Depending on who you ask, ChatGPT is either the best or worst thing that has ever happened in academics, business, and any writing needed in general. Professors typically hate it. They are working hard to use tools to identify when a student has used it for a paper, and academic consequences are usually right behind. And studies have found this is for good reason. If a student uses AI to primarily write or research a paper, studies have found they have a hard time regurgitating that information just 5-10 minutes later. Our brains are simply not lighting up like they should when using these tools instead of our own research and original thought. What’s worse is these effects are proving to be long term instead of short. Both critical thinking skills and cognitive engagement were found in a Harvard study to have been reduced over time by frequent AI users.
Businesses have a love/hate relationship with it. It can make blogs and SEO much easier and faster, but it also causes some clients to devalue the work necessary to make those writings original, relevant, and truly human-sounding as AI evolves. There is also the matter of not being able to decipher or trust what is real. As AI and photoshop evolve, we can find ourselves looking at images or even videos that appear to be authentic, even when we know they are not. Elephants on waterskis? Sure looks real in the image, even though our brains know this is not possible. While that might be a funny example, what about when someone uses AI voice-over to make a trusted celebrity say or endorse something they have no affiliation with? Sure, that celebrity might sue, but the damage could already be done.
Another real danger in using AI for marketing is a loss of individuality or brand voice. AI doesn’t know your brand intimately like you and your agency do. It simply compiles information and spits out a result, typically meaning that your car commercial or static ad might look exactly like someone else’s. It simply cannot have the authenticity or originality needed to make your brand stand out, as it does not have the capacity to get to know you and your unique selling proposition.
This doesn’t mean it can’t create a starting point for you or that it has no value. It just means we all need to be careful using AI as a substitute for our own brains and original thoughts, or those of others. Make sure you pick an agency that knows how to balance the power of AI and all its offshoots with the power of people truly invested in your business.
