Over the past couple of months, the advent of ChatGPT has been one of the most consequential stories to emerge from the world of tech. This new artificial intelligence chatbot not only provides answers to online search inquiries, but it can also take direction to write essays, poems, and other types of content.
This ability to generate written content has brought with it a range of potential concerns, including questions about ChatGPT’s use in academia. Additionally, marketers have wondered about ChatGPT’s utility in SEO or content development.
Before you use ChatGPT to generate content for your own marketing efforts, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind.
ChatGPT and Marketing: Core Considerations
1) There is no guarantee that ChatGPT’s content will be accurate.
While ChatGPT is in many respects an amazing piece of technology, it’s not without its limitations. First and foremost, marketers should know that the content produced by ChatGPT is not guaranteed to be accurate. That’s because ChatGPT draws from information found on the Web to predict which word should come after the previous word, sentence, or paragraph.
This often results in content that sounds persuasive, and in some cases may actually be totally accurate. But even the makers of ChatGPT have warned against making any assumptions that the content generated will be trustworthy. Anything produced via ChatGPT should be thoroughly vetted with additional online research.
2) ChatGPT has been programmed to avoid certain topics.
Another limitation (if that’s what you want to call it) is that ChatGPT has been programmed to avoid certain topics and certain types of content. Specifically, ChatGPT will not generate sexually explicit content, nor content that includes graphic violence. You also can’t use ChatGPT to find instructions for potentially harmful activities; for instance, ChatGPT won’t tell you how to make explosives.
It’s unlikely that these taboos will really affect marketers, but still, it may be helpful to know that there are certain things ChatGPT just won’t do.
3) ChatGPT has a blind spot when it comes to current events.
ChatGPT is only aware of what happened in the world up through 2021. Anything more recent than that is off the program’s radar.
It seems very possible that future updates to the ChatGPT program will correct this, bringing the bot up to speed with recent world events. But for now, if you need content that’s truly cutting edge and of-the-moment (which marketers often do), this program may not be able to deliver.
4) ChatGPT is designed to be positive!
The makers of ChatGPT designed it to maintain certain biases, specifically biases toward positivity and uplift. In other words, the content produced will always go out of its way to avoid any type of negative, framing everything in an optimistic light.
This isn’t a problem per se, but it can certainly affect the way content is framed and presented. Marketers who want to create content about specific pain points or obstacles, for example, may find that ChatGPT doesn’t quite give them what they want.
5) ChatGPT benefits from extensive direction.
ChatGPT can produce content based on either very minimal or very specific instructions. Generally speaking, the more direction you provide, the more likely it will be that you get content that’s totally unique. Meanwhile, if you give a very general request, you’ll likely get content that is similar in tone and structure to other content produced with the same query.
This can be seen as either a limitation or a strength; certainly, marketers who take the time to carefully dictate their content specifications will get results that are more useful and more unique.
6) Google has warned against posting ChatGPT-generated content.
There is evidence to suggest that Google’s algorithms are reasonably good, though probably not perfect, at determining whether content was produced by AI bots. And for now, Google’s warning to marketers is that AI-produced content will result in lower search engine rankings. Google’s stated preference is for content that has a “human touch,” generated by actual people and not sophisticated computer programs.
Does that mean ChatGPT has no use for marketers and SEO professionals? By no means. For research and topic ideation, this program may prove highly valuable. For now, though, we would caution against posting AI-generated content directly to your website or blog, if only because it’s unlikely to deliver the SEO benefits you may desire.
The Cutting Edge of Marketing and SEO
The rise of AI is a big story, sure to have lasting implications for marketing and SEO professionals. At enCOMPASS Agency, we like to keep an eye on developments like these, and to keep our clients in the loop at all times. We’ll continue to share updates about ChatGPT as they become available. With any questions, we invite you to contact our team directly.
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