With the launch of ChatGPT and You.com propelling AI into the mainstream, will copywriters be out of a job? It’s a hot topic right now. We did some digging…
In 100 years’ time, when our cyborg selves are processing the history logs, the 2020s will go down as the decade of AI. This machine-learning tech is advancing so rapidly that it’s hard for my ‘geriatric’ 39-year-old human self to keep up.
But with the likes of ChatGPT and You.com, two new AI-powered search engines propelling the power of AI into the mainstream, it’s not something that can be ignored.
ChatGPT is a search engine like no other, in fact, it considers itself a chatbot. When you’re using it, you’re not just asking a question, you’re having a conversation and it is providing analytical responses drawn from the insights from multiple sources in real time.
You.com is powered both by Google and an additional powerful AI capability that can draw from web and app results and learn rapidly from the searches you input. That’s the search engine part, but one of the core apps that sits alongside You.com is YouWrite, a writing assistant chatbot that echoes the capabilities of ChatGPT.
YouWrite vs ChatGPT
What makes YouWrite different to ChatGPT is that it is specifically designed as a writing tool, with options to change tone, identify the use case and set the audience type, theoretically making it more advanced and appropriate as a copywriting tool.
You have to try them both out to really understand why these technologies are making waves. Test them yourself and you’ll discover rapid response, cleverly constructed and (mostly) natural speech answers and what seems like intelligent answers. But with these early leaps into AI, there are some watch-outs to consider.
Before I share those, first let’s see an example to demonstrate the quality of responses.
We asked both ChatGPT and You.com ‘Will AI make copywriting obsolete’. Here is what ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT’s response:
It is unlikely that AI will make copywriting obsolete. While AI may be able to assist with certain aspects of copywriting, such as suggesting alternative words or phrases, it is unlikely to be able to fully replace the creative and strategic thinking that goes into effective copywriting.
Copywriting is an important part of many businesses’ marketing and advertising efforts, and involves creating compelling and persuasive written content to communicate a message to a specific audience. This can include writing website copy, product descriptions, emails, social media posts, and more.
AI may be able to assist with some of the more routine and repetitive tasks involved in copywriting, such as fact-checking and proofreading, but it is unlikely to be able to fully replicate the human ability to understand and connect with an audience in a way that is meaningful and effective.
In short, while AI may be able to augment the work of copywriters, it is unlikely to fully replace the need for human copywriters.
Thanks ChatGPT! That seems like a sensible and well-rounded answer. The language is plain, so that it can be well understood by the largest number of people and it’s clearly not selfishly biased. Good start.
Let’s try YouWrite…
YouWrite’s response
As a business owner, you’ve probably heard the buzz about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and wondered if it will make copywriting obsolete. The truth is that AI has made tremendous advances in recent years, but there are still some things that only humans can do.
When it comes to copywriting, AI technology is not yet advanced enough to produce content with the same level of creativity and nuance as a human writer. While AI tools may be able to generate basic text based on certain parameters or keywords provided by the user, they don’t have the ability to understand context or create compelling stories like an experienced human writer can. Therefore for now at least, copywriters remain invaluable when it comes creating engaging content for your business needs—whether online or offline!
In addition to its limitations in terms of creativity and storytelling abilities, AI also lacks empathy – something which many businesses need from their writers when crafting marketing messages aimed at particular audiences. Copywriters are experts in understanding how people think and feel about different topics; this insight allows them craft persuasive messaging tailored specifically towards target demographics which resonates more deeply than any machine-generated text could ever hope too!
So while artificial intelligence continues advancing rapidly each year–for now anyway–it simply cannot replace what experienced human writers bring to your company’s communications strategy: creative flair combined with deep insights into consumer behavior patterns all wrapped up together into powerful messaging designed just right for your audience.
Interestingly, YouWrite appears to have inferior writing skills to ChatGPT standards in terms of grammar. As highlighted in red, there are a few missing words, commas and poor punctuation peppered around. As a result, the language feels a bit more stunted. But still, it’s not too shabby.
However as these short AI responses show, there are quite a few ways that AI can’t match up to the prowess of a skilled and experienced copywriter for creating high-quality content. Here are a few…
Human copywriters vs AI
1. Copywriters can write anything
Copywriters do not just write blogs or web copy. Copywriters work across a huge variety of content, both digital and print. Sometimes a copywriter is needed in order to find the exact three words that are going to compel your audience to click a button. Or to create eye-catching copy for a flyer. As yet, the ability to do that doesn’t exist within the realm of AI.
2. Copywriters are fun
Copywriters are completely unique individuals, with unique creative skills, inspirations and perceptions. While it’s possible to adapt the tone of AI copy, it lacks the unpredictable creativity, the formation of arguments and intimate investigative powers that copywriters pride themselves on.
It’s these qualities that make reading fun, interesting and memorable.
3. Copywriters know their audience
Copywriters know what their audience eats for breakfast, they know what they do for a living, where they shop and importantly, what will resonate with them.
This means they know what phrases will make their audience smile, or feel icky; what information they need to know first and what additional information they’ll find most interesting.
Copywriters start with a skeleton information hierarchy based on their understanding of the subject matter and their audience needs. This thinking doesn’t come in to AI-produced content.
4. Copywriters can feel
Copywriters can understand and use emotions to persuade and drive action. Emotion is such a powerful tool for building relationships and trust with an audience. Knowing how the user might be feeling as they read the copy changes the way it is written. For example, if they are seeking medical advice, understanding that they may be in pain, or frustrated can help the copywriter to write compassionately and clearly.
5. Copywriters never write the same thing twice
When tested, it was found that copy written by bots can include significant amounts of repetition. Creating non-original content is something that is particularly frowned upon by search engines and it doesn’t look good to your reader if they find the same or extremely similar content on both your and your competitor’s websites.
6. Copywriters use multiple factors to sense-check
Copy written by AI still needs human influence at a bare minimum in the form of fact-checking, quality assurance and alignment with organisational values and objectives. Only a human can navigate the complexities of all of the elements that go into forming effective copy that is targeted at the audience and designed to achieve set goals.
7. Copywriters give a crap
Copywriters are invested in the success of your content and want to see your business succeed, they’ll work hard to form content that propels your business and can follow complex instructions to achieve what you need the copy to, adapting as and when required
8. Copywriters have a voice
While I used ChatGPT to inspire this list (ah-ha!), I used my copywriting skills to enhance it, correct it, and give it my voice (oooh!) That’s something that AI technology, however advanced, struggles to do.
9. Copywriters are accountable
One final, very important watch-out when using AI content – accuracy and accountability. Probably the most compelling reason to be extremely cautious about AI content is that the sources of the information provided are currently not listed. Without a list of references, there is simply no way to fact-check the content and the potential for you to deliver inaccurate information is great. This leaves your audience open to risk, and your organisation open to litigation.
The revolution is here
Don’t get me wrong. AI is revolutionising the way we create across all creative sectors. Ignore it at your peril, because you’ll soon get left behind.
Co-writing with AI can significantly speed up your production time and help you get out of a rut if you’re having one of those ‘fuzzy-headed days’. But in order to maintain quality, AI should be seen as a tool for inspiration, rather than a complete service. So, when it comes to creating high-quality, engaging content that drives results, come and talk to someone like me, not GPT.
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About the Author
Niki May Blane is founder of Big Bee Content – our ‘Queen Bee’.
She can most commonly be found buzzing around her computer, delivering virtual workshops, creating copious amounts of copy and drinking coffee to combat the ill effects of non-sleeping children.
