ChatGPT: A marketer's 'frenemy'

ChatGpt:?The personal assistant everyone secretly wishes they had earlier in their career.

Without coffee breaks, piles of paperwork, and day-long errands to the HR office, it can make your life easier by taking up all the yawn-inducing tasks that were a major reason you wanted to quit your job and move to the mountains.

Was Courage the first one to use ChatGPT??

While my boss is thrilled that we no longer need to hire an intern to deal with work overload, my education consultant reminds me that relying on this "tool" could possibly close the doors to grad school opportunities down the road.

Meanwhile, my inner child rejoices at the thought of imitating Courage, The Cowardly Dog, frantically typing on a computer. As a 90s kid, the idea was as far-fetched as finally looking like my favorite Winx club character when I grew up.??

Is our Rival here?

ChatGPT has democratized content creation. There have been other AI content creation tools in the market before, but this one hit like none other. It's ALMOST free and easy to use to a fault.

But is ChatGPT really here to replace us? Before your inner Regina George eye rolls, the simple answer is NO. The reason is not that my belief in the advancement of science and technology is shaky. ?On the contrary, I appreciate that when we give instructions, we get exactly what we ask for (most of the time). There are no ifs and buts (It's artificial but intelligent??).

In a nutshell, ChatGPT is as cool as the user. (Aiming at taking some credit back from ChatGPT) After all, it's the input that defines ChatGPT's answers.

Necessary Evil?

Think of ChatGPT as fast food. Over-indulge at your discretion, but grabbing one or two bites as a quick fix will never hurt (except, of course, marketers who are the butt of all office jokes these days).?

The internet is already overflowing with everything "sublime and beautiful" about this tool. But like every?"knight in shining armor,"?this one also comes with an Achilles heel. And that is none other than it's the repetitive and generic approach. Although LinkedIn gurus are adamant that ChatGPT is anything but a revolution, the uniqueness, and creativity you seek still come with ten coffee mugs, a 1-hour lunch break, and Monday blues.?

ChatGPT saves the day.?

Amidst the release of Chat GPT playbooks left, right and center, a cynic would probably nudge you to ask: If everyone is asking the same questions and using the same prompts, wouldn't, at some point, they all get look-alike answers and solutions??

Critics of ChatGPT (unanimously the academics) will nod at this point. Educational institutes worldwide are banning ChatGPT from schools. Countries like?Australia are bringing the paper back to the exam hall?to maintain transparency. On the other hand, some believe it is the undercurrent of the ed-tech revolution. To the utter shock of skeptics, ChatGPT can also allegedly pass USMLE, US Law, and MBA exams (I assumed ChatGPT must be a developer, but such surprises!).?

In a nutshell, the days of the "bare minimum" are over. Whether you deem it a defining moment in history or just another passing fallacy, ChatGPT is here to re-orient how we approach tech in our everyday jobs.?

Think twice

If the content is just a means to an end (not a whole value proposition of its own), then ChatGPT is your lifeblood. Whether you want to write SEO-oriented blogs or create email marketing templates or taglines for your website, this tool will save you from some real headaches. But before you conclude that this tool is what you need for "all things marketing," you need to sit back and think again.?

The out-of-context, generic, and overly-repetitive nature of this generative language model tool can hit you hard if you are looking for an out-of-box solution or a viral campaign, not to forget tailored content well-aligned with audience sensibilities.?

No matter how much your colleagues urge you to?"ChatGPT it,"?if you are strictly in the business of marketing, trust your instincts first (at least in this case). Even with the release of its latest AI version, GPT 3, the social learning and pure context of a marketer are still unparalleled.?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Chat GPT is:?

• A band-aid solution, your savior when a client is breathing down our neck for last-minute tweaks.?
• Your ideal assistant. Takes up mind-numbing tasks like first-draft content and provides you with quick answers for desk research.
• Hand and glove with your SEO team.?
• An Email marketing junkie, the one that juggles around several variations of an email.?

Chat GPT is not:?

• A one-size-fits-all marketing toolbox that can help you create viral campaigns or create content that will sell your product like crazy.
• A creative writer that will create a tear-jerking or soul-affirming content piece for your audience.?
• A researcher that will produce clutter-breaking research papers and let you take the credit for it.?(If that's what you were daydreaming, give this a read:?ChatGPT fools scientists by writing fake research paper abstracts).

What if ChatGPT was a person??

If Chat GPT was a professional, it would have been an intern or an entry-level professional at its best.?This brings us to the question: Is Chat GPT replacing interns or entry-level employees??

The answer is yes and no.?

The days of below-average content are over. The key is to find your strong suit. If a tool can do it better than you, how will you do it even better? Instead of seeing it as an existential threat, consider it the bare minimum. A basic standard. (Caution: Achieve the bare minimum on your own without over-relying on a tool at this point of your career. You will thank yourself later).?

You vs. ChatGPT

So, who wins??

It depends on whom you ask.? If you manage to polish your skills above the level of ChatGPT, then it's your assistant. If not, then it's your master.?