Are AI and ChatGPT the end of content marketing agencies?

27.01.2023 in Content Strategy

There is probably no topic in content marketing that has received as much attention in recent years as ChatGPT. The free tool based on OpenAI is just the tip of the spear of tools that generate content with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). We ask ourselves what significance this has for the Content Strategy and whether content marketing agencies are still needed in the future.

Which AI tools play a role in content marketing?

Currently on everyone's lips: ChatGPT. The technology, which is mainly financed by Microsoft, is currently accessible free of charge after registration. The first results surprise everyone. It is simply amazing that a tool can create content on its own. This is an ability that until now has largely been attributed only to humans. The ability to combine is what is so surprising. "Poem about vegan food in the style of Wilhelm Busch," no problem. "Statement on vegan food in the style of Helmut Kohl," comes immediately. Of course, the result is far from perfect. But still very impressive what is possible with such combinations.

In addition, there is a whole range of other tools for use in content marketing. These include for example Content.ai., neuroflash and frase. A top rated and leading offer in all comparison lists is Jasper. We have tested Jasper. The results are included in this article.

Basis of all measures: The content strategy

The content (and SEO) strategy determines which goals, for which target groups, can best be achieved with which measures. Can an AI tool help with this? No. The first step is to ask the right questions. For example: "What does the customer journey look like? What are they interested in first, if they only know the problem but have no idea how to solve it? What do they look for when they know they need product or service X, but don't know a provider yet? What questions do they ask in the final decision phase?" etc. etc.

Specialists, such as content marketing agencies, help with this. SEO tools, such as SEM Rush, are helpful here, but only if they are filled with the right questions. Ultimately, the answers are part of the expertise within the company. The sales experts know in which industries and for which applications the products are ideally suited. And they know their customers' questions. The task is to find answers to these in the content marketing strategy and place them correctly.

At this point, you can ask yourself whether the use of AI content tools should be planned for the subsequent text creation. This depends very much on the desired goal. More about this later. In any case, we will be happy to advise you on what makes sense at this point and what does not.

SEO - indispensable framework for digital content

There is hardly any website text that should not rank. Therefore, for every copywriter clear: Without SEO it does not work. Some of the tools mentioned offer links to SEO tools. These combinations will certainly be expanded and perfected in the future. Nevertheless: All tools can only answer as well as they are asked. If the keyword selection is poor and the W-question analysis has not taken place at all, the greatest tool cannot provide an answer.

And SEO today is much more than just placing keywords x times in the text and y times in the headlines (besides title and description). Without the formation of content clusters, greater SEO successes are hardly possible. The very specific know-how, how to create internal links and which external links should be added, needs a lot of experience. AI cannot help here.

ChatGPT and Jasper in content creation

Both tools can spit out a lot of content. First of all, a distinction must be made between the different types of content. Very roughly: SEO Content, creative texts (slogans, headlines, storytelling, Online campaigns), Website texts. In turn:

Website texts with ChatGPT and Jasper

For the "About Us" part of the website, no AI tool can contribute anything useful. You have to know yourself what is worth telling. The same applies to product descriptions. Where it might make sense is in the solutions section, where specific industries, specialties and applications are addressed. Let's try it out. As an example, let's take "Website text on CAD software for use in the mechanical engineering sector" and "Software for the human resources sector".

The results of ChatGPT:

Jasper's results:

What of it can be used by any CAD software manufacturer? Actually nothing.

Every website text is first written for the user. To do this, I need to know what they are interested in, see Customer Journey above. And then formulate it in such a way that the needs of the users are in the foreground and only in the second step are the features of my product listed for them. The sentence: "Users benefit from more flexibility in creating new designs, real-time testing, virtual simulations and an intuitive user interface" is a step in the right direction. But does my product actually feature "real-time testing" or do I have to delete that right away? Can I lure anyone behind the stove with "an intuitive user interface" or is that not a given?

In short: The generated texts are not even suitable as a source of inspiration for the website from software provider X. No experienced copywriter can do anything with them.

Creative texts with ChatGPT and Jasper

Expectations are low. Let's see what comes out. We're testing "slogans on the topic of minced meat" and "slogans on the topic of vegan nutrition.

The results of ChatGPT:

Jasper's results:

Seriously? Ground beef - the healthy choice for every day? Okay, bygones be bygones.

The bottom line here is clear: no AI tool can produce a truly creative output that simultaneously fits the company's identity. In the end, it's nothing more than throwing together text phrases and spitting them back out in new combinations. Is that impressive? No. Can it be used? For inspiration, perhaps. As a starting point for a real marketing campaign? Hardly. Creative and motivating content marketing requires genuine creativity generated by people rather than machines. This is the only way to create unique content that truly fits the brand. It is the job of AI to support us humans and make our work easier. But ultimately, it's up to us as content marketers to find the right words to get our message across. That's the only way we can create the strongest possible connection between our brand and our target groups.

SEO Content with ChatGPT and Jasper

More and more content is being created specifically for placement in Google. The big goal of many companies is to be found not only with their own brand names, but also with generic keywords. Clearly, a large number of companies in the same industry have the same idea. And everyone creates longer and longer texts, all in the same context.

Can AI content tools help here? When it comes to a variety of content, you'd think yes. We've tested it with Jasper. For content as diverse as cars, mustard, and software. The survey of our copywriters involved revealed:

The generated content is superficial
They do not fit the company
They are American colored with specific words that do not exist in German at all
Jasper does not understand connections
Complex content is not possible at all
Texts with a specific tonality cannot be generated
Creative neologisms do not exist
The texts are not original

In summary: For very simple texts, Jasper, representative of the other AI content tools, can generate easily readable texts. With a quick round of corrections, this quickly creates new content. Since the number of words on a web page is a criterion for Google, this is a relevant goal. Thus, the tools are quite suitable for text multiplication.

But: For many companies, these tools are still in the trial phase. If many more companies generate vast amounts of quickly readable texts without much depth for even more websites, the relevance of this content will inevitably decrease.

So is there no reason to use AI content tools at all?

But no. We, too, find the output fascinating. No doubt the results will get significantly better in the coming months and years. But for all our enthusiasm for technology, it's important to remain realistic here. For all applications with relatively simple, recurring content, AI applications are bound to happen. A few examples:

The support chat with the same questions over and over again in only a slightly different context? Will soon come from a program that is indistinguishable from humans.
Social posts for new product variants on all channels: The images in the right formats are generated automatically every week. Short sales texts and call-to-actions included.
Descriptive texts for all worldwide travel destinations on the tour operator's website: KI Content. Not individual. Creativity missing. Not SEO relevant. But in masses. Well readable. Often sufficient.

So what does this mean for content marketing agencies?

We are not afraid of ChatGPT or Jasper. Not even worry.

We love language. And we love technology. That's why these tools fascinate us and we like to play around with them. But for high-quality use of content in corporate communications, the applications are very manageable. If anything, the revision time of AI-generated texts is so high that an experienced copywriter might as well write it from scratch himself.

Nevertheless, we are excited and look forward to further developments in this topic area.

And finally. Jasper responds to the question, "What's the future of content marketing agencies?" with, "Content marketing agencies will be needed more than ever in the future to help companies conceptualize content that attracts and persuades potential customers. The demand for high-quality content is ever-increasing, and content marketing agencies can help meet that demand."