What does AI writing mean for communicators?

------=_Part_33940697_1375608370.1674602712404 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_Part_33940698_352541196.1674602712404" ------=_Part_33940698_352541196.1674602712404 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ============================================================ MarketingProfs Communication Today A new monthly newsletter on marketing writing & communications, written by Ann Handley. Read this issue on the Web. Just follow this link: ============================================================ You received this newsletter at this address ({EMAIL}) as part of your subscription to MarketingProfs.com, or because you subscribed to our newsletter. To ensure that you continue receiving our emails, please add us to your address book or safe list. Manage your mail preferences: If you prefer to no longer receive MarketingProfs Communication Today, you can always leave this list: Copyright 2000-2023 MarketingProfs LLC. All Rights Reserved. 1985 Riviera Dr, Ste 103-17 | Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 | (866) 557-9625 ------=_Part_33940698_352541196.1674602712404 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit A monthly newsletter on marketing writing & communications, by Ann Handley. A monthly newsletter on marketing writing & communications, by Ann Handley. [MarketingProfs Communication Today] January 2023 Hi, friend. Welcome to the newest issue of Communication Today, a monthly letter from me, Ann Handley, with communication insight and advice... and a monthly photo of my dog. If you like this or would like to see something specific here, please hit reply and let me know! I read all your emails personally. * * * AI Writing is all the rage. If I had a nickel for every post I saw in my social feed in the past month about ChatGPT... I'd be writing this email to you wearing slippers made from hundred-dollar bills. Maybe you've seen the hype and fear and flurry, too—like [that Ryan Reynolds commercial](qKzF8/V09zc3NSZVZoRko1N3Y3a3RPdUIyc2RHNk1vTEV5YnZOc2VqU3g5QUlLSlJqa3FwZERacUczVjgvVHlJdjB4M09ma1RXMERyVk1ZdmowTk5zV0c3ek0ySXF1Qm1jdkUyRkNzRzVpWlNHa2JJWEJPMlpMeVdFUT09S0/) ChatGPT wrote. But—deep breath—here's what we need to remember: AI is a tool. That's it. Full stop. It's a power tool, sure—maybe a diamond-toothed chainsaw capable of felling a forest of redwoods. But it's also just a tool. The question around AI for me is not: What can AI do? The more important question for me is instead: Who is holding the tool? You can put a vibrating, live diamond-toothed chainsaw in my inexperienced, unpracticed, ignorant hands and within seconds I will lose control of it and catch my sleeve in the blade and oh my god I just sheered my arm clean off and then in a panic (chainsaw thrashing wildly) I hack off the limbs off anyone standing near me and before I black out I see everything, everywhere is chaos. It's a bloodbath. AI tools like ChatGPT remind me of that chaos. The flurry of activity on social media this past month. The momentum of millions of new ChatGPT accounts. It's not a exactly a bloodbath—but it's a lot of wild energy that is fueling both panic and euphoria. It's not that you can't use ChatGPT in useful, substantive ways to be a better writer. Or to write at all: A flummoxed, frozen writer might use it to translate a garbled idea in their heads into a basic listicle or email or meta description. But what about more than that? What about communicators like us? What do we make of it? It comes down to the fundamental question: Who is holding the tool? ► The one holding the tool should treat AI as a party plus-one. AI is the guest we invite into our work, not the one throwing the party. I talk about the writing process in three distinct phases; I detail that in my [Writing GPS](9z8Cd/V09zc3NSZVZoRko1N3Y3a3RPdUIyc2RHNk1vTEV5YnZOc2VqU3g5QUlLSlJqa3FwZERacUczVjgvVHlJdjB4M09ma1RXMERyVk1ZdmowTk5zV0c3ek0ySXF1Qm1jdkUyRkNzRzVpWlNHa2JJWEJPMlpMeVdFUT09S0/) from Everybody Writes 2. Tools like ChatGPT can help in each phase, in various ways. The Sentences On Demand that AI generates is not where the real power is. The power comes in pushing us to better work. ► The one holding the tool should recognize that the output from AI has a lot of swagger. Yet it can be completely wrong. One of the things that struck me about ChatGPT was how weirdly confident it is. It writes with the tone of the righteous. But the text it delivers is sometimes wrong. Biased. Just a little bit off. Will it get better? I hope so. But always: Check the work. Ask questions. Research on your own. Plus-one guest, not host! ► The one holding the tool should realize that Sentences On Demand are way less interesting than what's to come. Or I should say... what I imagine will come based on what I hear is coming. What if the next evolution of AI tools doesn't just help us create better work... but challenges us, too? What if this Sentences On Demand grows up to become a full-fledged writing assistant that's able to literally workshop a piece alongside us? That's where things will get interesting. We are in the Communication game. You can't put AI in the hands of someone who can't write and expect anything other than mediocre. And you can't be expect AI to ever disrupt your own writing—to call you to a higher place creatively—without a little gung-ho and gusto of your own. AI doesn't work on its own... not really. It requires discerning people who care. It needs discerning people who care. So back to our question. Who is holding the tool? You are. Play around with it. Try it out. But don't slice your arm off, OK? [Ann Handley] [Ann Handley] Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs Author, Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content ATOM: Ann's Tip Of the Month If you use social media comments for writing research, this site is useful. It solves a challenge that seems simple to solve, but is actually ridiculously difficult. [ExportComments]( allows you to... well, export comments (!) into an Excel file from a public social post or feed like those on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and others. It makes the comments easy to sort through and quote. It also adds the profile name of the commenter. (The free version gives you only 100 comments, FYI. You can pay for more.) I hear your complaint... This isn't a writing tip! It's a research tool! OK, fine. Valid. But still. [[Webinar] The 10 Things Great Marketing Writers Do That Set Them Apart]( The 10 Things Great Marketing Writers Do That Set Them Apart* Join me tomorrow, January 25 in this look at how we can take our marketing writing from meh to marvel... holy-wow! I'm going to take you through my writing process. And we're going to have some funigans. [Let me know you'll be there](/V09zc3NSZVZoRko1N3Y3a3RPdUIyc2RHNk1vTEV5YnZOc2VqU3g5QUlLSlJqa3FwZERacUczVjgvVHlJdjB4M09ma1RXMERyVk1ZdmowTk5zV0c3ek0ySXF1Qm1jdkUyRkNzRzVpWlNHa2JJWEJPMlpMeVdFUT09S0/). * For MarketingProfs PRO members only. Not yet PRO? You're in luck! Use code NEWYOU to upgrade your membership to PRO today, and get 53% off! PROs get access to private Ask an Expert consultations, convenient Master Classes, interactive Working Webinars, and more. [Upgrade for more than half off](—only in January. Marketing Communication Resources [Article] [Article] [Marketing at the Speed of Thought: AI Use Cases for Four Content Types](. We've all heard it: AI is here, you need to use AI, incorporate AI into your marketing... But what exactly do you use it for? Here are practical applications for AI across four content types. [Research] [Research] [How Much Time Are You Probably Spending Reading This Email?]( Litmus has the data. [Event] [Event] [The Thing I'm Most Excited for This Year.](Kvt0/V09zc3NSZVZoRko1N3Y3a3RPdUIyc2RHNk1vTEV5YnZOc2VqU3g5QUlLSlJqa3FwZERacUczVjgvVHlJdjB4M09ma1RXMERyVk1ZdmowTk5zV0c3ek0ySXF1Qm1jdkUyRkNzRzVpWlNHa2JJWEJPMlpMeVdFUT09S0/) (Please join me!) A Message From Augie Handley [Augie!] When you have a six-inch inseam and gorgeous hair to protect from the January elements... it's all about the layering. * * * Thanks for reading this far. And again: Like this issue? Want to see something specific? Please hit reply and let me know! I read all your emails personally, and I'd love to hear. [MarketingProfs] Your Communication Today Team Your team for this issue (in alphabetical order): Megan Cordero, production director; Vahe Habeshian, publications director; Ann Handley, chief content officer; Augie Handley, naps expert. [MarketingProfs]( Copyright © 2000–2023 MarketingProfs, LLC All Rights Reserved Read our Terms of Service [here](. This email was sent to {EMAIL} as part of your MarketingProfs subscription. If you prefer to no longer receive MarketingProfs Communication Today, you can always [leave this list](. Did someone who cares about you forward this to you? [Subscribe here]( to get your own copy. MarketingProfs, LLC | 1985 Riviera Dr, Ste 103-17 | Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 | (866) 557-9625 ------=_Part_33940698_352541196.1674602712404-- ------=_Part_33940697_1375608370.1674602712404--