Disadvantages of AI in marketing
There’s no denying it – ChatGPT has disrupted the world. And while it’s great for writing emails and making hilarious limericks about your mates (honestly, try it and thank us later!), businesses are turning to the software for their every content creation need. But…um…is that a good thing? Sure, it saves time, but at what cost to your business and brand?
With any new technology, there are always disadvantages, risks, and even a little confusion. That’s why we’ve put together this little guide to help you navigate the 5 biggest disadvantages of AI in marketing.
What is AI?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s start from the top. What is AI anyway?
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. AI is used in computers and machines to mimic the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of a human. Good examples of AI in everyday life are Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana.
AI has been used in digital marketing for years. Many email marketing platforms use AI to collect customer data and personalise its content. Loads of brands use chatbots to answer their customers’ FAQs. And believe it or not, ChatGPT isn’t the first of its kind – tools such as Ubersuggest AI Writer, Copy.ai and Wordtune have been around for yonks.
So what are the biggest disadvantages of AI in marketing? So glad you’ve asked….
5 biggest disadvantages of AI in marketing
Disadvantage #1: You run the risk of plagiarising
The big question: does ChatGPT plagiarise? Well…yeah. Firstly, any copy created by ChatGPT can often have the same overused and tired phrases in it, turning your potential customers away instantly and making your brand totally cringe. And secondly, ChatGPT doesn’t directly copy and paste from a source, but it certainly copies the same idea and paraphrases the text. So while the actual copy might be original, the concept sure isn’t.
But isn’t the internet all a remix anyway? Everything that could ever be said about a topic is already out there being spoken about over and over again. So what if the idea isn’t unique? Right? Er…right?
Nope. The idea may have been spoken about before – but not with your unique insight, it hasn’t. One SEO tactic Google uses to rank websites is EAT – Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. The more knowledge and authority you can pump into your content, the more you will ultimately build trust with your target audience. Only a human with your expertise, experience and in-depth understanding of your industry can do that. Believe us, a computer could never replace the creativity, emotion and innovation that a human like you can bring.
So how does this damage your business? It’s all about trust. If your clients see you saying the same thing as everyone else, they won’t trust you. In fact, they’ll think you don’t know what you’re talking about – after all, all you do is regurgitate what someone else said. And when your customers don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. Those are facts.
Disadvantage #2: It’s not optimal for SEO
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s visibility on search engines such as Google. Think of it as a giant checklist Google needs to tick off before it ranks your website: Keywords? CHECK! Relevant information? CHECK! Backlinks? CHECK!
SEO takes a lot of time, effort and know-how to implement. It’s also continually changing and updating. Only a human can strategically weave in keywords without it sounding unnatural or coming across as keyword stuffing. And only a human can correctly pick out the right information to share that is factually correct, relevant and clear to understand.
Publishing content that isn’t optimal for SEO can severely damage your brand. How? Because SEO is what makes your business visible. According to Searchenginejournal.com, the first organic result in Google Search has an average click-through rate of 28.5%. The average click-through rate (CTR) decreases a lot, with the second and third positions being 15% and 11%, respectively. So the better your SEO is, the more likely people are going to find and click on your website.
Disadvantage #3: You can become too dependent on it
Technology is there to make our lives easier. We’d all be absolute muppets not to take advantage of something that saves us time, energy and effort – right?
Relying too much on AI for your marketing can limit your creativity and leads to less collaboration. It gives you less experience than you would have earned if you pulled up your sleeves and did it yourself, reducing your competency. And worst of all, all your content, marketing campaigns and copy would start to sound the same. How boring.
Disadvantage #4: It doesn’t provide correct information all the time
What? AI doesn’t have all the answers? But it’s a computer! How can that be?
It’s true. Unlike humans, AI doesn’t have the ability to fact-check or cross-reference the information it spits out. So you could be left telling your customers or clients something completely wrong – making you look like a right dingus.
ChatGPT is a perfect example of this. The free version can only provide information up to 2021, while the paid subscription model, GPT-4, allows for more up-to-date data.
Also, the information produced by ChatGPT could be biased – and not in a fun ‘are you a Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez fan’ kinda way. More like discrimination towards gender, race, and minority groups way. Yikes. After all, ChatGPT was trained using the collective writing of humans worldwide – so it’s understandable that the same biases in the real world would leak their way into the software.
Giving your potential customers the wrong information can cause all sorts of hassles for your business. Firstly, it can lead to your products being used incorrectly, more complaints and possibly more refunds – yikes. It can also damage your reputation for being an expert in your field. Once again, all of this boils down to trust – sharing incorrect information causes your customers not to trust you. And that can break a business.
But wait, there’s more disadvantages of AI in marketing…
Disadvantage #5: It’s so gosh-darn repetitive
We’ve already mentioned that AI tools often use the same phrases over and over again. And according to Interesting Engineering, ChatGPT knows 25 jokes and will repeat them like a broken record. Ew.
It also produces content that is eerily similar to text it has spat out before. Sure, everyone who asks ChatGPT the same question won’t get duplicate answers or wording, but it will be pretty dang close. It even repeats identical concepts in several different ways throughout one piece of content, re-using the same word multiple times in one paragraph. It’s exhausting to read – and it will make you lose readers.
NINKI is a strategy and content marketing Agency based in Adelaide, South Australia. We work with a range of industries all over the world, helping them increase their online presence and generate more enquiries through content. If you need help with your content strategy, social media marketing or copywriting – or even want more info on the disadvantages of AI in marketing – book a discovery call to see how we can help.