ChatGPT: Book smart, not street smart
Generative AI is everywhere these days. From clients questioning whether they can use it themselves, to copywriters having existential crises, it feels like ChatGPT, the language model from OpenAI, is the poster child for this technological revolution.
ChatGPT is undeniably efficient, cranking out text faster than any human, no matter how much Red Bull or caffeine that human has mainlined. But at the same time, while ChatGPT can smash standardised tests with its eyes closed, it’s also the kind of friend who gets lost trying to find you because their phone died.
All Knowledge, No Experience
ChatGPT’s been trained on a mountain of text and code — which means that in the blink of an eye, it can rattle off facts and summaries in a way that makes you wonder if the entire internet has been crammed into one super-powered metaphorical brain.
But — and a big BUT — ChatGPT has never actually lived. No firsthand experiences, no gut feelings, no intuition. So in a marketing context, while it might be really great for the scaffolding (drafting a content calendar outline according to national holidays, etc) — it is a long way from being able to tell you what will truly resonate with your audience on an emotional level or capture the zeitgeist of a particular moment in culture.
ChatGPT's intelligence is all theory, no practice. It’s the teenage prodigy who has memorised entire libraries, and thinks they’re really smart, but has never stepped foot outside, and therefore doesn’t know what it doesn’t know. However, it is very useful for outsourcing the granular (dull) tasks of marketing like data entry, keyword research, and coming up with email subject lines. It can streamline workflows, but cannot replace the human touch at the core of any amazing marketing campaign.
Where the Magic Happens
The best stories, the ones that truly resonate, are born from empathy, intuition, and a deep understanding of what it means to be human. I mean, what would Don Draper make of ChatGPT? I was thinking about the iconic John Lewis Christmas ads the other day, and how AI like ChatGPT could never have created this:
AI tools could, however, have analysed the audience reactions more effectively than a human would by themselves. Technical tools can perform sentiment analysis on social media comments, identifying key themes and emotions expressed by viewers, and quickly provide demographic insights, comparing reactions.
However, the interpretation and strategic application of these AI-generated insights still require human expertise to contextualise them within broader business goals and cultural trends. Which is why — in my opinion — the winning combo is AI analytical power plus human creativity, which is the future of data-driven, emotionally intelligent marketing.
Training Marketers and Leaders in AI
As AI continues to advance at lightning speed, I can already see a distinct gap between those who understand it and those who just read about it without ever really trying it. To bridge this gap, we need to approach AI with a healthy dose of skepticism, recognising both its potential and its limitations. But more importantly, we need to be literate in this tool.
This is so that we can spot misinformation, biases, and potential misuse — inevitable by-products of such a revolutionary technology — but also for empowering marketers to make better data-driven decisions. Instead of relying solely on gut feelings, they can leverage AI to debate marketing directions with greater confidence.
On an industry level, this approach highlights the difference between knowledge and wisdom. The future of content creation cannot be about replacing human creativity with artificial intelligence. Instead, the focus should be on finding innovative ways to use AI for the more mundane tasks, allowing us to concentrate on the work that only humans can do best.
While I myself have been impressed by ChatGPT’s acrobatics, I also know there’s more to genuine intelligence than simply being able to spit out a lot of stuff. Great marketing is often a form of wisdom about the human condition, desire, and aspiration. And that experience, empathy, and capacity to be vulnerable is something that even the most advanced version of ChatGPT cannot truly replicate. (For now.)
