Will ChatGPT replace content writers?
I’ve been in a few meetings recently where people have asked whether I’m worried about the impact of ChatGPT on my business. I’ve played around with it, watched webinars, listened on social media, and read articles. I’m still no expert but have formed some thoughts.
So, my answer today is “No, I’m not worried”. Used in an ethical way, I even think it could be helpful at times.
First though, the technical stuff.
What is ChatGPT?
If you’ve not come across ChatGPT before, it’s an AI (artificial intelligence) model using learning to generate human-like text, based on prompts from users [info from a How-To Geek article here]. It’s taken the online world by storm, sending lots of professional writers into a tailspin.
Why?
Because OpenAI, the developer, has trained it to learn what humans mean when they ask a question. And it then provides a conversational answer.
Type “Give me party ideas for a 10 year old” into Google, you’ll get a results page with website links. You then need to click on the links to research and find the information you’re looking for.
Type the same thing into ChatGPT and it will search the internet to create a list of ideas 👇
ChatGPT does lots more, for example:
Blog posts
Meta descriptions
Social media captions
Poetry
News articles
Product descriptions
Computer coding
So it’s easy to see why, writers became a little concerned.
AI chatbots are nothing new. But the difference with ChatGPT is that it’s trained on a much bigger set of data 👇
What are some of ChatGPT’s limitations?
Before looking at how writers can embrace AI Chatbots, it’s worth looking at a few limitations. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but some thoughts I’ve gathered over time. A few even came from ChatGPT itself when I asked for a list of the limitations.
1. It sometimes fabricates facts (ie. lies)
I asked ChatGPT whether it ever fabricates facts. Here’s the answer 👇
“[…] it can sometimes generate factually incorrect responses if it has been trained on data that includes inaccuracies or biased information. It is also possible for ChatGPT to generate responses that sound like they are based on facts, but are actually fabrications or exaggerations.”
This shows the importance of checking facts before publishing blog posts, etc created using ChatGPT.
I honestly believe using ChatGPT can be a helpful starting point. But unless you’re churning out bland content for the sake of it, there still needs to be human context, insights, and fact checking.
And, while I'm on the subject, bland content is terrible for both users and SEO ranking.
2. It has no knowledge of your customers
Customer research is a huge part of great content. Understanding what matters to them, what keeps them up at 3am in the morning, and the kind of language which connects, you can create content which resonates.
And this is something which AI writing simply can’t duplicate. When I begin working with a new client, one of my first jobs is to ask questions. It's important for me to understand more about:
The company
Business and marketing goals
Values
Products or services
Tone of voice
The customer
Doing so helps me write great content on behalf of my client. And, importantly, to create something which connects with their customers. That leads to results and ROI.
3. There could be an issue with plagiarism
ChatGPT can help you generate ideas for your blog and web content. But it’s not a substitute for original thinking or creative expression. To create original work, you'll also need to add your own ideas, insights, and unique perspective.
Here's what ChatGPT had to say when I asked whether there could be a problem with plagiarism 👇
“[…] it is possible that the model may generate responses that are similar or identical to text found elsewhere online or in other sources.”
I’m waiting for a legal claim one day about it plagiarising someone's content. Google search provides links to the original articles. ChatGPT creates text based on the original article, often without reference to the source.
Another issue is that simply regurgitating content found elsewhere on the internet, without adding original thoughts and perspectives, does not fall within Google’s helpful content parameters. And that could affect your search ranking.
4. It can provide summaries but not unique insights
ChatGPT works by scouring the dataset it’s been trained on to produce a summary of the topic in question.
It can give you a great starting point when you’re unsure of the subject matter. But, content created by humans will usually have more depth.
Our personal experience and ability to link information to specific situations gives us different perspectives. And, including this will make your content more interesting. By giving people unique angles to consider, they’ll get more value from the posts and content you publish, making them more likely to return to your website in the future.
When creating new content, always write for humans first, then add in any SEO tweaks afterwards.
If it helps, think about the way you personally search for information on the internet. If you click off websites with bland, fluffy text which is laborious to read and gives no real interest or depth of information, it stands to reason your customers will do the same.
Need more evidence? Go check out Google’s Helpful Content Update to the search algorithm in 2022. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for more information.
5. It can be very wordy
When you ask a simple question, ChatGPT will cover the topic from lots of different angles. Which can be interesting, but is often long-winded. To get the contextual answer you wanted, you'll need to filter through the rest.
At times, you may want shorter, more direct answers on your website for customers. Which means having more context. And this is something which ChatGPT itself throws up as a limitation 👇
“ChatGPT can sometimes struggle to understand the context of a conversation.”
Publishing rambling content is not likely to rank well in search results. And it's not good for humans either.
I go back to my last thought in point #4. When you click on a web page full of waffle, do you read or leave the website?
6. It’s often very literal, meaning it doesn’t sound human
During the film Bladerunner a series of questions were asked to determine whether someone was human or android. One question was “You’re watching television. Suddenly you realise there’s a wasp crawling on your arm. What do you do?”
This was the response from ChatGPT 👇
The answer is comprehensive and factually correct. But it's not a human response and feels strange to read [the human response is more likely to be: scream “get it off me”, move your arm, run away, etc].
If you want the content you’re writing to connect with customers, always write with your audience in mind. Give the information and knowledge they want. And write in a human way.
Top tip: If you find it difficult to write conversationally, try recording yourself speaking it out loud - then write that.
7. It’s not going to support you strategically
In the old days of churning out content for the sake of content, publishing hundreds of AI-generated articles could have done the trick. But Google got wise. The algorithm gets tweaked all the time and now favours high-quality, helpful content.
Google wants to limit bland or sensational clickbait type articles in search results. That’s because people don't find that type of content useful. In fact the opposite is often the case.
And it’s simple. If Google doesn't show high quality results, people will use other search engines.
Whilst I market myself as a content writer, I’m more than a writer. I fill a strategic role in my client's businesses.
When creating content for clients, I keep the following thoughts in my mind:
How does the content align with the business and marketing goals?
How can I write content which connects with customers, and increases results?
How can my client repurpose something I write into other content?
I've always thought of myself as a partner for the time we work together. I’m interested in results and seeing their business succeed. Whether that's for one piece of content, or an ongoing monthly retainer.
I think it plays a big part in why I’m currently not too worried about ChatGPT taking my job.
How can ChatGPT help content writers?
AI-generated writing is nothing new. Content and copywriters have been using AI tools for years:
Internet research
Keyword research tools
Headline generators
Grammar checkers
Readability and editing tools
So, having covered a few limitations - and there are more if you want to delve deeper - I wanted to cover some ways that ChatGPT could help writers.
1. Blog outlines
Asking ChatGPT for a blog outline on x topic can be a great place to start your research. It will give a list of sub-headings which you can then build on to create a unique piece of work.
2. Generating ideas
When you're looking for a wider insight into topics, you can ask ChatGPT to come up with some thoughts. You can then develop new ideas from the response to create blog posts and other digital content.
3. Research
You can use ChatGPT to find information and sources for specific topics. This can save lots of research time, but remember to double check facts before using!
4. SEO optimisation
Once you have an article or blog post, you can ask ChatGPT to create a summary or suggest keywords. This can form the basis of a meta description or a starting point for keyword research. It’s not a replacement for SEO techniques, but will get you going.
5. Product descriptions
If you run an eCommerce site with lots of products, you could ask ChatGPT to create individual product descriptions. It's often a laborious task and one which many writers would be happy to delegate to AI-writing.
In summary
With responsible use, ChatGPT can be a helpful tool for writers. But I believe there are currently too many limitations to completely take out the human factor.
AI-generated writing without human input, runs the risk of being bland, fluffy, or inaccurate. And that will not connect with your customers or rank well in search results.
But, I decided to go to the source and ask ChatGPT whether it will replace content writers.
This is the reply 👇
What does Google have to say?
In February 2023, Google released an update on search guidance for AI-generated content.
“Google’s ranking systems aim to reward original, high-quality content that demonstrates qualities of what we call E-E-A-T: expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.”
In 2022, Google also released a helpful content update to the search algorithm. This favoured original, high-quality, and people-first content.
Google is not favouring human-generated content over AI-generated content. But there will be a focus on E-E-A-T qualities when ranking search results.
Read Google Search’s guidance about AI-generated content
Microsoft is one of ChatGPT's backers. But Google recently announced the release of an AI chatbot called Google Bard. It’s still under testing, but expected to be available for public access soon.
So, AI-generated writing isn’t going away. It’s only going to develop and improve over the years.
My job as a content writer is and always has been to focus on the strategic benefit I bring to my clients.
But, as with any relevant software innovation, it's important for me to keep learning. By understanding both how software can help and it's limitations, I get to provide a better service.
