Is my job at risk because of ChatGPT?

In just the first few weeks of 2023, I've seen quite a few analyses about the adoption rate of generative artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT, and fears that it will take jobs from skilled content creators.

ChatGPT was not the reason for massive layoffs across so many different sectors in recent weeks, but AI is already changing the landscape for illustrators, video and photo editors, copywriters, business and technology analysts, and even those writing and debugging computer code.

The effects of the pandemic, inflationary pressures, and consumer spending trends are changing rapidly, and artificial intelligence is accelerating changes in how things are created, from inception to roll-out. But ‘bots won't replace humans’ work product just yet.

AI for search engine optimization

Readers rely on the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other subject-specific resources for authority and timeliness. ChatGPT is a technology that cannot be on-site to cover breaking news and offer contextual analysis as a trusted source. It cannot watch a big game and call it play-by-play, or write about the emotional connection to a new product.

Those who focus on search engine results and page rank take note: Google maintains that automatically generated content is spam, and we know that spam is scored low in SERP as well as violating Google’s content policies.

Artificial intelligence can create copy for mass appeal and also for specifically targeted audiences. For the moment, Google is fine with AI-generated meta-descriptions (the content that describes each item in search engine results) but it uses technology to determine what has been created by ‘bots and ranks accordingly.

Those who create content that satisfies SEO guidelines and best practices, should not be afraid of technologies like ChatGPT.

Audience and response to AI

Microsoft has recently spent $10 billion to leverage AI to improve search in an effort to vault Bing ahead of Google, and change users’ minds about best search technology, in the battle for search dominance that’s now decades old.

Comcast, Hotels.com, and other content and service providers have implemented and? improved self-service chat features to cut costs and provide subscribers with faster more accurate tools, which may boost overall customer satisfaction.

But some analysts note the unpreparedness and slow responses to the swift adoption rates of this emergent technologies like ChatGPT for other applications.

High school and college students are already using AI to complete assignments. Some school districts moved quickly to ban its use, but this may be like shoveling sand against an incoming tide.

AI veracity and authority

While the price of entry for using generative artificial intelligence may be low, the costs may be high. Expertise and authority might be faked by automated tools, but brand reputation cannot.

ChatGPT cannot review products to determine quality and make “best-of” recommendations or rate perceived value; this technology creates content using specified criteria. While AI can be implemented as a tool for creating rule-based content, it cannot replace judgment that relies on authenticity and emotion.

What if it was discovered that you were using AI to connect with your audience? How would they react if it was discovered that they were consuming programmatically created content?

When researching products on Amazon by reviewing the associated product positioning and (presumably authentic) reviews, who hasn’t had a laugh before questioning the veracity of the reviews. If marketers are using the same AI to write copy and reviews, what will be the perceived benefits if all products’ descriptions are the same? This jeopardizes customer trust.

Consumers and subscribers might not be ready to accept AI as an authority. This kind of AI is similar to Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. It shows promise as a technology to aid—but not replace—content creators.