ChatGPT for Copywriters: The Good, The Bad and The Morally Dubious

By Hatty Cadman

Welcome back to the Electric Cat Newsletter, friends. This week’s installment is going to touch on the buzzword of all buzzwords - ChatGPT. Specifically, should copywriters be using it? And if so, how? This is far from a unique talking point, but our resident copywriter had two cents to add to the conversation (and we like to let her loose on the public every so often). So, strap in as we explore the ups, downs, twists and turns on the moral rollercoaster of generative AI. ??

There are plenty of outraged posts on LinkedIn proclaiming absolute horror at the concept of writers using ChatGPT; I stumble across them more days than not. And on the surface, I wholeheartedly agree - of course writers shouldn’t be billing clients and claiming credit for work they simply didn’t do. That being said, with the widespread emergence and adoption of AI, it would be remiss of any of us to swear off its use entirely, especially with its undeniable potential to enhance content and productivity. It boils down to whether we can strike a balance between technology which makes our lives easier and more efficient, and our integrity as creators. My thoughts on this are ever-evolving, but here’s some ways that you can get the most out of ChatGPT without sacrificing your morals along the way.??

The Good?

Feedback: ChatGPT is ruthless. Given the right prompts, I challenge you to come away without something of value to amend in your writing. When offering a draft to ChatGPT for review there are a few prompts that will get you super clear suggestions:

• Role assignment - ask ChatGPT to act as your target demographic, whether this is a prospective buyer, reader of a publication or specific client.
• Be clear about the objective of the piece - is it designed to convert sales? Inspire engagement? Spark an emotion? Prove a point??
• Ask for the strengths and weaknesses. You may not always agree, but it may highlight areas for easy tweaks.
• Specify the desired tone - should it be chatty and fun, or is this a technical blog article for a B2B corporate??
• Request a rating out of 10, giving you a clear metric to compare future versions against.

You may not always choose to implement ChatGPT’s feedback, but it can certainly provide a good sounding board to review copy. If, like me, you too are a prolific waffler who struggles to “kill your darlings,” it can also be a great tool to condense word counts.

Springboarding: ChatGPT can massively aid in the initial stages of planning and writing longform content. The ability to quickly survey research avenues, structure articles, and generate ideas (especially when writing on less familiar topics), saves time and resources which can instead be used in the writing and honing stages.?

Eliminating Faff: As a freelancer, being able to delegate is life-changing, even if it is to a faceless robot. Using AI to write the LinkedIn posts, emails or proposals you simply wouldn’t have time for otherwise is a game changer. Should you use it for everything all the time? No. But as a one-human band, it can relieve some of the weight of day to day operations.?

The Bad

ChatGPT is bad for a few things, namely…

Writing: It’s... really bad.?

Causing Creative Atrophy: The more you rely on AI to create for you, whether just the initial ideas or the whole hog, the less you’re exercising your critical thinking skills, creativity, and ultimately, confidence in your own abilities. YOU NEED THOSE! Get your reps in and keep them growing big ‘n’ strong ??

Correctness: This might be controversial, but correct doesn’t always equal better... Especially when weaving a specific tone of voice into your copy. Choosing to sound more colloquial over using perfect English, or being less concise to sound more relaxed might be exactly what you need.

How to Spot Someone Using AI -

While there are undoubtedly tell-tale signs (or in some cases, big flashing neon ones) that someone is using ChatGPT, the reality is that we don’t always know. AI detectors are famously a bit rubbish at it, and hyperfocusing on the use of specific words or emojis as A SIGN (!!!) is likely to stifle your own creativity or make you unfairly critical of others (#JusticeForTheRocketEmoji ??).?

Let’s try and judge people on the quality of their writing and keep our own free of too much repetitive, vague fluff.?

To Recap -?

ChatGPT offers some enormous positives and acts as an equaliser for those with accessibility or support needs, barriers to education, limited resources etc. But, selling a half-baked edit of an open AI response as your carefully crafted work is wrong. Obviously.? Not least because it requires the indirect plagiarism of other creators - not hot.?

BUT there are ways to use it for process automation, day-to-day efficiency, and to improve upon your own work which, IMHO, is no reflection on your ethics. There’s a lot of bold-faced bashing of AI and it still feels taboo to admit to using it. Personally, I have come to see ChatGPT like mayonnaise - a little overhyped, terrible on its own, but an enjoyable addition to the right plate. ??

Let us know your thoughts below! ??