Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about ChatGPT or have even tried it out yourself!
And AI tools like this are only getting more and more sophisticated. (There’s even a new tool that uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to mimic voices!)
So, a lot of talk about whether or not tools like these pose a threat to a variety of different jobs, such as the livelihoods of programmers, copywriters, or even customer support associates. (See this blog post for a more detailed look at how each job category could be specifically affected.)
Is it true that AI will end up taking over human jobs? Especially within the realm of content marketing?
What Is ChatGPT?
Released to the public in November 2022 by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a type of AI known as a large language model (LLM) that allows users to interact with it in a conversational way, hence the “Chat” part of the name. The dialogue format allows ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, challenge incorrect premises, and reject certain requests.
The GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, which means the AI has been pre-trained on information from across the entire Internet—for better or for worse.
ChatGPT gained more than 1 million users in only its first 5 days. For perspective, it took TikTok 9 months to reach 1 million users! Talk about impressive.
Its success is a testament to its versatility and borderline spooky accuracy; the possibilities are seemingly endless for what you can ask it to do and the quality of results it produces.
Does this mean ChatGPT will also be a game changer in the B2B marketing space?
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ChatGPT Gives Great Answers, but…
As many good things as you can say about ChatGPT, it’s not perfect.
Can it answer very complicated questions and create staggeringly convincing content as a result? Yes. But is it always 100% flawless? Definitely not.
Here’s an example of when I asked ChatGPT some questions about marketing ROI:
On the surface, these answers are fine. However, these are also typical (textbook-like) answers.
As B2B marketers, we know calculating marketing ROI is more complicated than that. ChatGPT doesn’t account for the subtle nuances that keep the wheels turning.
Most companies run multi-channel campaigns. Each channel’s metrics are different. Campaign metrics are different as well, depending on your campaign goals.
Also, the overarching marketing metrics to measure success vary from company to company. Measuring marketing ROI (success metrics or key performance indicators) isn’t your standard cut-and-dry stuff.
ChatGPT can’t give you tailored answers because the response is “it depends…”
In addition, solid marketing ROI in many companies is based on the number of leads or cost per lead, even pipeline revenue per lead (if you can track it further down the purchase funnel).
For subscription models, marketing ROI may need to be calculated as part of monthly recurring revenue (MRR), annual recurring revenue (ARR), or customer lifetime value (CLV). ChatGPT doesn’t know your business model to be able to provide a solid answer in the right context.
I am impressed by the textbook answers ChatGPT can generate, but I don’t think the answers are in-depth enough to satisfy seasoned and experienced B2B marketers.
What We Do and Don’t Know about AI
In my book The Modern AI Marketer in the GPT Era, I dive deep into what I call the knowns and unknowns of AI:AI is developing, many known unknowns, unknown knowns, and unknown unknowns. One thing for certain: AI will continue to impact our work and daily lives, but we need to be ready to adapt as the AI landscape changes.
AI Can’t Replace the Human Touch
So, is AI going to replace your job? Well, it depends on the kind of job (for the time being)!
If the job involves doing simple, repetitive tasks, it may be replaced. However, when some jobs are replaced, new jobs may be created.
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When Henry Ford began manufacturing cars, the process was, at first, mostly human. In order to drive costs down and improve production speeds, The Ford Motor Company started to automate some of the process—leading to the invention of the famous moving assembly line in 1913. As a result, some of the more highly skilled craftsmen moved on to other jobs, such as opening their own car repair shops.
Another great example is when automatic dialing replaced the need for switchboard operators once phone lines could directly connect to each other. This led to many of the primarily female workers finding new job opportunities elsewhere as switchboard operators became obsolete.
New technologies often replace the need for certain jobs or tasks, but new jobs are likely created because of them. The jobs that remain also require changes in skills and tasks.
We’re already seeing this with AI. However, we just don’t know the types of jobs, because AI continues to evolve.
How can you continuously reinvent yourself?
Before you begin your journey towards relevance and reinvention, you need to get in tune with the following:
- Your passion: What do you enjoy doing?
- Your strengths: What are you good at?
- Your weaknesses: What can’t you do, no matter what? (Example: I cannot for the life of me assemble IKEA furniture. Trust me; I’ve tried!)
Based on that assessment, you should be able to find areas where you can continue to learn and grow.
For example, maybe you have a passion for photography but haven’t nailed your photo editing skills. Is it time to check out some YouTube tutorials to improve your abilities? Is this something you can turn into a paid job in the future?
AI is continuously learning how it can more precisely help us, so it only makes sense for us to follow its lead by continually expanding our skills and knowledge.
When it comes to incorporating AI into your B2B marketing job, here’s how I recommend approaching AI:
- Learn to use AI tools and test out AI bots.
- Understand the pros and cons of these tools and have a point of view.
- Communicate openly about what AI marketing tools can and can’t do for others in your team.
- Proactively educate others about how your value-add is that you will always be better at your craft than whatever AI regurgitates, no matter how convincing it seems at first glance.
The point is to use AI as a tool in your work—not a replacement for it. This is true for all B2B marketing and sales roles.
Learn all that you can about AI (because it certainly isn’t going away). Don’t be scared of it!
At the end of the day, you still have to inject your expertise and human touch into how you use AI and what you do with what it gives you.
Our robot overlords haven’t arrived just yet.
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It’s Time to Get to Know AI
AI is now an umbrella term for many tools. The smartest marketers know how important it is to learn about new tools and technologies and how to use them to their advantage.
While some tasks can certainly be delegated to AI to improve efficiency and ROI, it can’t do everything.
Machines will continue to get more “intelligent” in how quickly and accurately they can work, but they don’t know your brand, your product, your company culture, and—most importantly—they don’t know your customers as you do.
You are the one who can deeply connect with your customers on a human level.
If you want to get ahead of the AI craze and learn what you really need to know about AI marketing, I highly recommend you check out my latest books, The Modern AI Marketer in the GPT Era and The Modern AI Marketer: Guide to Gen AI Prompts.
I wrote both of these easy-to-read guides to help marketers at all levels understand where AI came from, what it can do today, and where it might be headed.
Give them a read—and always feel free to reach out with any questions you have about AI marketing!
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The Modern AI Marketer: How to Leverage Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing to Get Ahead
AI for Sales and Marketing: Q&A with Streamly
How to Use Artificial Intelligence in Marketing