AI and ChatGPT are currently major buzzwords in digital marketing. As some businesses look to ChatGPT as a way to cut costs we’re examining AI copywriting to see what’s cooking and examine if it is indeed worth it in the long run.
Let’s dive in and find out…
ChatGPT and the talking chimpanzee…
As far as I know, nobody has successfully taught a chimpanzee to speak.
Okay, bear with me here…
Let’s just say someone did.
It would become a highly trending topic, people would be amazed by the talking chimpanzee.
The talking chimpanzee, however, would be doing what millions of 5-year-olds the world over already do. They don’t make the news!
So why would the talking chimp create a sensation and make headlines?
Because as humans we are amazed by the seemingly impossible like sword swallowing or magic tricks.
That’s how I see AI writing tools like ChatGPT at the moment.
Wow, we think. AI is able to research and generate articles within seconds, way faster than we could ever do it.
The fact that the articles sound human-like is what makes ChatGPT particularly fascinating, just as a talking chimpanzee would!
Still, as with magic tricks, things aren’t always what they seem.
It’s important to bear in mind that ChatGPT only uses available data up until 2021 and is not up to date with current events, furthermore, accuracy is not the focus of ChatGPT but rather producing natural language.
Open Ai, the creators of ChatGPT have clearly stated on their FAQ page that the information produced may not be accurate. All this to say that it’s important to understand the benefits as well as the limitations of ai copywriting.
Ai copywriting and AI, in general, is likely to have a growing impact on society, it’s just important we don’t get overly distracted by the talking chimp or trust in everything the chimp says!
What does ChatGPT or any other ai content writer know about love?
If we asked ChatGPT how it feels to be in love and I did, you’ll get a list of feelings and sensations of what one could experience when in love.
In general, they aren’t wrong, but, ChatGPT has never been in love. ChatGPT is collecting data, assembling it in a readable format and spewing it out.
Ask a bunch of people how it feels to be in love and you will be able to connect and empathise with those people and their experiences because they actually experienced love and that is the point.
It’s not generic info, it’s individual experiences and feelings which is infinitely more valuable.
When publishing content, we want to provide readers with a perspective that comes from unique insights, knowledge and experience, this is what will keep people coming back for more and also have a positive effect on Google rankings.
AI copy, ChatGPT and the like could be crudely compared to ultra-processed food (UPF)
Here I go again, first I was talking about chimpanzees, then love and now ultra-processed foods, all in the context of ai copywriting.
Amazing what humans are capable of when they are feeling creative!! ; )
I would say we could liken AI copywriting, and ChatGPT output as it is today to ultra-processed foods, you know what I mean. Factory-produced food that is consistent, cheap and generally not the most nutritious if we’re honest.
Ultra-high processed foods are made to satisfy the largest amount of people, be quick to serve and be at a lower price point than freshly produced food.
The day artificial intelligence is able to produce content that is truly original, engaging and indistinguishable from content written by experts will be a different matter altogether but we’re not there yet and maybe never will be.
You’re perhaps getting the feeling I’m not the biggest fan of ChatGPT or some kind of technophobe stuck in the past, so a couple of disclaimers to put your minds at ease…
Disclaimer 1: I am not a technophobe, far from it in fact.
I have been in tech since before Windows was invented, going back to the days of MS Dos 3.3!
I witnessed the advent of Windows and macOS, the growth of the personal computer, the arrival of email and the internet followed by e-commerce and cloud computing. Then came smartphones, apps, crypto/web3/blockchain technology and now AI.
Throughout this time I have adapted, created and used technology to my benefit and continue to do so.
When ChatGPT was announced in November 2022 by Open AI I was naturally curious to see what it could do.
One of my other companies has a blog with specific pages that consistently rank page 1 on Google. They have been written and SEO optimised by us, sure, it takes considerable time and effort but the results speak for themselves.
I wanted to see if I could use ChatGPT to create similar articles. I rolled up my sleeves and gave it a go.
Sure enough, I thought, oh, that’s readable, the grammar and syntax are ok and the writing sounds relatively natural.
Did I start using ChatGPT to scale our successful series of articles? Hell no!
I played around with ChatGPT to see if I could optimise the results and came to the conclusion that ai copy was not going to produce the quality, accuracy of information and results we need to confidently publish content for our readers. I also didn’t want to risk ruining the good reputation of our website with Google either!
Disclaimer 2: I am not anti ai in general
I believe ai has its uses and in some sectors and fields may prove highly beneficial.
One of the key areas where I feel ai can be very beneficial is first-line customer service chatbots. Fact-based and predictable.
In customer service, there are always common problems and questions asked that are extremely repetitive.
Do you deliver in this particular area? What happens if my package doesn’t arrive? Do you accept American Express cards? And so on.
AI and a chatbot can respond to these queries in a human-like way and don’t require the customer to have to wait for a human operator.
By using ai for simple repetitive queries customer service teams can be more readily available for complex problems. It’s a win-win in the above scenario and fast and cost-effective for the company.
The above is one clear example of ai being used in a way that benefits all parties, is a great use of technology and a saviour for customer service professionals the world over!
Can ChatGPT and other forms of ai copywriting be useful?
Writing like playing the guitar is a skill that takes time to learn. If you don’t possess writing skills you could use ai tools like ChatGPT to create a draft article which you then fact-check and add your own personal touch.
Another potential use could be to spark ideas. If you are feeling creatively blocked you could use ChatGPT to suggest topics for example.
At the end of the day, ChatGPT is a tool which if used correctly could provide some benefit to those that don’t have the ability to write or the budget to pay professional content writers.
What is the end result? Is ai copywriting better than human copywriting?
It’s of course relative. Take a poorly skilled human writer and compare their writing with that of ai copywriting, ai will at first glance win.
However, pitch a highly skilled and experienced writer against ChatGPT and the opposite will most likely be true.
The human writer has feelings and life experiences to dig into, things that ChatGPT simply doesn’t have.
The human writer can take seemingly abstract concepts like talking chimpanzees, love and ultra-processed foods and weave them into an original story that is hopefully entertaining and makes sense to the reader.
The human copywriter will cost more and take more time, a little like the delicious food the expert chef makes or in fact anything of real value.
So you have to ask yourself, would you prefer a bland-tasting microwave meal ready to eat in 1 or 2 minutes or would you prefer to have a chef cook up something delicious? Would you really trust the love advice of someone who’s never been in love or really fully trust the wisdom of a talking chimp?
Conclusion
If you want to stand out as a business, engage your prospective customers and increase conversions, content writing by experts is still the way to go based on current technology.
This may however change in the future as AI and future generations of tools like ChatGPT are released.
For now, though, I believe it is worth investing the time and money in original content written by expert writers if you want to stand out from the competition and be a true market leader.