Are you tempted to get rid of your marketing team and content writers? Who needs people when you have ChatGPT right?

Unfortunately, that’s where you are WRONG.

Of course, we’ll say that – after all, writing is what we’re great at.

But the reality is that ChatGPT could be harming you, and you don’t even realise it.

As freelance PR specialists, we know how important your reputation is to you. We also know how hard you are working, and why you need to stretch your budget to go as far as possible.

But one of the biggest misconceptions is that generative AI in marketing is ready to replace highly qualified, experienced marketing teams.

What are the risks of using generative AI within my marketing strategy?

Firstly, there’s the risk that uploading confidential information into an open-source AI platform could lead to significant problems that are difficult to overcome (such as when sensitive data from Samsung was leaked onto ChatGPT)
There’s the risk of unknown biases in the LLM. You don’t know how ethical the training is behind the robot or where they are getting their data from. If you listen to The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Richard and Marina talk in great detail about how these tools are affecting copyright laws.
Google and search engines want content to be written with humans in mind. That’s why they brought in their helpful guidance mandate. Why would you want your business to sound like everyone else when you could be using your content to sound like YOU? Those businesses who are overly relying on generative AI content (and it’s obvious when it’s used) could find themselves penalised in the search engine rankings.
Do you consider yourself to be a sustainable and ethical business? If so, you might not be aware that significant environmental harm is caused by using generative AI tools. Did you know that “a short conversation of 20-50 questions and answers with ChatGPT (GPT-3) costs half a litre of fresh water?” (Original source: (arXiv, 2023) – and discovered via The Sustainable Agency). If you’re proud of your environmental policies, this could put you at risk of claims of hypocrisy.
Failure to take AI seriously could harm your reputation. There are many examples of harmful use of AI – normally, because a human hasn’t reviewed the output to check for errors ensure consistent messaging, tone of voice, accuracy or relevancy. Without having someone there to check for consistency with your business, you could be putting yourself at significant risk.

Understanding that AI is there as a tool to aid rather than replace qualified and professional staff is essential.

Of course generative AI has potential for marketing teams

We’re not Luddites – of course, there are ways that AI can significantly improve your marketing and communications strategy. But it’s how AI and automation are used which is essential.

When used correctly, any AI can help to demonstrate the value of your marketing. It can be used for data analytics, seeing what messages customers are responding to, and monitoring your brand reputation. It can be used to speed up research queries or help you find those semantic keywords that you may not have thought of.

When used within content generation (note, we said within, not during), AI can be used to check that your content makes sense, that it’s answering specific questions, or that it’s in a logical order. Ultimately, it’s there as a tool to improve the efficiencies of your functions – not manage it for you entirely.

Freelance support could be the answer to your problem

You might be heading towards AI because it’s cheaper than recruiting a marketing manager. But why not take a step back and look at how freelance digital marketing support could be a better option?

With our range of fixed price PR packages, we can find a solution that matches your marketing budget while also strengthening your reputation.

It’s a real win-win.