Can AI replace human writers?

AI has reared its head again lately, particularly with the launch of ChatGPT – an incredibly impressive tool that might just be the most intelligent form of AI we’ve seen to date.

Naturally, this has got people asking the question: can AI replace human writers?

In this article, we’ll take a look at ChatGPT and answer that question.

What is ChatGPT?

A lot has been written about ChatGPT already so we’ll keep it light.

In a nutshell, ChatGPT is a chatbot. Think of Siri and Alexa – you ask them questions in a conversational manner, and it hopefully gives an answer that’s correct and demonstrates it understood the question.

ChatGPT works similarly but with text.

Of course, it’s not the first tool for this but it is remarkably impressive. People have excitedly taken to Twitter explaining that ChatGPT has written things in different code languages, opening the possibility of it being used to create software, for example.

It’s also shown a capacity for understanding feedback, such as if its initial response wasn’t accurate or sufficient. Or, if it did give accurate information but you’d like it presented in a table instead of a block of text.

And that’s the crux of what makes ChatGPT so intriguing and impressive: it doesn’t just fetch answers like Alexa, it has taken a clear step forward in how helpful it can be.

Take this example from Twitter, of somebody using it to create a weight loss plan – starting with a calorie target, then a breakdown of the macros to eat, a shopping list, and a workout plan. There’s still a question mark over how accurate it is and how quickly you could get the information from Google, but it’s clear why this is an exciting and captivating progression.

To hear the advocates speak, you might start to worry that ChatGPT will have almost everyone out of work in a few months.

But will it?

Is ChatGPT overhyped?

Nobody wants to be like Steve Ballmer when the iPhone was released:

That reaction will live on in infamy, as a man who failed to see his business failing to see the evolutionary change ahead.

Human writers could do the same: “We’re selling millions of phones and Apple sells no phones and it doesn’t appeal to businesses because it doesn’t have a keyboard.”

Except, of course, we all know what happened next.

So the big question is, will ChatGPT, and AI more broadly, replace human writers?

The answer is nuanced.

Over a longer period of time, will AI eventually be good enough for businesses to use it in various capacities, reducing the need for human writers on everything?

Yes.

Here and now, is it good enough to replace writers for everything?

No.

Is it good enough to replace writers for some tasks?

Yes.

What are your expectations of AI?

First, let’s acknowledge that not all AI tools are equal. Where ChatGPT seems to be a vast improvement, most commercial AI writing tools are still rudimentary. Or, to be blunt, they’re not good.

But there are a few that produce decent output.

And instead of being dog-eat-dog competition with human writers, the reality is they can co-exist and writers themselves can use them. Some have shown promise for creating good headlines and blog outlines, so it’s certainly conceivable for humans to leverage that as additional support.

They’re not quite there yet for producing entire articles though.

Which brings us to the most important point:

AI is only as good as the operator

Some clients hire writers because they know what they need but they need extra support.

Other clients need help with strategy too, meaning they aren’t best positioned to spot “bad” content or they will have questions to understand why something was done.

What AI hasn’t yet demonstrated is an ability to answer those questions or produce content without clear instruction.

It’s one thing for a subject matter expert to give detailed instructions and say “Hey, look how impressive this output is!”

But what happens when someone without that same level of understanding opens an AI tool and gives it basic, unclear instructions – something like “The business is finance and we want a blog about retirement.”

The output isn’t going to be nearly as impressive. Nor will the tool answer questions on why it made certain decisions. And it certainly isn’t going to ask you questions about what the goals are for this content, then create a detailed plan, the content outlines, inter-linking pages as part of a topic cluster approach, create different types of blog content, and know how to break “finance” down into different topics for readers at different stages e.g. “When to start planning for retirement” and “How to approach your pension when you’re two years away from retiring.”

In conclusion

AI is here to stay.

In the future, it will probably be good enough to replace a number of the tasks that human writers are currently needed for.

But that’s not to say it will make us entirely redundant, and the tools currently available don’t pass the sniff test for being good enough – yet.

Right now, they appear to be more of a tool for writers rather than direct competition.

One caveat to that: not all writers are equal. Sadly, there are lots of writers who simply aren’t very good – creating articles that aren’t clear, aren’t easy or enjoyable to read, are poorly researched, or won’t make any positive impact on your business. Those people will be the first to be wiped out by AI, and there’s an argument to be made that some AI tools can already threaten them.

For more experienced writers, though, it’s a different story.

If you want to work with people who know how to create content that makes a positive difference to business, content that readers find helpful, engaging, and makes them take action, and who can explain their approach, we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.