In The Age Of ChatGPT, Why Do We Still Need Copywriters?

OpenAI recently launched a new chatbot, ChatGPT, which can do things like answer questions, generate code, and provide very specific copy using AI technology. 

Since its release, conversation has blown up with various media outlets discussing what the implications of this new technology have on everything from search engines to college essays.

Within the marketing industry specifically, a common question keeps cropping up: can ChatGPT replace an experienced copywriter? Read on to find out.

Firstly, How Can ChatGPT Help With Copywriting?

ChatGPT Can Generate Ideas and Help Brainstorm Copy

ChatGPT can be a pretty good brainstorming tool. It’s like having another person to talk through copy with, even if they aren’t the most qualified expert. While you can’t count on ChatGPT to get every fact correct, it can spit out some good terms or phrases, all without having to hop on a call with another human.

ChatGPT is particularly helpful if you feel like you’re better at writing long-form content opposed to catchy headlines or ad copy. While this bot certainly won’t provide perfect copy from one prompt, it will provide a whole heap of ideas if you feed it a bunch of suggestions.

ChatGPT Can Write Meta Descriptions

Another thing that ChatGPT is useful for is summarising the text you give it.

When ChatGPT is asked to come up with something totally new, you could get something great or it could go off on a tangent and totally miss the point. But when you give the tool a good selection of words to work from, it’s far less likely to miss the mark.

That means ChatGPT can be a good option for writing meta descriptions, although it’s not always spot on.

ChatGPT Can Create Rough Outlines For Blog Posts

ChatGPT is at the point where it can give you a good outline to form blog posts. We still wouldn’t use it to write an entire post because, by default, ChatGPT tends to create content that is dry and formulaic. The structure it provides, however, can form the foundation for a much more interesting article with a bit of tweaking. 

AI Can Make Sure You Don’t Miss Important Information

One of the best ways to use ChatGPT is to get it to summarise all the really obvious points about a particular subject. Doing so will help make sure you don’t miss any important information. Because the technology is built on huge amounts of written material pulled from the entire corpus of human knowledge, it’s good at hitting all major talking points on most subjects. 

Why We Still Need Human Copywriters

ChatGPT is already creating quite a stir over its ability to produce writing that’s lucid and informative. While some copywriters may be worried by posts and articles that indicate AI could be a cost-saving replacement for their positions, there are some caveats to consider:

ChatGPT Makes Convincing Mistakes

One of the major concerns with this new application is its mistakes. Many times, if ChatGPT doesn’t know the correct answer to a query, it will let you know. But sometimes, the AI believes it knows the answer and will say so with such confidence. If someone takes the information at face value without fact-checking, they may risk spreading inaccurate, misleading, or just plain wrong information.

Any content produced by AI would always need a human eye to look over it for editing and refinement. Only a human can determine whether copy is consistent with your brand, whether it reads exactly as it should, and whether it’s compelling enough to engage its target audience.

ChatGPT Lacks Human Imagination and Insight

While ChatGPT can produce detailed text, it struggles to reliably deliver exceptional copy. Left to its own devices, ChatGPT generally churns out formulaic, high-school style English, rather than anything that’s likely to entice your audience to read more.

Copywriting requires not only a deep understanding of your target consumers, but also an ability to craft messages that resonate with them. ChatGPT lacks the emotional intelligence that a human copywriter brings to the table. 

A human copywriter can understand the intent and context of a message and tailor it accordingly. As well as this, copywriters can use storytelling, play-on-words, and other literary techniques to create a more engaging and persuasive message.

Your Search Rankings May Take a Hit

If you’re using ChatGPT to write blog posts for SEO, it’s important to know that Google doesn’t like AI-created content and may view it as spam. Why? Google values useful content that addresses a query’s question. When that content exhibits experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT), it gets rewarded with better search rankings.

Google doesn’t believe that language modelling software fits the EEAT description. In fact, Google even has some technology that can detect AI-created content and there are human reviewers that can flag a site too. Once a site is flagged, you have to jump through some hoops to rectify the issue. 

ChatGPT Lacks An Understanding Of Current Algorithms

ChatGPT lacks comprehension to the current, regularly changing algorithms employed by search engines like Google. Consequently, it's possible that whatever ChatGPT generates for you, might not be based on the latest SEO best practices and it might not take into account recent algorithm updates.

A copywriter, however, can adhere to these ever-changing algorithms and guidelines to ensure your content is optimised before it goes live. 

ChatGPT Lacks Expertise in Your Business and Industry

ChatGPT does not have expertise in any particular business or sector for which the content is being generated. This lack of knowledge can prove challenging when it comes to delivering precise and detailed information that could aid SEO and build brand authority.

Final Thoughts

ChatGPT is a great brainstorming tool and can be used to supplement the work of a professional copywriter. This technology is great for experienced copywriters to help speed up their writing process and produce higher-quality content in less time. By leveraging the power of ChatGPT’s algorithms, copywriters can reduce errors, increase accuracy and create better content faster than ever before.

However, as an automated tool, ChatGPT will never be able to completely replicate the creativity and skill required by a talented human writer. ChatGPT can certainly provide assistance with certain aspects of writing, however nothing will ever replace the unique touch that only a professional writer can bring to the table.

At CTI Digital, our experienced copywriters deliver everything that ChatGPT offers - and a lot of other things it doesn’t. Get in touch today or view our Content Marketing Services.