Everyone is talking about ChatGPT – and with good reason! ChatGPT is an AI language model that can write content, do research, write code and more. Notwithstanding the controversy about AI in general, ChatGPT can be a useful tool to help with your marketing.

What is ChatGPT?

I asked ChatGPT to tell me exactly what it is, and here is what it said:

Who can use it?

Anyone can use ChatGPT for free. All you need to do is to create an account with OpenAI and you can start asking ChatGPT questions and start interacting. Start here >>

How can ChatGPT help small businesses with their marketing?

ChatGPT is a great addition to your arsenal of marketing tools. I have only just started exploring it and I think you should have a play too! Remember ChatGPT may not always tell the truth and it definitely has some limitations, so for now humans are not quite redundant yet.

Here are some suggestions of how to get started:

Ask ChatGPT to help you come up with a business name or domain name (caveat – you will then need to check if that business name or domain name is actually available as ChatGPT doesn’t seem to be able to do that for you – yet)

Ask ChatGPT to write content for you, e.g. some content for your homepage, a blog post or copy for a Facebook ad. Eliminate writer’s block. Forget staring at a blank page and ask ChatGPT to get you started on something you can then refine. Or start writing your content and ask ChatGPT to correct or reword it.

Ask ChatGPT to do some market research for you (caveat – it doesn’t have access to the data in real time so the information may be a little outdated, or it may refuse to give you a straight answer as in the example below)

ChatGPT tells some porkies

I asked ChatGPT if it could help with a marketing project, and it was keen on the job and then suggested that we establish communication channels so that we can stay in touch during the project, such as “email, phone, video conferencing, or other messaging tools.”

This had me a little stumped so I asked: “Do you have a phone number?”

The answer: “As an AI language model, I don’t have a phone number as I don’t have a physical presence.”

I guess that rules out the suggested video conferencing and email communication too 😉

Can ChatGPT build a website?

When I asked, ChatGPT also claimed that it has “the technical skills and experience to build WordPress websites” and “can also provide ongoing maintenance and support for WordPress websites, including updates, backups, security monitoring, and troubleshooting.”

On closer inspection however, it actually has no real time access to the internet and certainly doesn’t have the “technical skills” to build a website. What it can do is:

• Help with ideas for the website structure and features
• Help with content creation, e.g. by suggesting text for pages or blog posts that can then be refined by us humans
• Help with SEO content, e.g. optimising text and headlines for specific SEO keywords

In summary

I think at this point in time, the most useful application for ChatGPT is to help with content.

Clients often struggle with content for their website. Of course the ideal scenario would be to hire a copywriter who can create unique content that speaks to your brand and personality, but this is not affordable for everyone. Rather than looking at a blank page, have a play with ChatGPT to get the creative juices flowing.

I don’t think ChatGPT will replace the human touch any time soon, but it can definitely be a useful tool for many small businesses and organisations.