ChatGPT won’t replace blog writers anytime soon. Although ChatGPT is a powerful AI that can generate blog posts in seconds, it lacks the necessary knowledge, experience, and human touch to write informative content. Instead, it could be used as a handy tool by skilled writers.
“But how can you be so sure?” one might ask. Put simply, would you be willing to read a blog post when looking for a specific answer if you knew it was written by AI?
I wouldn’t.
Of course, your answer might be different. But as a professional content manager, editor, and writer, I can almost always tell that an article was written by AI and click away because it often contains factually incorrect information.
ChatGPT by OpenAI is unlike any other software solution that came before it, though. If you’ve clicked on this article, you probably already know how capable it is. So, let’s see how ChatGPT works within the context of blogging.
ChatGPT in the World of Blogs
When I think of a blog post (in the modern sense, not that stuff of nightmares from 2006), I think of a highly well-researched article written by an experienced individual with a very particular set of skills in a field. It also lacks a dry sense of humor or nuance.
Although ChatGPT can compile a well-researched piece of text in seconds, it can’t replicate the hands-on experience people acquire as they work or write over many years in a given field.
Apart from that, there is no way to know that ChatGPT hasn’t made a critical mistake unless you manually check it or know first-hand. This can be problematic if you solely rely on ChatGPT to do your research.
In my article, Is ChatGPT a Reliable Tool for Writers?, I provide 5 examples of ChatGPT making huge mistakes when asked relatively simple questions.
Another example is MKBHD’s video on the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gNauGdOkro
While ChatGPT did a seemingly stellar job of writing an iPhone 14 Pro review, it actually didn’t do that at all. It completely messed up the information on the camera system (ChatGPT said that the iPhone 14 Pro has a 12MP camera instead of a 48MP one).
That kind of mistake, if not caught by the writer or editor on time, might lead to catastrophic results. In this case, the reader would make a misinformed purchase. Now, imagine ChatGPT were to write an article about fixing a car battery… nope, thanks. Unless it was reviewed by an experienced car mechanic before publication, I wouldn’t trust it.
Search Intent
If you’re a writer, you know how hard it is to really understand what the reader is looking for. Even if you put yourself in their shoes (as I am right now), you can’t account for all possible questions, problems, and solutions each individual might encounter.
Sure, if you ask chatGPT how to season a cast iron skillet, it will likely tell you all the correct information you need. But if you ask it to talk about something in-depth that requires deep critical analysis, it’ll fail. From my experience, it just gives a broad and unbiased overview that isn’t that helpful. More on that later.
ChatGPT Can’t Replicate Tone or Style
Is ChatGPT a Handy Tool for Writers?
AI helping writers out is nothing new. Programs like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and WordTune are all basic forms of AI. All writers I’ve met use some tool to improve their writing. Here’s an example:
ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for writers. It allows them to come up with decent drafts for almost any topic. After doing some additional research, they can edit the initial draft and add more information to it to ensure it includes all the essential information the reader seeks.
Bern Elliott, as quoted by CNBC, says that “ChatGPT, as currently conceived, is a parlor trick.”
If we go off the dictionary definition of a parlor trick (with an emphasis on the “trick” part), I’ll have to strongly disagree. ChatGPT is an actual software solution for real-world problems. I mean, it can’t end world hunger, but it can shave off an hour or two of you writing stuff.
This is where ChatGPT truly shines. You can use ChatGPT to:
- Create multiple responses on the same topic.
- Come up with subheading, topic, or title ideas.
- Potentially identify search intent.
- Perform initial research and use that as a jumping-off point.
You shouldn’t straight-up copy-paste content from ChatGPT to your document, though. It should exclusively be used for inspiration. Google can identify content written by AI, which may lead to your website getting penalized.
Update: Google updated its guidance on February 8, 2023 about AI-generated content to affirm what was already said in Sullivan’s tweets. Read more about it here.
Nonetheless, it’s a great tool in your writing toolbox.
Still not convinced?
I used ChatGPT’s help to write this article.
Of course, I didn’t copy-paste anything from ChatGPT to this article, but I read through it before performing original research. ChatGPT can’t perform any original research and only spits out paraphrased/spun content, so it should only be used for inspiration (much like you’d use a random blog post on any given topic).
It is a handy tool to make the creative engine roar to life when you want to write.
If you’re interested in what an article about whether ChatGPT will replace blog writers written by ChatGPT (how meta) looks like, here are the original draft and the regenerated response (ChatGPT’s version of shuffle):
To summarize my thoughts reading the two ChatGPT articles, I’d say they’re relatively well-written and objective but also completely lack a real in-depth analysis and opinion. They’re vague and descriptive, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not right for this topic. It’s also unnecessarily wordy in a few sentences (“in order to” vs. “to”).
Final Thoughts
ChatGPT is an incredible tool, but that’s all it is for now and likely will be for a long time. This was my first time using it, and I have a hunch that it won’t be the last.
However, if you do end up using ChatGPT to write blog posts, I urge you not to rely on it. Chances are, it’ll make a massive error in every other article that could seriously hurt your site. Instead, I recommend using it to generate a few drafts and then doing more research on every major idea it spits out to get a unique, original article.
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