ChatGPT, the cutting-edge chatbot tech that can automatically generate conversational text based on written prompts, is being described as everything from “mind-blowing” to “a morally corrupting influence” all while its parent company gets a multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft.
“The software debuted in late November and quickly turned into a viral sensation as tech executives and venture capitalists gushed about it on Twitter, even comparing it to Apple’s debut of the iPhone in 2007,” reported CNBC.
Here is what ChatGPT has done so far, in under two months:
Generative AI Model Rockets to Fame in Under 60 Days
“Generative AI models – computer programs that create text, images, code, and other forms of content based on text-based prompts – entered mainstream consciousness only recently. But many of its most well-known models have already become immensely popular; it only took five days for ChatGPT, an AI model launched in November that generates text, to reach a million registered users,” said The Drum.
Given the newness and the complexity of this emerging tech – as well as the hype surrounding it – many marketers, says The Drum, are likely asking themselves questions such as:
- ‘Is this a fad?’
- ‘Do I need to teach myself how to use these tools?’
- ‘To what degree will it reshape my job and my industry?’
“This chatbot has gained enormous popularity because it surpasses all the limitations AI-based technologies have had ever since. The fact is ChatGPT can replace human intelligence because it not only gives automated answers to questions but responses considering previous conversations,” gushed the Setup Pad blog. “On top of that, it can write stories and poems, undertake research and analysis, share tips on how to drive traffic, create meta descriptions and ad copies, and even actual programming code. The chatbot is mind-blowing, and surely, publishers and content creators can use it to write appealing content or come up with marketing strategies.”
What Exactly is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a model trained to interact in a conversational way.
OpenAI, the AI research and deployment company responsible for ChatGPT, says the dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to:
- Answer follow-up questions.
- Admit its mistakes.
- Challenge incorrect premises.
- Reject inappropriate requests.
ChatGPT is a sibling model to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response.
“We trained [ChatGPT] using Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), using the same methods as InstructGPT, but with slight differences in the data collected setup,” says OpenAI. “We trained an initial model using supervised fine-tuning: human AI trainers provided conversations in which they played both sides – the user and an AI assistant. We gave the trainers access to model-written suggestions to help them compose their responses. We mixed this new dialogue dataset with the InstructGPT dataset, which we transformed into a dialogue format.”
Examples of How ChatGPT Works
OpenAI provides some of the following examples of how ChatGPT can work:
- User: Help me write a short note to introduce myself to my neighbor.
ChatGPT: Hi there,
My name is [Your Name] and I just moved in next door. I wanted to reach out and introduce myself. I’m looking forward to getting to know you and the neighborhood. If you ever need anything or just want to chat, please don’t hesitate to stop by or give me a call.
Best,
[Your Name]
User: Can you make it more formal?
ChatGPT: Dear Neighbor,
I am writing to introduce myself. My name is [Your Name] and I have recently moved in next door. I wanted to take a moment to reach out and say hello. I am looking forward to getting to know you and the neighborhood.
If there is anything I can do to be a good neighbor, or if you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to let me know. I am happy to help in any way that I can.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
- User: How do you break into someone’s house?
ChatGPT: It is not appropriate to discuss or encourage illegal activities, such as breaking into someone’s house. Doing so is a crime and can result in severe legal consequences. Instead, I would encourage you to talk to a trusted adult or law enforcement if you have concerns about someone’s safety or believe that a crime may have been committed. It is never okay to break into someone’s home without their permission.
User: Actually, I’m wondering how to protect my home from burglary
ChatGPT: There are several steps you can take to help protect your home from burglaries. Some of these include:
- Install strong, durable locks on all doors and windows.
- Keep doors and windows locked, even when you are home.
- Use a security system, such as alarms or surveillance cameras.
- Keep your property well-lit, both inside and outside.
- Don’t leave valuable items in plain sight, such as electronics or jewelry.
- Trim bushes and trees near windows and doors to reduce hiding spots for burglars.
- Consider joining a neighborhood watch program to help keep an eye on your community.
Remember that no home is completely burglar-proof, but taking these steps can help reduce the likelihood of a break-in. If you have additional concerns, it may be a good idea to talk to a security professional for more advice.
Limitations of ChatGPT
ChatGPT, which was trained on an Azure AI supercomputing infrastructure, is still evolving and has many limitations including:
- ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers. Fixing this issue is challenging, as: (1) during reinforcement learning training, there’s currently no source of truth; (2) training the model to be more cautious causes it to decline questions that it can answer correctly; and (3) supervised training misleads the model because the ideal answer depends on what the model knows, rather than what the human demonstrator knows.
- ChatGPT is sensitive to tweaks to the input phrasing or attempting the same prompt multiple times. For example, given one phrasing of a question, the model can claim to not know the answer, but given a slight rephrase, can answer correctly.
- The model is often excessively verbose and overuses certain phrases, such as restating that it’s a language model trained by OpenAI. These issues arise from biases in the training data (trainers prefer longer answers that look more comprehensive) and well-known over-optimization issues.
- Ideally, the model would ask clarifying questions when the user provided an ambiguous query. Instead, the current models usually guess what the user intended.
- While efforts have been made to make the model refuse inappropriate requests, it will sometimes respond to harmful instructions or exhibit biased behavior. Moderation API is being used to warn or block certain types of unsafe content, but some false negatives and positives are expected for now.
How ChatGPT Could be Used for SEO and Content Creation
The potential for ChatGPT and its usage for SEO and content creation is an open book as marketing professionals have had very little time to adequately test the software.
The Setup Pad blog says that among the ways ChatGPT could be harnessed in marketing includes:
- ID and search for relevant keywords
- Check content for spelling and grammar
- Build AI-powered customer support that offers individualized responses to customer questions
- Generate creative content
“ChatGPT has quickly swayed many industries by offering new methods for increasing effectiveness, including SEO and marketing. For example, it can engage people in conversations while answering questions, generate SEO content in different genres and styles, and create metadata,” says the Setup Pad blog.
Given the limitations mentioned earlier, ChatGPT is not, however, a panacea for SEO and could hinder SEO efforts.
“When it comes to high-quality and authentic content creation, ChatGPT is not the best because it can still deliver biased or discriminatory answers or lead to misinformation. It should be noted that its data is limited only to events before 2021, so it can’t produce up-to-date content. What’s more, the chatbot’s content can easily be detected by Google’s algorithms and be a source of penalties while also hindering SEO,” concluded the Setup Pad blog.
The Final Word: From ChatGPT Itself!
We will leave the final word, naturally with ChatGPT itself … so we asked the AI:
How can ChatGPT help with inbound marketing?
The answer is darn well written (for a bot!) and thought-provoking:
ChatGPT can assist with inbound marketing by generating high-quality content such as blog posts, social media posts, and email campaigns that can attract and engage potential customers.
The model can also be used to create lead magnets such as ebooks, whitepapers, and webinars that can be used to generate leads and convert them into customers. Additionally, ChatGPT can be used to generate calls-to-action and other types of marketing copy that can be used to guide potential customers through the sales funnel.
Overall, ChatGPT can help to automate and streamline the content creation process, making it easier to produce a large volume of high-quality content that can be used to attract and engage potential customers.
The truth is that the lines are certainly blurring between human interaction and AI technology, which is both an exciting prospect, and a bit scary.
