ChatGPT is a name that has been all over the news recently. Not only are digital marketing sources buzzing over the artificial chat, but the larger stock market and business world has taken notice as well. The technological advancements demonstrated by ChatGPT has business owners extremely excited about the long term efficiencies this could create within their business. Marketers seem to be equal parts excited by the new opportunities presented by ChatGPT and nervous about how the new technology may affect how search engines operate. As with almost all new technologies, there is a separation between what the technology is today and what the possibilities are for this technology in the future.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chat bot.
This bot is able to write and communicate with an end user based on a library of information retrieved from the internet. ChatGPT is the most well known and advanced artificial intelligence chatbot. Google’s AI chatbot is named BARD, but has not received the public attention which OpenAI’s ChatGPT has received.
What are ChatGPT’s Current Capabilities?
A lot of the conversation around ChatGPT is around what the technology can become in the future. However, it is important to address what ChatGPT’s current capabilities are. ChatGPT was created to communicate information conversationally with users and currently has this capability. Additionally, ChatGPT can do things like write and debug simple code, write original poetry and play tic-tac-toe. Overall the ChatGPT and New Bing interfaces are intuitive and easy to understand, however; there still are many examples of this technology providing incorrect answers to relatively easy questions.
What do AI Chatbots mean for Search Engines?
ChatGPT, and other AI chatbots, mean search engines will become even more conversational in the future.
Many of the same worries marketers had about voice search, are the same concerns which marketers have about AI chatbots. Since ChatGPT utilizes conversational style of communication, the old search engine results page could become a thing of the past. Even if search engines provide multiple options in a conversational style, the overall amount of possible results is reduced. Any reduction in the amount of real estate on the search engine results page will create ripple effects through a website’s traffic reports.
What do AI Chatbots mean for Marketers?
Marketers, specifically content writers, are extremely concerned about the development of chatbots. Chatbots are able to reduce the amount of human intervention needed when creating content, which could reduce the amount of content writers needed to develop the same amount of content. Business owners, and stakeholders, love to hear this. Content writers, on the other hand, are nervous about the future of their careers.
The truth is, good content writers are always going to be necessary for digital marketing strategies to work properly. While AI chatbots can be a great tool for a content writer to utilize, nothing can replace the human element needed to create winning content online. Demonstrating, and communicating, your expertise in a way which a target audience can understand is still an end results which is best achieved by a human being.
The Buzz Around ChatGPT Explained
The following are the key facts about AI chatbots RIGHT NOW. Of course, as this technology changes these key facts may change as well.
- Conversational capabilities of AI chatbots like ChatGPT have come a long way
- There are still A LOT of incorrect and incomplete information being returned by chatbots
- We are still in the VERY early stages of AI search
- AI chatbots can NOT replace content writers entirely
- AI chatbots can create efficiencies and lower the cost of creating content
Like any emerging technology, there is a lot of hype surrounding ChatGPT at its launch. The technological advancements it demonstrates are extremely exciting, however; the technology has not yet reached a point which makes it globally applicable and trustworthy. Even as this technology continues to advance, digital marketers will always have a space to operate. The Principal Product Manager at Bing recently stated at PubCon that “SEO will never be dead”. He said that search engines like Bing will continue to rely on SEOs to help guide their crawl bots to the most valuable content on the web.
Can I use an AI chatbot to write SEO content?
The answer is both yes and no. No, you can not use an AI chatbot to consistently create good SEO optimized content without human intervention. Yes, you can use AI chatbots to assist creating SEO optimized content which reduces the time needed to create content on the whole.
After ChatGPT reached the mainstream, Google released guidance for AI generated content. Google announced that AI generated content will not automatically be penalized in search results. The announcement went on to explain that Google will continue to reward unique valuable content within search results regardless of how that content is created.
The hype around AI chat bots may be premature, but the advancements in technology are real. In the long run, AI chatbots like ChatGPT will reduce or eliminate the need for some less skilled labor as it replaces positions which complete remedial tasks. At the current time, there is a lot of work to be done, even for ChatGPT. ChatGPT’s technology has led to excitement, however; there are plenty of detractors who are quick to point out the flaws in the artificial intelligence chat bot.
One perfect demonstration of the shortcomings of the chatbot are a question which was being returned during December 2022, but has since been corrected. A reporter asked ChatGPT, “What is the largest country in Central America that isn’t Mexico?”, to which ChatGPT responded, “Guatemala”. The correct answer is Nicaragua and this is a relatively simple answer to check. Incorrect answers are still commonly being produced by the AI chat bots, especially in areas which have less information available in general. This is why it is so crucial for human oversight of the content being produced by these AI chatbots at this time. There are additional concerns which have surfaced around these Chatbots. Specifically when it comes to the content of what is being produced.
The above example a user was able to get ChatGPT to provide instructions on how to make a molotov cocktail. While ChatGPT utilizes a moderation system, users have been able to jailbreak ChatGPT to provide content which otherwise would be prevented by the moderation system. Outside of the above example AI content generation programs have become topics of conversation for creating controversial content like explicit jokes, instructions to make weapons and espousing discriminatory ideologies.
Artificial intelligence chatbots are definitely here to stay for both business owners and marketers. However, the current state of the technology leaves a lot to be desired. As the technology continues to advance, there are no doubts that operational efficiencies will be achieved. It is important for marketers to continue to keep their finger on the pulse of artificial intelligence chatbots. Continuing to digest and apply the guidance provided by Bing and Google is key to ensuring your digital strategy is not left behind as we move towards the world of AI search.