The past five months have seen a rush of ground-breaking AI launches, including Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT: an AI-powered chatbot allowing users to simulate human-like conversations with an AI.
I’ve been hearing more and more about the potential of this new technology – from clients, colleagues, my spouse, on social media…. One prediction for AI even sees it powering 95% of all customer interactions by 2025 (Servion Global Solutions).
As someone who doesn’t love to vacuum, I’ve added an iRobot Roomba to my wish list. I’m also someone who enjoys using a chatbot to get a simple question answered fast. But it was with a certain amount of apprehension that I’ve been attempting my first prompts using ChatGPT, to find out whether it can convincingly create compelling marketing content.
My verdict: I wouldn’t say there was anything wrong with the copy it produces, but it wasn’t the nuanced or thoughtful response I was expecting – it certainly lacked the creative thinking I would expect from a seasoned content strategist.
How does ChatGPT help us as marketers?
While the chatbot may be a tremendous tool for marketers, it is important to understand the realistic possibilities and expectations of it to get the most value.
In its current form, it cannot replace the human factor in marketing, but it could support a content strategist with:
Researching topics related to the industry or niche we are targeting. By generating a large volume of relevant data, ChatGPT can gather insights and information to inform our content creation process.
Generating ideas for new assets. By inputting a specific topic or keyword, ChatGPT can generate multiple suggestions and angles for content, helping us to identify new and unique ideas.
Optimising content for search engines by suggesting relevant keywords and phrases to include. This can help improve the visibility and ranking of our content in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Limitations to watch out for
While the wide range of possibilities for enhancing marketing processes are enticing, it is important for businesses to know about some key limitations and when to limit or avoid using ChatGPT.
It lacks true emotional intelligence: ChatGPT provides state-of-the-art human-like response and content. But be aware, the tool is only ‘human-like’. Without humans to provide relevancy, character, experience, it struggles to convey emotions effectively or understand the emotional impact of certain words or phrases.
Watch out for errors: While the marketing content may appear logical, the chatbot is unaware of the accuracy of its own conclusions. An important thing to understand is that the chatbot was only trained on internet data up to the year 2021. Marketers need to review and validate the content to avoid possible errors and ensure consistency with their brands.
Not the most creative mind: ChatGPT’s creativity is limited by its programming and training data, which may lead to repetitive or formulaic marketing content, lacking originality or innovation.
So, are humans are irreplaceable?
While ChatGPT has the potential to enhance marketing, it’s my view that the technology is simply another tool in the marketing toolkit, it is unlikely to even replace human creativity and ingenuity.
Humans bring a level of creativity, intuition, and emotional intelligence to marketing that machines still cannot replicate. Human marketers are able to think beyond the data and analytics to understand the unique needs and desires of their target audience, and they can use their own experiences and perspectives to create truly original and compelling content.
ChatGPT could support ideation and enhance existing content. However, the human factor is still essential for examining outputs and creating marketing messages that are consistent with a brand’s business strategy and vision.
