expectations? Yeah, that’s another blog. Give me a day; day and a half.
A final thought
How long did it take me to write (and research and fact check, and wordsmith) this 1,169 word post? I don’t know. For me, it rarely ever is a get-it-done-in-one-sitting type of thing.
Although, when I do track my time, I certainly never add in the factors of pondering topic angles while I’m shaving, the perspective and flow of it as I cook breakfast, or the bullet points I jot down on random scraps of paper throughout the day to help me remember my periodic sparks of insight. Sure, often I do add the time to re-read, read aloud, ponder perspectives, and enact scenarios in my head.
Although, if anyone does ask how long it took me, I’ll undoubtedly say, “oh, about 36 minutes.”
Now, I’m sure AI is tracking my every move, so perhaps I’ll ask her. I’m sure she’ll do her research, double check for spelling, accuracy, and sensibility, and then get me a crisp, politely worded answer in .6 seconds.
