On November 30, 2022, OpenAI launched a conversational AI service called ChatGPT.
It seems like ChatGPT exploded in popularity overnight. In just five days, it had reached a million users. As a comparison, Facebook reached one million users in roughly 10 months.
In conclusion, there is clearly a demand for conversational AI services. And both Google and Microsoft have taken note.
Both companies have been investing in AI for years, but ChatGPT seems to have prompted them to accelerate the launch of their own conversational tools. A conversational AI service called "Bard" was announced by Google on February 6. and One day later, Microsoft launched its own AI-powered version of Bing.
From a consumer standpoint, I understand. It's fun to use these tools. The adorable response I receive to the question, "What's a joke about a mouse?"
Ultimately, these tools could transform how marketers search for relevant information and distill that information into content for their audiences. Let's examine the pros and cons of Bard, AI-powered Bing, and ChatGPT.
To begin with, what is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT was the first to launch in November 2022. The tool is owned by OpenAI, and it's free and accessible to the public (although there is a paid subscription version available as of February 1).
With ChatGPT, you can ask questions, or even ask for full content, like "Can you send my boss an email to let her know I'm out of the office on Friday?" Using natural language processing, this tool pulls information from the web for answers to your search questions.
In contrast to a search engine, it provides original answers, rather than merely copy-pasting information from elsewhere on the web.
ChatGPT's main drawback is that it can't distinguish correct from incorrect information it pulls from the web, so your answers may be incorrect. As OpenAI admits, "ChatGPT sometimes provides answers that sound plausible but are incorrect or illogical."
ChatGPT is also limited to 2021 data, so the information it pulls is not always the most current.
Even with its limitations, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for marketers looking for inspiration or drafting strong first drafts.
Marketers might search "pros and cons of AI" and use ChatGPT's answers as inspiration for a future blog post; alternatively, a marketer might search "write a blog post about the pros and cons of AI" and use the response as a first draft.
I emphasize 'first draft' because marketers should still read through and edit the content to ensure tone of voice is appropriate and that the information is accurate and helpful.
Pros:
-
Helps marketers draft emails, blog posts, essays, product descriptions, and even code.
-
Can provide inspiration to marketers who don't know where to start or what angle they want to take when writing a blog post.
-
Marketers can pull sources from across the web when conducting research (however, that content needs to be vetted for accuracy).
Cons:
-
Information can be gathered from inaccurate sources and be inaccurate.
-
It can guess the user's intent, but cannot ask clarifying questions to get the correct answer, so it is up to the user to ensure that their query returns the right result.
-
ChatGPT's data is from 2021, so it may be outdated depending on the topic.
-
Does not necessarily provide complex or nuanced answers.
So what about Google's "Bard"?
In the coming weeks, Google has promised to make its experimental conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA, available to the public. It is already available to select partners in a beta phase, but it will soon become open to the public.
Bard could change the way marketers use search engines. In a similar way to a search engine, it pulls information from across the web to provide new, high-quality responses, but it provides more nuanced responses to user queries.
As a result, a marketer wouldn't have to spend hours clicking through different articles on a specific topic, since it would provide different perspectives in one place for them to sift through.
In contrast to simply copying and pasting information from the Internet, Bard identifies patterns in sentences to create dialogue with the user.
The Bard announcement also mentions Google rolling out AI-powered search features soon. AI-powered search results could provide answers to questions with no clear right or wrong answers.
A user could search, for example, "Is trombone easier to learn than trumpet, and how much practice does each require?"
Currently, when you search that query, you get the following response:
In some cases, the featured response (such as the one shown above) will not be able to answer a complex question in full.
Instead, using the help of AI, you might get an answer along the lines of, "Some people say the piano is easier, since the finger and hand movements are more natural... Others say that the guitar is easier to learn chords and you can learn a strumming pattern within an hour or two."
Pros:
-
Marketers can ask Bard clarifying or follow-up questions to get deeper insights on a topic by engaging in a conversation with him.
-
Rather than reading just one straightforward answer, marketers can read nuanced responses to understand all sides of a topic.
-
With Bard, marketers can be assured that the information they receive is more current than with ChatGPT.
Cons:
-
Like other AI-powered conversational services, Bard is imperfect and can display inaccurate, false, or biased information. Google has already lost $100 billion in shares after an error was made by the chatbot.
Does Microsoft's AI-powered Bing win out?
Lastly, let's discuss Microsoft's new AI-powered search features that are already available on Bing, leading me (and many others) to make an account to get on the waiting list.
Microsoft's Bing chatbot isn't a conversational AI service like ChatGPT or Bard: It's a search engine powered by AI, which allows Bing to offer users more complex, chat-like responses.
Furthermore, users are able to answer follow-up questions and have a full conversation with the chatbot. According to Microsoft, it's an "AI copilot for the web".
Despite Microsoft's billion dollar investment in OpenAI, the company says its version is much more powerful than ChatGPT.
According to their announcement of Bing's AI search features, "We're thrilled to announce the new Bing runs on an OpenAI large language model that is more powerful than ChatGPT and tailored specifically for search." As a result, it is faster, more accurate, and more capable than ChatGPT and GPT-3.5.."
Think of the answer you get from AI-powered Bing when you search, "I'm planning a trip for our anniversary in September. Where can we go that are within a 3 hour drive of Tel Aviv?"
In this example, Bing has provided a substantial response - even categorizing the answer into different categories. Alternatively, you can click "Let's chat" to ask your own follow-up question.
Compare this response to one from ChatGPT:
Despite providing a strong answer, ChatGPT hasn't infused its response with as much "human" language as Bing's AI chatbot. Furthermore, ChatGPT does not currently have the ability to converse with users like Bing's does.
Pros:
-
Marketing professionals can gain in-depth, nuanced insights from search results to help them research faster, acquire comprehensive information on a given topic, or even get an idea for an article.
-
Can assist a marketer by ensuring that they receive the exact information they need by conversing with them.
-
By generating content, marketers can spend less time drafting blogs, e-books, product descriptions, and emails.
-
A response to harmful premises, for example, when given the prompt, "Create a workout routine and meal plan for me over the next three months." When a searcher says "I’m a 125-pound male who is 5 feet 8 inches tall and I’d like to gain 25 pounds of muscle," Bing's AI-powered chatbot tells him that gaining 25 pounds in three months isn't healthy.
Cons:
-
In the same way as other chatbots, it can provide inaccurate, false, or biased information. You may see responses that sound convincing, but are incomplete, inaccurate, or inappropriate, as Microsoft warns its users "Bing may sometimes misrepresent the information it finds." Before making decisions or acting on Bing's recommendations, make sure you have double-checked the facts."
-
For now, users must install the Edge browser for MacOS or Windows.
Overall, these three new AI services offer a glimpse into the future of AI: A future in which marketers can spend less time on menial tasks and more time strategizing, creating high-impact content, and engaging directly with prospects and customers.
However, these tools have major downsides at the moment. Using unchecked information can result in a marketer publishing false, biased, or inaccurate content, which could result in distrust for the brand.
While each tool has its benefits, marketers must use good judgment and embed their content with their own perspective, story, and tone to remain relevant and cultivate legitimacy with their entire content strategy.