How Communications Pros Should 'Date' AI

NEW! Listen to article

I'm not sure how to describe my initial feelings after hearing ChatGPT was officially live.

I'm a former managing editor and current marketing director, so content creation has been a cornerstone of my career. What was I feeling about AI? Trepidation? Anxiousness? Concern? Curiosity? Maybe a combination of all four.

Fittingly, I felt the same way about my first real date when I was 13. Would Dan Golden (name altered for anonymity) like the new chunky black platform sandals I had painstakingly picked out at the mall? Would he notice my Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers as we pseudo-watched Legally Blonde at the local Regal Cinema?

AI, like dating in my teen years, is here... and we need to either embrace it or get left behind—whether we like it or not.

Consider: Is the innate resistance against AI worth it? Or, if there is a good fight to be fought, where does that even exist?

Instead of denying its existence or being fearful of what it brings, we as communications and content professionals need to find common ground with AI to make the relationship work.

We need to date.

1. Take it slow and get to know each other

Soon after the ChatGPT platform launched, I created a login to try it out, unsure what to expect. It was similar to when I created an OKCupid account circa 2011 (is that still a thing?). I entered a variety of topics and questions to see how the platform would respond.

Here's what I learned in this exercise and how you, too, can start your first-date conversation.

AI, in its current state, is like an advanced Google search. You feed it a question or need, and it spits out prepared information in the format you request. It's good for technical, literal writing. Think: manual writing, product descriptions for a website, language translation. Text that doesn't need emotional, human depth to relay a topic.

Want to learn how a continuously variable transmission works? AI may be your match made in heaven. (In case you're wondering, I did not want to learn about that topic, but I once had a date explain it to me in great detail.)

That is the main driver of what separates AI writing from human communication: It's written without a soul. It lacks the emotional intelligence and intuition that a human can provide. It's missing the personal touch and creativity that makes great writing stand out. It certainly doesn't know about how I felt on my awkward first date in 2001 (lucky for it). It won't take risks in its writing, and what you get back is often generic.

2. Keep an eye on its red flags

As you would with anyone you're dating, you need to understand AI's limitations and keep an eye on red flags. As of this writing, ChatGPT pulls only from data up to 2021, meaning it cannot share new or trending information. Communications moves quickly, so I wouldn't rely too heavily on anything gleaned from AI for current industry conversations.

I also noticed that fact-check is lacking. That will improve with time as the machine gets smarter and learns more from what's put into it (we're its test subjects as much as it is ours). But for now I would be wary of trusting anything it churns out at face value.

Just as you wouldn't show up to a third date without doing the proper social media sleuthing, you need to be conducting your own separate research on the topics you put into AI.

3. Set reasonable expectations

For now, I plan to treat AI as an extra Google or an idea jump-starter. Sometimes you open a document and stare at it blankly, unsure where to start. AI can help jolt your writing by providing baseline ideas.

During our first few dates, I found AI to be the most helpful in determining a subject line for a marketing email I was drafting. Although I didn't go with any of its suggested lines—it's really bad at puns, by the way, so if humor is high on your date trait list, you'll be disappointed—it helped get my creative juices flowing and put down the initial metaphorical pen to paper.

4. Start thinking about your future together

We're all still learning about AI, and it's still learning about us. We're wooing each other. But thinking about five or ten years from now, what we do with it is ultimately the deciding factor in whether the technology is beneficial for comms pros.

Consider a hammer: You could build a house with it, or you could smash a car with it. Likewise, you could use artificial intelligence to support your content ideas and efforts, or you could allow it to take over your content creation and lose any authenticity of voice or originality that makes you uniquely positioned to tell brand stories.

Don't go down that path. Don't become one of those couples who has no original interests and shares a Facebook handle.

* * *

There's no doubt AI is making life a bit easier for those who live in the communication and content-creation realm. But as with any budding relationship, there are many layers left to unfold and we're still learning a lot about each other.

I don't have all the answers yet, but I'm going to continue dating AI. Are there wedding bells ringing in the future? I don't think so. But we may have some fun stories to tell along the way.