There’s a lot of talk around ChatGPT and the use of AI for business websites but how much do you know about it?
Unless you’ve been hiding somewhere, it’s hard not to have heard about ChatGPT, even if you may not know what it is or what it’s used for. But tools like ChatGPT that use artificial intelligence are here to stay and are only going to get more powerful. As such, these tools cannot be ignored. It is important to learn about them and embrace them, and see where they can add value.
What is ChatGPT?
Chat GPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI. Only launched in November 2022, it has “taken the world by storm”. The original release is free, but the latest update GPT-4 was launched in March and is available to paid subscribers.
ChatGPT can produce answers to conversational-style questions and can be used both in solving problems and being creative. When it first came on the scene, users were impressed by its ability to generate accurate computer code. As users challenged its capabilities, it became quickly apparent that it could do a lot more, including creating artwork, music, stories and essays. It could even answer test questions, sometimes better than the average human test subject.
The drawbacks with ChatGPT
However, although it is proficient in generating output, it is important to understand its limitations. It is not always accurate, so it does require the user to be knowledgeable enough to check the output.
Since ChatGPT pulls together answers from existing content on the web, there is always the possibility that the output could infringe copyright, meaning the user needs to check any output before using. Similarly, ChatGPT can produce content that could infringe patents – but this is unlikely to be an issue for pest control companies.
ChatGPT for blog articles
ChatGPT is a great tool for helping you write blog articles, but it is not (yet) a great tool for writing blog articles. It’s important to remember that the output generated by ChatGPT is only as good as the quality of the questions asked. As it sources information from the net (and we know there is a lot of poor quality information on the net!), the output can often be factually incorrect. However, it can be useful for providing keywords, questions and an outline for blogs. It can also be useful for generating blog titles, which is helpful for SEO (search engine optimisation).
Apart from concerns about factual accuracy, automatically generated content is against Google’s Webmaster guidelines. Contravening Google’s Webmaster guidelines can result in a website penalty, which can impact website rankings. It’s unclear whether Google can automatically detect AI-generated content, but the question is, is it worth using unedited AI content at the risk of a Google penalty? In addition, ChatGPT creators are apparently looking into a watermarking system, so that content generated with ChatGPT can be identified.
ChatGPT for SEO
A lot of tools exist to help websites with their SEO, and ChatGPT is another such tool. However, it should not be used as the sole source of information for directing SEO activities. As mentioned previously, it can certainly be useful for creating winning titles for blog articles. Similarly, it can be used to help generate the meta description for blogs and pages. It can also be useful when carrying out keyword research.
As with many queries it can be very quick and easy to generate answers with Chat GTP, but the output does need to be checked. Using it in conjunction with the various Google tools and other proprietary software will provide the best results.
Although ChatGPT is getting all the media attention, there are a large number of alternatives to ChatGPT, and the range of options continues to grow. So, whether you jump on board and give ChatGPT a try, you cannot ignore AI for too long or your business will get left behind.
It’s also important to know that Microsoft is one of the significant investors in ChatGPT and it has already incorporated ChatGPT into the Bing search engine, with integration into Microsoft Office to follow.
