Chat GPT: threat or opportunity?

How can marketing and communications professionals leverage the power of AI tools, like ChatGPT by automating procedures, and generating content ideas that boost SEO and effectively engage audiences? And what are those skills and traits of MarComm professionals that cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence?
In this edition of our roundtable series, Artemis Pnevmatikou, country manager, Action Cyprus; Erin Brouillette, director, digital marketing, Action 360ˣ; Mawada Tarek, social media manager, Action UAE and Nazra Bhanji, communications manager, Action 360ˣ share their views on how AI is transforming the industry.

How is ChatGPT (and AI in general) disrupting the current marketing and communications landscape? How can agencies and in-house teams integrate ChatGPT and other AI-powered innovations into their existing workflow?

Erin Brouillette (360ˣ): ChatGPT definitely does disrupt the current marketing and communications landscape. I think the biggest benefit to ChatGPT and other similar AI systems is the efficiency they offer. With so many ways to minimise repetitive and time-consuming tasks, we have just started to scratch the surface of what can be done. A big part of the disruption debate is the long-term negative impacts on human creativity, uniqueness and certain jobs that will need to pivot or become obsolete. This has been the case through every type of technological and industrial advance as things are automated and human input is not needed as much. I think the big existential question is will this improve the life of humanity – will the elimination of certain tasks make us happier? Allow us to focus more on things that matter? Give us the time and space to hone our creativity? What are the positive impacts that we can focus on and really take advantage of?
There are many ways that marketing agencies and in-house teams can integrate this into their daily workflow. Some interesting use cases include writing content, including Google search ad copy, blog topics, social media captions, and the list goes on. However, even though it saves time, the content still needs to be tweaked by a human. Research is another big application, as are SEO automation and programming to name a few.

Artemis Pnevmatikou (Cyprus):  ChatGPT should be seen as a friend, not a foe. From integration into chatbots, social media platforms, email marketing campaigns or any other communication channel providing automated responses, to conducting research for strategy development and content creation, ChatGPT is a powerful tool that should be utilised by agencies and in-house teams to speed up procedures and make them more efficient.  ChatGPT can be used to provide quality data analysis to support marketers in strategy development, automate and improve customer service engagement, and support content creation.

Mawada Tarek (UAE): AI is not new to the communications landscape; take chatbots for example; we have seen very good results for various brands using them to respond to generic customer queries on Facebook Messenger, for example. The current trend around AI comes from the mass availability of new tools that can “assist” with content creation, which is understandably making some people fear the loss of their jobs to AI.
I think AI is amazing! I have been using a few tools even before ChatGPT started trending. You can utilise it to find specific information in an instant or to come up with a new snappy post idea; there is definitely room for AI to be introduced to every team. Agencies will benefit from AI’s assistance by supporting their teams to have time for the creative and client servicing hours while worrying less about the admin and smaller tasks, which a tool can totally automate.

Nazra Bhanji (360ˣ): ChatGPT a new Internet sensation, but in the grand scheme of things AI has been around for ages. The buzz factor is that it is open to all for free (for now). Meta’s version of the GPT, called the Open Pretrained Transformer, or OPT has several features that make it a viable replacement for GPT.
Where it is an immensely good content generator and can create paragraphs or essays within a few minutes, the key will be what search terms or prompts will be used. AI can help create and write content, a communications plan, strategy and even marketing techniques, however, planning will be crucial for users. Also, when drafting an article or key stakeholder opinion piece, case studies are important as they validate a certain train of thought. I also struggled with not being able to see where the information was retrieved from.
Can it create a marketing campaign that will tick all the boxes? Emotion, buy-in from the client, stakeholder trends, copy, content, visuals, articles, what’s trending this year, with the ultimate goal of creating a holistic campaign – no. It can, however, help in the process.
Content creation, automating repetitive tasks, chatbots, FAQs, translations, SWOT analysis can all be performed by the AI, increasing agencies’ efficiency and productivity level. It can also assist in generating ideas, doing top-level research, lead generation as well as in creating personalised communications.  

What do you think will be the long-term benefits and challenges of AI in this field? What should brands looking to utilise the capabilities of ChatGPT and other AI tools be aware of?

Erin Brouillette (360ˣ): Improved efficiency, personalisation, data-driven decision-making, scalability are all significant benefits. On the other hand, challenges could include possible job displacements, the risks of bias and ethics, the integration of AI into existing workflows and trust and transparency. In addition, improved efficiency can also be a challenge if that efficiency is not used for good. Does it allow us to work fewer hours and get more done? Or are we simply expected and required to produce even more? Does it contribute to our well-being or just the well-being of a few who can make more money from this efficiency and there is no trickle-down to the average worker? I think humans have a choice, if they use technology to really improve their lives, or just make and consume more stuff.
Agencies and in-house teams need to take all these into consideration and also pay attention to creativity – making sure the human input remains essential outside of the ideas that AI can generate.

Artemis Pnevmatikou (Cyprus):  AI is already disrupting our field and we can see many potential long-term benefits such as cost efficiency and increased productivity. At the moment however, as ChatGPT is still at very early stage, other than technical issues such as capacity and other dysfunctionalities, users should be careful when using material produced in terms of bias, plagiarism, and accuracy.

Mawada Tarek (UAE): I think the challenges will face juniors who are not trained on how to use these tools properly to ensure optimum output for their clients or brands. AI can help you write the copy, but it can’t be your client’s or brand’s voice. People have to be trained on how to take the information or copy it from the tool and utilise it. More seasoned professionals who refuse to adapt to the change will also likely fall behind as the competition will become more effective. I read a saying :”AI won’t take your job, a person using AI will”, and I fully believe in it.
Copywriting tools can definitely be helpful when working in marketing. With the proper training and prompts, people using the tool will consume way less time to come up with the copy they need. There is also a tool that helps you create a full presentation in a minute. Why not save your team valuable hours? Another useful tool, for example automatically takes meeting notes and labels them (Fast and credible MOMs ASAP? Yes, please.)

Nazra Bhanji (360ˣ): AI offers access to real-time analysis and insights to better understand how clients interact with our content, how customers engage with the brand, and what their triggers are in the sales funnel.  
Multichannel campaign optimisation and the ability to optimise ad spend across different channels results in more effective spending.  
As for the challenges, a potential drawback of utilising ChatGPT for content marketing is the reliance on AI and NLP technology, which may result in the production of unengaging and irrelevant content to the target audience. 
ChatGPT can be a useful tool for marketers to generate content, but they must be mindful of its impact on SEO. Google has a strict policy against low-quality auto-generated content and may penalise it. Additionally, it is crucial to understand the competitive landscape, as ChatGPT’s technology challenges Google. As a result, there is widespread speculation that Google may take action against content generated by its competitor.

With ChatGPT fast gaining popularity, how can MarComms agencies and qualified professionals maintain their competitive edge? In other words, what are those aspects that cannot be replaced by AI?

Erin Brouillette (360ˣ): Agencies need to maintain their ability to develop human, meaningful connections through the work they do. Creativity, events, and mainly activities that take place outside of a system, cannot be replicated.  Focusing on evoking feelings and a sense of togetherness will remain crucial.

Artemis Pnevmatikou (Cyprus):  MarComms teams should focus on strengthening their offering and adding value to their work by leveraging the powerful potential of AI, combining it with irreplaceable human attributes: creativity, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and most of all building and maintaining strong relationships with clients, stakeholders and partners.

Mawada Tarek (UAE): The obvious answer is client servicing. AI is not capable of replacing human connection – yet. Understanding the brief, ensuring the use of the brand’s guidelines, and keeping the brand image consistent is crucial. Adapting concepts to a specific brand as well as crisis communications are all things that AI cannot do. In short, AI can assist but not replace; it is here to help us become more creative and effective. And I believe it is very important that agencies start adapting to the change as soon as possible.

Nazra Bhanji (360ˣ): AI is here to stay and leveraging its good points will create a more productive and efficient life. As for MarComms agencies, the experience will by far outwit AI tools. Consequently, agencies will have to move fast and learn how to utilize AI. This, in turn, will help create a competitive edge for them over other agencies while also reducing cost for the client.  
I strongly object to the notion that ChatGPT can be relied upon to fully automate content creation. While it may have some utility in generating ideas or conducting basic research, the content produced is often superficial and lacks the depth of knowledge and experience that human writers bring to the table. Despite initial skepticism, many content creators have adopted the platform, though they recognise that it cannot entirely replace human creativity, nuances, and critical thinking. Furthermore, ChatGPT lacks the ability to comprehend the context and purpose of the content in the same way that a human can, making it difficult to create truly relevant and valuable content.