So, there’s this thing people are talking about. It’s called ChatGPT.
Have you heard about it? Of course you have!
Are you panicking about it? Hopefully not.
Are you learning about it? I certainly hope so.
Are you playing with it? If not, start.
Because AI (including, but not limited to, ChatGPT) is here. In fact, it’s been here (e.g., autocorrect, navigation, algorithms, text editors) for a while now — and it’s not going anywhere.
I must admit that, as a content creator and copywriter, the very idea of advanced AI being capable of doing what I do — but at 1000x the speed — terrified me at first.
“No newfangled robot’s going to take my job,” I declared, shaking my fist in the air like I was trying to chase kids off my lawn. (Do I hear an “AMEN” in the back?)
That was then — when the doomsday articles about the impending takeover by AI were becoming more and more frequent. To say that the predictions being made caused me some angst would be a significant understatement.
But now, in the shadow of ChatGPT and other AI-driven content generators that have come into the marketplace, I find myself in the unexpected position of being excited. I’m optimistic about the potential this new(ish) technology has to make content creation a more interactive and fun process.
From educators to lawyers to entrepreneurs, content creation is an everyday need (struggle???). How can AI help?
What could or should we expect from it?
How much should we depend on it?
What — if anything — should we outsource to it?
Should we fear it, embrace it or do both cautiously?
These are the questions I’ve been considering as I experiment with a variety of AI content platforms, including Jasper AI, Peppertype AI, WordHero, Bramework, Frase, Writer Zen and — of course —ChatGPT.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
AI Isn't a Content Vending Machine.
For anyone who thinks that they can give AI a prompt and immediately be rewarded with piles and piles of content that’s on brand, that’s on strategy and that doesn’t need a single speck of editing by a human being, pump the brakes.
Let’s say you ask the AI platform to create a list of 10 tweets that promote your dog walking service.
You’ll get 10 tweets. But they’re most likely to be 10 tweets that could be used by any dog walking service.
Any content you create and publish needs to be steeped in your brand voice and personality.
Unless you’re offering a product or service that no one else in the world is offering, having a strong and recognizable brand voice is a nonstarter if you want to have a chance of standing out. And that means a human being who knows your brand backward and forward (most likely YOU) needs to go into those AI-generated tweets and add that magic brand language that makes your business so unique.
But AI is GREAT for a First Draft.
I’ve noticed that quite a bit of promotional messaging for different AI platforms touts their ability to write a blog post in less than 15 minutes or 10 minutes or five minutes. Can they? Absolutely. Would I use any of the posts I’ve created using AI without pretty extensive edits? Nope.
What I’ve found through the experimenting I’ve been doing is that, although the content written by AI is good (REALLY good in many cases), it’s lacking the human touch. Creating content for a specific (and human) audience requires tapping into emotions, providing insights that are uniquely yours, sharing experiences, demonstrating empathy. And that needs to come from you.
So, why even use AI for content?
Because it can take the pain (or at least most of it) out of creating a first draft!
I don’t know about you, but sitting down in front of my computer to write a blog post, social media post, website copy or pretty much anything else can feel like a real pain in the proverbial ass. It’s HARD!
By using AI to create a first draft of any type of content, you’re letting the “robot” do the stuff you hate and giving yourself more time to do the things you’re really good at and really enjoy when it comes to content creation.
You can take that first draft and then edit it, shape it and make it yours. In other words, you can humanize it.
Effective Prompts are EVERYTHING.
Creating effective prompts for AI is, in my humble opinion, going to be the next high-value skillset any entrepreneur and/or marketer needs to develop. Why? Because the more accurately you can tell AI what you want, the better its output will be.
When I first starting playing around with AI, I wasted SO MUCH time entering vague prompts into AI content and image generators. That caused many, many, MANY bouts of frustration. I just wanted to take my toys and go home.
For example, it’s not enough to ask it to “create a list of 10 titles for my blog post about dog walking.” You’ll get 10 titles. But odds are you won’t get 10 awesome titles — or even a couple.
Instead, a better prompt would be something like this: “Create a list of 10 titles for a blog post that explains the benefits of having a dog walker take care of your dog while you’re away and provides tips about how to choose the best dog walking service for your dog.”
What I’ve learned is details — and LOTS of them — are crucial when it comes to getting AI to output content that’s going to be closer to what you’re looking for.
I’ve also found that creating effective prompts for AI image generators is a much more challenging task for me. The best prompts for these tend to be ones that include very specific language regarding style, color, angle, size, proportions, etc.
I definitely don’t claim to be an expert prompt creator. But I’m learning through a TON of trial and error.
It's Not Always Right.
Quote attributions.
Math problems.
Facts.
These are just a few things AI can get wrong.
Just like you should fact check a draft that a human being writes, you need to check any draft written by AI. It’s really that simple.
If you publish something AI has written without reviewing it and there’s an error in it, that’s on you — not the AI. (I’m throwing in a little tough love here.)
AI Won't Do Your Thinking for You.
The first time I used AI for content creation a little over a year ago, I was blown away.
It was like watching magic happen right there on my computer screen! I had put in a prompt for a blog post and — BAM — the post was being written at supersonic speed.
After experimenting with AI for several months, I continued to be impressed by the content being created. However, I was also realizing that AI wasn’t actually thinking. It was great at stringing sentences together in ways that made sense and that were pretty darn readable. But it wasn’t thinking.
Don’t take my word for it, though. I entered two prompts into the beta version of Jasper AI‘s chatbot (affiliate link), asking how and if AI thinks.
Here are the prompts and responses:
PROMPT: Does AI think strategically?
RESPONSE: AI is capable of making strategic decisions based on data and
algorithms, but it does not think in the same way a human does. For
example, AI may be able to look at certain pieces of data and come up
with a strategy for achieving a specific goal, but it cannot make
connections between unrelated topics or come up with creative ideas like
humans can. AI is also limited by its programming – if the data or
algorithms given to it are flawed, then the decisions made by AI will
also be flawed.
PROMPT: Does AI think creatively?
RESPONSE: AI is not capable of thinking creatively in the same way humans can. AI is limited to what it has been programmed for, so it cannot come up with new solutions or ideas as a human might. AI does have the ability to
recognize patterns or draw conclusions from data sets, which can be
useful for solving certain types of problems. However, AI does not have
the capacity to think outside the box or come up with unique solutions
that would require creative thought.
AI won’t do your thinking for you. So, beware of becoming overly dependent on it.
BUT it can be a fantastic content creation collaborator and partner.
AI Isn't Here to Replace You.
Pretty much any type of new technology can strike fear in the hearts of humankind. Logic goes out the window and emotion takes over. It’s happened time and time again in society. Examples include technologies such as:
Electricity
Elevators
Subways
Telephones
We can now add artificial intelligence to that list. But I don’t believe it needs to be.
As someone who grew up watching The Jetsons on Saturday mornings, I always longed for the days of flying cars and robots that would do chores. (I’m talking to you, Rosie the Robot!)
We don’t have flying cars yet — at least not any that I know about. But we do have robots that help us clean so that we have more time to do more important — or fun — things. (Robot vacuums, anyone?)
My prediction is that AI will eventually become our Rosie the Robot. It’ll do the mundane things that we dread and it’ll do them really, really well (and fast). That’s going to give us more time to focus on things like strategy, creativity, problem-solving, and all of the other things we as humans find purpose in doing.
Are there legal and ethical issues surrounding AI that need to be figured out? Absolutely.
Are there content creators who will lose their jobs to AI? Probably. But it’ll be those who refuse to learn how to work with AI technologies.
But, unlike AI, we are human beings.
We have emotions.
We experience the world through all of our senses.
We have empathy.
We crave real connections with other human beings.
We have stories to share.
All of these things are uniquely human. And they’ll always be needed for creating content that moves us, that inspires us, and that helps us understand the human experience more deeply.
AI can’t do that. And that’s why AI won’t replace us. But it can surely be an effective (and welcomed) partner for us. We just need to be open to learning about it and playing with it.
Speaking for myself, I know that I have a LOT more learning and playing to do. And that’s totally fine with me.
