Since we’ve been talking about how AI will change search, I thought you may be interested in watching a live demo of the new ChatGPT-powered Bing.
I meant to make a 5 minute video… but it kept pulling me back in.
There are some really impressive features (you get conversational AI that will follow commands like ChatGPT, but plugged into the web)
And some really glaring problems (which you kinda have to see to believe).
Check out the video here.
Have a productive day!
Are you tired of hearing about AI yet?
Or are you voraciously consuming everything in sight on the subject?
My wife said I’m “obsessed,” which can’t possibly be true. And I really think things went too far when the whole family got together to do an intervention.
Now, it’s not that I can’t talk about anything else… but a friend asked me a question about AI-powered search, and I thought I’d share the answer with you.
Because a) there was already a lot of chatter about ChatGPT destroying Google… and b) now Microsoft has announced an AI-powered version of Bing that has even more people shook.
Don’t worry, Google won’t be far behind. They announced their ChatGPT competitor, called Bard, this week. But Big G actually demonstrated an AI-infused search at their I/O conference back in 2021!
Anyway… here’s the question I got:
What’s the long-term importance of (written) content marketing now that search engines will give AI-powered synthesized answers to questions with no need to click through to a content publisher’s site?
Good question, right?!
Here’s my response:
Based on my interactions, most of the big dogs are still trying to figure out exactly what the impact of AI-powered search will be.
I don’t know of any publisher or copy guru who’s freaking out, though. (Although some gurus are promoting fear to sell their latest training)
Here’s my take:
The AI-generated “answers” will, by definition, lack personality. Not saying the language won’t be personal-sounding, but it’s not created by a person.
People who love Dave Ramsey, for example, will continue looking to Dave Ramsey for his specific advice on issues.
So even though there will surely be a significant decline in clickthroughs from search inquiries… people will still want to be connected to their favorite experts on topics that intrigue them the most.
But at some point, deep divers will need to click over to real websites with more comprehensive coverage.
Google has already been prioritizing real expert-level content in search, and it will continue to do so.
Search results will be able to skip over websites that doesn’t offer in-depth content because the AI will be able to handle quick questions itself.
Because you don’t want your fate completely in the hands of the fast-changing world of search.
Securing email addresses gives you a captive audience that you can push information to.
I see “push content” as a trend that’s been growing anyway.
When TikTok overtook Google as the most popular website on earth, you see that search barely exists.
People are deciding the kind of content they want to consume via engagement over time — and having that type of content pushed to them, via TikTok, email, SMS.
I think this will be an increasingly influential part of content marketing, which has been thought of as more passive up til now.
As you said in the question, it “synthesizes” what it consumes from human creators.
So in that respect, it’s going to lag behind humans until it figures out how to create something authentically new.
Also, AI can crunch economic and housing market data, for example, and even make predictions about where the market will go in the next 12 months…
But that info won’t be available in search anytime soon. Readers will still have to go to publishers to get trustworthy, contextually accurate insight into future developments.
So publishers/creators who are pushing their industries forward and helping their audience navigate a changing world will also be ahead of AI for the foreseeable future.
(Admittedly, the foreseeable future is probably like 90 days lol)
As you’re creating content, think about how you can push your industry forward and prepare your readers/viewers for what they’re likely to face in their uncertain tomorrows.
As you’re planning out products, a minimum viable product (MVP) may be less appealing. Because people can get so much from search, so much from AI.
You gotta bring the “A game” pretty quickly.
— — —
Hope that’s helpful for you. Go capture some email addresses.
I have to get back to my intervention. Sounds like the family is starting to look for me.
Have a productive day.
Donnie
P.S. I clearly lied to you. I said Inbox X-Factor would be available in January. I missed my deadline. But it’s coming soon.
Thanks for your patience!
What’s up, my friend?!
I should’ve said it sooner: happy new year. Hope you’ve been able to kick off 2023 with gusto.
After guzzling all that sparkling grape juice, I realized I left out an important point in my previous email about my 3 predictions for the year.
The major distinction I need to add pertains to the first part of Prediction #3:
Here’s how I see this playing out in 2023…
There will be an avalanche of mostly mediocre AI-generated content published.
Quantity will likely increase every day, but quality will lag for a while. It’ll be at least 6 to 12 months before folks get over their giddiness and notice the diminishing returns.
That means two things:
1) High quality human-generated content will become rarer relative to speed-focused stuff spit out by AI… and
2) Human buyers (because bots have no money) will be increasingly impacted by marketing that feels authentically personal and/or delivers entertainment as part of the interaction.
Remember: TikTok gets more visitors than Google for a reason. Humans crave entertainment. They DEMAND it. That won’t change anytime soon.
AI is great at putting together information. It’s nowhere near ready for prime time when it comes to entertainment, especially in smaller niches.
Here’s the takeaway. Two things.
First, I encourage you to get familiar with AI tools. There’s some incredible stuff out there. I’m especially fond of HelloScribe for writing purposes.
But don’t let AI do all the work for you. I’ve had too many conversations with entrepreneurs who are overly optimistic about the copy-pasteability of AI output.
Don’t fall for it.
It’s true. You can get decent content/copy from AI. It will continue to get better over time.
But it’ll be a long time before it’s great. A long time before it’s authentically personal, especially in certain situations…
Secondly, the time of being Switzerland and playing it safe is over.
Work on adding personality and, yes, even entertainment into your content and copy.
Copywriting is no longer “salesmanship in print.” It’s SHOWMANSHIP in print.
I’ll be talking more about this in the coming days and weeks.
For now, I’ll point you to a conversation I had with copywriting legend John Forde on the topic. (The video should start at 32:01.)
Have a productive day!
P.S. Even as artificial intelligence platforms improve their copy-pasteability, it’s still going to be a LONG time before they’re able to tap into the pure creativity of human copywriters.
Here’s a quick illustration using curiosity-drenched bullets:
AI can’t touch copy like this for multiple reasons.
Firstly, these bullets draw on context not included in the content itself. Particularly the one about the curse.
Secondly, AI still has a way to go into understanding why people use language the way we do. The bot is programmed to predict what word will follow the previous word, based on a bank of words it’s been trained on.
But it doesn’t understand what it’s saying, let alone why we say what we say or how to phrase copy/content for a particular emotional effect.
That’s why, for now, copywriters can still do what AI can’t do.
Long live the humans!
Happy almost New Year!
Instead of being clever and coming up with 23 predictions for 2023, I’ll just give you 3 for the coming year.
I don’t know that any of these will be shocking, but I think you’ll find them useful. (And correct.)
Let’s get to it.
Yes, we’ve already heard plenty of complaining about inflation (and I think we’re a ways off from seeing that fixed), possible recession, etc.
Still, 2022 holiday spending has been record-breaking.
If your neighborhood is anything like mine, people bought everything they could get their hands on for Christmas.
I predict people will adopt a more defensive attitude in 2023. Spending will be tempered (not decimated), and in most industries, you’ll have to work harder to get people to open their wallets.
You’ll benefit from communicating safety, security and CERTAINTY in your marketing. Help your clients and prospects feel a greater degree of control and they’ll reward you.
Based on my last few emails, you already know I don’t see ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools as a threat to copywriters… designers… children’s book authors.
I just uploaded a video highlighting 10 copywriting skills AI doesn’t have (yet) that guarantee humans will still be running the show for the foreseeable future.
Besides, no one wants to do our jobs!
Entrepreneurs are already full-time busy with their jobs. The reason they don’t study copywriting or graphic design is the same reason most won’t invest the time to learning to leverage AI.
And even if they do bring AI into the mix, they still need skilled copywriters, designers, etc., to run the program!
That said, marketers will create far more content in 2023 than ever before. Much of it will likely come from AI.
More and more content… with less and less originality… which means more and more noise for everyone to sift through.
Several experts are even advocating for and teaching “authors” to use AI to ghost write their books!
In many ways, I believe 2023 is going to be a year of content quantity over quality as people prioritize speed.
It’s like giving a teenager the keys to a gassed-up Bugatti. Could be painful to watch.
True, original-thinking experts will seem increasingly rare and refreshing amidst an onslaught of mediocre AI content.
Your ideal clients will sing “Oh happy day” when they find you. They’ll likely be more tired than ever from wading through the sea of cyber-sameness.
In 2023, you may need to crank out more copy/content than you’ve had to produce in the past — without decreasing its quality.
Showcase your expertise, your unique and relevant experience, your empathy and your HUMANNESS… even if you use AI like crazy.
(For the record, my plans for the new year include a TON more content. So I’m not just talking to hear my fingers hit the keys.)
AI will get better over time, and people (hopefully) will get better at using it.
Either way, 2023 is going to be interesting!
I’m guessing you’ve had at least a couple conversations about AI over the past couple weeks.
I’ve had a couple dozen. And each time, an image pops in my mind of the steel-driving man John Henry staring down that ol’ steam drill.
According to the folk story John Henry worked himself to death trying to beat the machine in a high-stakes competition.
But the true story behind the legend ends differently. Henry dies from a lung condition caused by inhaling rock dust. In other words, it wasn’t a machine that killed him. It was the work itself.
I see a John Henry situation with artificial intelligence today.
Creatives are worried about the future. One of the most influential copywriters in the game predicted that AI will put 80% of copywriters out of work within 12 months.
Like that ol’ steam drill. Only John Henry could compete. Everyone else was obsolete.
Claiming 80% of copywriters will be out of a job by next New Year’s Eve is a bit drastic, if you ask me. But it’s impossible to deny that AI presents a challenge.
So, how do you AI-proof your business?
This advice is for copywriters, but I encourage any entrepreneur to pay attention, too.
1) Flip the fear. There’s a TON of things AI can’t do yet. And even more that it can’t do well. For example:
Don’t let fear paralyze or discourage you. This is an opportunity. Respect the tech by using it to enhance your own productivity and creativity. Bring your special expertise to bear on the AI output and make real magic.
This is how you prevent the work from killing you like it did the real John Henry.
2) Get your weight up. There’s a lot AI can’t do, but it is more than capable of doing a TON of basic, low-level copy tasks.
In order to AI-proof your business, you can’t be mediocre. You can’t rely on basic, low-level copy tasks. Protect your neck by developing an expertise. I think it’ll be a while before AI can churn out effective (and accurate) copy for certain specialized niches like financial and alternative health. Especially long-form copy.
Continually get better at direct response techniques. Add something special a robot can’t do: humor… unique, bold perspective… original research.
3) Promote yourself more and better. This may be the most important advice, although it’s far from new.
Until AI starts making the hiring decisions, you’re still dealing with human prospects. They need to see you. They need to get a glimpse into your particular genius. They want to feel a connection with you.
It’s up to you to make that happen through confident self-promotion.
AI is getting all the good press these days. And your potential clients are thinking seriously about using it to make their lives easier. (So that can’t be your only argument now!) Their friends are telling them how cool it is. What do they need a copywriter for?
Well, for the reasons I mentioned above. If you have persuasion skills, the ability to communicate with authentic personality, and proven profit-pulling penmanship, you can do what AI can’t.
But you have to make sure people know that about you!
Whether you consider yourself an extrovert or not, you’re likely going to have to put yourself out there more.
I believe video will be especially important in the coming weeks. Because AI can’t recreate your personality, your charm, your empathy.
The only downside is that the more videos you make, the better Donnie deepfakes AI will be able to make!
Respect the tech. Use it to your advantage.
Protect your neck. Show yourself superior in all the ways that matter.
You hear a lot of discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) programs putting copywriters out of business.
Should you fear for your professional life?
Today I’m sharing insights into the topic which I don’t think I’ve heard other copywriters talk about.
Specifically, I’ll reveal the which copywriters are at risk… and the one thing I do to virtually guarantee your “job security” as AI becomes more prevalent.
We’re already seeing entrepreneurs use artificial intelligence programs to write some of their basic descriptive copy and informational content.
The programs have options to write FB ads and emails, too. So they’re designed to be used for selling purposes. They’re just not creative, or original, and they aren’t great at eliciting emotion.
The programs don’t create, per se. They use machine learning to curate, mix and match.
As far as I can tell, we’re far from any of these programs being able to independently come up with a unique “big idea” for copy or content and write in a way that generates a unique thought.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be used to attempt to write effective selling copy.
Now, I still think it will be some time before AI has widespread adoption, even for simple copy. Not every business even has a website in 2021!
Still, I believe machine learning/artificial intelligence will start edging out more and more copywriters in the months and years ahead.
The capabilities of these AI programs may not live up to the hype… but the hype is what’s making (and going to make) entrepreneurs buy them.
Meaning that you’ll see AI being used to write sales copy, even if it’s not all that compelling. Many users won’t really know how to tell the difference, or they’ll simply “trust the science.”
Again, watch the video to see how I recommend staying safe from the Skynet of copywriting.