By now, you’re probably sick of reading about how ChatGPT and how is going to transform conversational AI. The system shows incredible promise and – in the future – could revolutionise communication.
But that’s likely to be a while away, scientists say. And we agree.
Here’s why in the battle between a Bristol copywriter and Chat GPT, there’s only one winner.
Why ChatGPT sucks (for now)
We’re going to say it: Chat GPT sucks and can’t compare to a human copywriter.
Because ChatGPT is a machine that’s following the rules to try and trick you into thinking it’s a real person. A Bristol copywriter is a real person, with all the complexity, contradictions, and creativity that goes along with that.
It’s superficially convincing, but ultimately, it fails. Why? Because while it follows the rules and patterns of ordinary language (“functional linguistic competence”), it can’t achieve what experts call “functional linguistic competence.”
The system that drives ChatGPT cannot apply the “formal reasoning, world knowledge, situation modelling, and social cognition” that a human would in each situation.
Simply put, it can’t (yet) think in the abstract way human copywriters can.
Instead, software like ChatGPT follows processes without questioning the context. This rigid approach means AI systems struggle in complex environments (and we’re unlikely to see a self-driving car anytime soon).
Abstraction is a uniquely human characteristic – and it’s one with incredible value. We don’t always follow the rules and question everything – applying new strategies to familiar problems. It’s the way we develop new solutions.
So, what does this mean for copywriting?
It means that AI content is going to be boring, basic, and written in a tone of voice that will send your readers to sleep.
AI looks back; humans look forward
Chat GPT’s data set is from 2021. And, look around, it’s obvious a lot has changed in that time. We’ve had what feels like four new PMs, a world-cup failure, second place at Eurovision, and we’ve got two new cats at the Copywriting Bristol household.
ChatGPT is only as good as the evidence base it has to call on, and at the moment, that’s not good at all.
That means that the content currently being created is outdated and old. In a digital world, that means it is junk.
There’s a philosophical question here about the ability of AI to use historic information to predict the future. It can’t. Because it’s unable to engage with concepts at the same level as a human can.
OK, so this might not mean much if you’re writing for SEO – but in the future, ChatGPT will render much of this content worthless.
Using ChatGPT will not improve your long-term search engine ranking. It will damage your business and your brand, and over time will destroy your website.
Google is pretty savvy and has created tools that enable it to analyse content and identify if it’s been written by a human being or a machine. When it spots it, it’ll penalise your site.
Want to give it a try on your competitors? While you can’t access the Google checker (for obvious reasons) you can use a tool like Copyleaks to see whether you’re reading content from a human or a machine.
Over time the quality of these tools will increase, but so will AI content generators. This is a battle that’s going to run and run – but you want to ensure your business doesn’t get caught in the middle.
To ensure that, you’ll need to work with a Bristol copywriter.
Why a Bristol copywriter is best
Poor quality content written by a human is (almost) as worthless as that created by ChatGPT. And trust us, some of the other copywriters you’ll find on Google are just that: awful.
If your content matters, then you simply have to work with a professional copywriter, and as you’re here, we’ll tell you why:
We create engaging copy and content for businesses, brands, charities, and the public sector. We’ve been doing it for over a decade and have worked with some of the UK’s biggest businesses and most exciting SMEs.
Today, we’re Bristol’s leading copywriting agency providing affordable copy and content that gets results.
Copywriting Bristol v ChatGPT: there’s no competition.
Want help with your copy or content? Contact Copywriting Bristol today…
