ChatGPT launched to the public in November 2022 with a flurry of interest. So much so that it amassed 100 million monthly active users in just three months, making it the fastest-growing app of all time.

And while its natural language processing is impressive, it still has a ways to go in deciphering reliable sources and statistics and learning how to make ties throughout the content to create a more natural flow and human-sounding content.

For that reason, ChatGPT isn’t ready to be your automated content writer. Instead, it’s a tool to help you get started and save some time drafting content. 

The Problem with Using ChatGPT for Fully Automated Content

Accuracy, SEO, creativity, and originality: those are the main problems with using ChatGPT as your fully automated content writer. That doesn’t mean ChatGPT is obsolete, but it does mean you have to proceed with caution.

1. Accuracy

CNET decided to be an early adopter of AI to write articles. But it quickly put a pause on that because it found errors in more than half of its AI-written stories. CNET then had to issue corrections on 41 out of the 77 AI-written articles.

The articles were on topics like “What is Compound Interest,” “Does a Home Equity Loan Affect Private Mortgage Insurance” and “How Much Should You Keep in a CD.”

While the topics were general money topics, AI still made errors in collecting information from internet sources to create the material. And CNET admitted that some of the language wasn’t entirely original, bringing to light concerns of plagiarism.

With the dawn of AI content generators has come secondary tools to help fact-check the material. But the reality is, there is nothing quite like an expert who has studied the topic to read and review content. 

2. SEO

Then there’s the issue of whether AI-written content will rank for SEO or drag your website’s domain authority down entirely, impacting your search rankings.

Google has stated time and again that low-quality, auto-generated content will not rank well for SEO. That’s not to say that Google is anti-AI-content, but it certainly requires a keen eye and fact-checking.

And the problem with ChatGPT is, it is a content writer that is not specifically designed for SEO. So it isn’t supplying you with content clusters related to your main topic or helping answer related questions your customers might be asking.

That means the content isn’t diverse. It will cover a topic in a straightforward sense, but not in a way that evaluates a searcher’s intent to help answer questions and get to the heart of what the person was looking to answer.

3. Creativity

Your English teacher might have taught you to avoid literary tactics like hyperbole, comparisons, juxtaposition, cliches, etc. But the reality is, these literary tactics can make challenging concepts understandable and boring concepts come to life.

And AI isn’t quite there yet with that kind of creative writing. Instead, what you get is very matter-of-fact content that overall does the job but doesn’t necessarily do much for building a relationship with customers or breaking down a topic into a more understandable sentence.

A chatbot can’t feel, so it can’t describe those feelings. It can’t use relatable experiences or unique comparisons that no one else has made thus far. One creative writing student put the AI tool to the test and asked it to write poems in various styles. But no matter how many times the student asked for a non-rhyming poem, the tool couldn’t seem to pull it off. 

And that’s the struggle with getting a machine to write content for you entirely. It won’t add those human emotions or sentiments that only humans can experience and explain.

4. Originality

ChatGPT writes formulaic, structured content in one style – the style it was programmed to write in. And the information it draws from is information that’s already published elsewhere.

In most cases, the AI tool rewrites the content such that it passes plagiarism checkers. But sometimes it even fails that task to some degree. 

The reality is, using AI for content writing means you get rewritten content from your competitors, or worse, average Joes just sharing their thoughts on a hobbyist blog.

True thought leadership comes from taking the time to sit down and share your thoughts. Even if you use a ghostwriter, it’s still your original thoughts, sentiments and tone shining through.

What ChatGPT Can Be Used for

With its limitations fully explained, now here’s a look at how ChatGPT can be a time-saver for your marketing team. As you work through your B2C or B2B marketing strategies, here’s how AI could fit in.

1. Gathering Topic Ideas

While you shouldn’t trust AI to write website or blog content for you without a thorough review, it can help come up with topic ideas. Ask the popular chatbot about the top issues facing your industry today.

Noodle with your ideas by asking further questions to arrive at valuable new topics. Or input some questions related to a topic you know your customers have an interest in. This will help you lay the groundwork for writing your article and gain an understanding outside of what your customers have told you.

2. Drafting Sales Emails

The great part about email is that it has nothing to do with SEO. Your content in this medium won’t get the same scrutiny that public website or blog content will. 

So far, the tool has proven effective at drafting email marketing campaigns. One of its greatest strengths for this marketing channel is access to data and information on the best words and phrases to use to increase open rates. The subject lines for these emails perform well in most cases.

When instructing ChatGPT, ensure you tell it that the email is an outgoing email to a prospect. This will give the tool more context to work with and create appropriate content.

Whether you use AI to write the full content or just assist with the subject and preheader text, it often produces valuable content that helps save copywriting time.

3. Social Media Content

Social media is another area that has minimal influence on SEO and less scrutiny for originality. AI is good at writing product descriptions for social posts or drafting content to accompany a social post.

This frees up time to write other types of content that AI is not as proficient in and can help ensure that brands produce consistent and regular social media posts.

4. Headlines

Summarizing a product or topic into just a few words is challenging. Using AI to assist in this process can be beneficial if you give it the right information to help draft this content.

And much like email subject lines, AI can use what it knows about attention-grabbing headlines to draft succinct yet engaging content.

5. Meta Data

Another area where getting character counts just right can be challenging is drafting meta data. If you’re struggling with this, ChatGPT or another AI writing tool can help create engaging meta data that helps engage users and hopefully earn clicks from search engines.

Like any use of AI, be sure to review the information for accuracy and improve it where needed.

Using AI for Content

Ultimately, content marketing can be one of the most effective ways to build a relationship with prospects and customers. As such, you want to be sure you’re putting this task in capable hands, whether that be AI or a skilled copywriter.