Is your ChatGPT secret out? Here’s how your audience knows

We saw a thought-provoking quote recently that said we’re letting AI take over the creative work we love–when we should be teaching it to do the unsexy admin work we loathe.

Your unique brand approach, voice, and personality has got to be all you. Whether you write your copy yourself or hire a messaging strategist or copywriting firm to take care of that for you, it’s non-negotiable to have a strong brand foundation to work from.

When you turn to AI to completely take over your messaging, you’re missing the mark.?

And your audience knows it.

Here are the top five ways your audience can tell your messaging has had a ChatGPT takeover.

1. Your voice sounds like a robot.

We’re not talking about your actual speaking voice (that’s a whole different AI tool!). When we talk about voice as writers, we’re talking about tone, word choice, emotion–the way an audience relates to the way you express yourself.

Tell-tale signs of voice mishaps in AI use might include inconsistencies in tone (like abrupt shifts from formal to cheeky), cliches, and an “empty” feeling that takes the space where anecdotes, details, or opinions should be.

Readers can absolutely tell the difference between emotive and imaginative metaphors versus the generic, overused variety, too. So “lace up your boots” and “spring has sprung” have zero place in your copy. (For the love of Pete.)

2. Your facts don’t check out.

Look. Language-based AI is essentially asking a computer to process a literal multitude of information, find connections between pieces of that information, and compile that information in a way that makes sense. We see it time and again: facts get lost in the shuffle.

Information getting lost in translation may take the shape of factual errors due to misinterpretation, an overabundance of irrelevant info, or a direct regurgitation of facts without any critical thinking or nuance.

3. The message becomes all formula with no “meat.”

• Repetitive sentence structures: Predictable sentence patterns and overuse of transitions make the writing feel monotonous.
• Lack of variety in sentence length: Monotone rhythm due to similar sentence lengths can lull readers and reduce engagement.
• Predictable bullet points and formats: Overly structured or repetitive outlines may indicate reliance on templates instead of creativity.

…See what we did there? You knew right away that a robot, not a writing team, came up with that little set of bullet points. Do we use AI to help generate outlines? Absolutely. Do we edit with the heaviest of heavy pens to make it sound like our brand? You’d better believe it.

4. Originality is nowhere in sight.

The audience knows when your content feels borrowed. You owe it to them to take a stance, explore and substantiate your claims, and add your unique brand voice into the mix.

5. The ever-present illusion of insight.

Have you ever plugged a prompt into Bard or Chat GPT, then asked the software to ‘make it sound smarter’? (Wish we could do that when speaking to a room full of academics!) The thing is, AI knows what sounds smarter–additional complex words, adding phrases, adding specific vocabulary–but it doesn’t know what is smarter.

That’s where your deep analysis and connections come into play, and where you can land with your audience with a powerhouse takeaway or call to action.

6. EMOJIS

Can we please, please stop using emojis in subject lines, e-mails, and social posts? Pleeeease?

Somewhere along the way, the robots learned that we like pictures.

Fair enough.?

We’ve even been known to use a? ?? (I’m dead) in a text message to a bestie after completely embarrassing ourselves by knocking down an entire display of Easter candy. (Ehem.)

But the use of emojis as punctuation, message, and meaning is, like, so over.

So keep it smooth.

Keep it simple, but add your self.

Vary your sentences and your style.

Have a feeling–and put it into words.

And if you’re stuck in draft mode or find yourself over-relying on language-based generative AI to do your messaging for you, hit us up! We’ve got a menu of supports for messaging strategy, copywriting, and get-er-done PR.

For a quick hit of storytelling in your message, check out our LinkedIn Bio Elevation. And for an in-depth speaker readiness program, check out Six Figure Speaker!