GPT-3 is a machine learning system by OpenAI that uses AI to understand and write human languages. It can organize information, summarize text, answer queries, and perform other basic writing tasks.
If you’ve been entertained or blown away by the latest advancements in AI writing tools, including ChatGPT, you may be wondering what an imminent AI-powered future looks like. It’s natural to feel a bit uneasy as you consider how your job could change or go away completely.
But despite continuous and exponential technological advancement, I don’t think AI tools like GPT-3 writing generators will soon take over for copywriters and other creatives.
Their fundamental flaw lies in repurposing what already exists—in some cases, this includes flawed human assumptions. In this way, the output of AI writing tools is not unlike a content mill that focuses on quantity above quality. AI can help with a lot of things, but it can’t go the extra mile to provide important nuance.
Let’s dig into the current limitations and opportunities surrounding AI and GPT-3 writing tools, starting with what AI can’t do—yet.
1. AI DOESN’T HAVE EMPATHY
Robots and humans are fundamentally different because humans have empathy. And, importantly, humans have money for whatever it is you’re trying to sell. Robots are not moved by human emotion.
It’s this empathy that leads to effective copy that converts for its intended purpose.
2. AI DOESN’T UNDERSTAND OR CAPTURE TONE OF VOICE (AND NUANCE IN GENERAL)
Every brand has slight variations when it comes to defining its tone of voice.
The Nielsen Normal Group does a great job of distilling tone of voice at a high level into four spectrums:
- Funny versus serious
- Formal versus casual
- Respectful versus irreverent
- Enthusiastic versus matter-of-fact
AI-writing tools can certainly use these quasi-binary scales to adjust tone at a high level. In fact, Grammarly has already taken strides toward detecting it and suggesting adjustments. But with all that being said, effective language is about nuance.
In isolation, writing style guides are just a set of rules to follow. But a human’s ability to follow and contextualize these rules makes a human writer the go-to option above these AI writing tools. Following a style guide makes brands feel heard, which adds a human element beyond just getting the rules right—which is in itself a compelling reason to have a human on both sides. Nuance, at least at this point, is still uniquely human.
Take this quote from Stephen King’s Needful Things: “The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.”
Is that really something a computer could have come up with?
3. AI CANNOT EFFECTIVELY ART DIRECT VISUAL CONTENT
In addition to AI writing tools, many AI image-generation tools have started popping up.
DALL-E is a good example and I encourage you to play around with it. For best results and maximum entertainment, let your imagination go crazy when inputting prompts. Some of these tools are capable of generating some pretty realistic images that would be a challenge to capture fresh where stock images don’t already exist.
But generating effective images and laying them out effectively within an article still requires human intervention. It’s also worth mentioning that the use of AI models trained on other artists’ intellectual property could be considered theft as the law catches up to technology.
The bottom line is that some of the most effective imagery requires thoughtfulness, which isn’t something an AI image-generation tool is capable of at this point.
On that note:
4. AI DOESN’T UNDERSTAND OR FACTOR IN THE READER’S EXPERIENCE
At this point, you can’t count on an AI tool to both suggest great copy and do so with the best possible formatting. Once again, nuance comes into play, and it’s just not a major focus with any of the AI tools I’ve tested.
5. AI ALGORITHMS ARE BIASED AND OUTPUT CAN BE (INCREDIBLY) MISINFORMED
Whenever you use AI-generated content, you’re going to have to fact check it. The Atlantic shares several examples where ChatGPT, like many other AI tools, confidently presents information that’s completely incorrect.
HOW TO USE AI WRITING TOOLS
Just because AI content tools aren’t at a point where they can take over completely doesn’t mean they can’t be useful in your writing process. Employ them to keep the writing process moving forward and defeat writer’s block.
Here are a few suggestions for using AI tools in your process:
- Clearscope and Frase can automate some of your content research.
- Google Docs extensions like Wordtune provide useful suggestions to rephrase awkward writing snippets.
- Headlime and Copysmith can generate title ideas and basic outlines.
FINAL THOUGHTS
AI tools are useful for kickstarting creativity so you’re not starting with a blank page. But don’t start and finish with AI-generated suggestions—they still need human input to connect effectively with the humans who read them.
The fact of the matter is that if you use AI generator tools, you’ll still need to do the following before it’s truly ready to ship:
- Adjust for the correct brand tone of voice
- Add empathy
- Art direct and implement visuals
- Re-format the text for the human reader experience
- Fact-check all claims made
So fear not, copywriters—you still very much have a job!
Maddy Osman is the bestselling author of Writing for Humans and Robots: The New Rules of Content Style and Founder of The Blogsmith agency.