ChatGPT is an extraordinarily helpful tool. Some might say too helpful.
Marketers are worried they’ll be replaced by AI.
Some business owners are looking at leaning on the machine in place of marketers.
It can happen.
I have been fired (amicably) for what I suspect is at least some degree of ChatGPT outsourcing.
(Funny enough, what the brands wrote in my stead was so obviously written by ChatGPT that even marketing normies could tell.)
And yet I also work with an agency or two that use AI heavily.
Pumping out emails, standardizing processes, the list goes on…
And yet they’ve repeatedly expressed their desire to bring me on board full-time. They NEED someone to fill the AI-heavy role they’re putting me in.
Because, as it turns out, ChatGPT CANNOT entirely replace your marketing team. But it CAN replace some people who don’t learn to adapt.
Which brings us to today’s article.
Let’s go over what simple AI/LLMs like ChatGPT can and cannot do, starting with the latter…
| Table of Contents |
| What Simple AI CAN’T Do What Simple AI CAN Do One Last Note on Bespoke AI Not Replacement… But Role-Changing What To Do Next |
What Simple AI CAN’T Do
Simple AI/LLMs like ChatGPT CANNOT write grade A, great copy completely unassisted.
It needs some level of guidance, even after prompting it properly.
Keyword: “Almost.” Because sometimes, it CAN write a 100% finished piece of copy. Not always, but it can occasionally get there. Especially with simpler stuff. And after it’s learned enough from your input and guidance.
So why did I assert that it can NEVER write great copy unassisted, if it sometimes produces an email that needs no edits?
Let’s step beyond whether it can put the raw words to page (or, rather, screen).
How do you KNOW it needs no edits?
Oh, yeah, because you’re the person reviewing it and determining it needs no edits.
It’s a bit like “if a tree falls in a forest, and no one’s around to hear it, did it really fall?”
But it’s not about the existence of the result. It’s whether the result is of a certain QUALITY.
The AI wrote the copy, even if you didn’t see it. But a human cannot know if it’s good until a human sees it and reviews it.
That could be you. Or that could be a customer receiving a 100% AI-generated email that turns them off.
We’re getting a little epistemological here. Talking about how we know that we know things.
So think of it like this:
You hire a marketing intern to write a sales email for you. You even give them research documents, product information, past emails to get voice and tone, and so on.
They write an email. Are you going to send it before reviewing it?
OF COURSE NOT!
Or how about this:
You have a machine that produces a widget. It is standardized to produce that widget EXACTLY correct and identical every time.
Does that mean you’ll see the widget without ever reviewing it to make sure it meets quality standards?
Nope. Once again, you’ll check it first before making it available for purchase by a customer.
You cannot judge the output without yourself knowing (having knowledge, not just right opinion) how to judge quality.
And guess who does that, in the case of sales and marketing copy?
That’s right… marketers.
I work with an agency that uses AI a LOT.
All it has done is allow me to get more good work done for clients — and gives me more time to do the creative side of things.
My job is much more fun because of this.
So we come to what simple AI CAN do…
What Simple AI CAN Do
EQUIPPING your marketers (or yourself, if you grasp marketing enough to DIY it for your business) with AI can enhance the quality and quantity of output.
When done right, of course.
Here are some ways ChatGPT helps ME do better, faster work…
HELP You Write “As You”
ChatGPT can help you write as you. You’ll need to prompt it correctly, and then go back and forth with it as you dial in your style (I have a course that teaches this).
Even after it’s mostly writing as you, YOU still have to do the “creative.”
That means feeding it ideas and angles (although it can help come up with these). It also means reviewing the output to ensure it’s not repeating the same structures/formats.
So you get to do more of the idea-making. The creative side. You feed it these raw materials and it outputs something that’s mostly finished.
Then you make some edits, load the copy into your email software, and hit “schedule” or “send.”
Offer Feedback (But Be Cautious)
I regularly ask ChatGPT for feedback. I’ll paste a piece in and say things like:
- “Does anything sound disjointed?”
- “How well did I overcome the objection?”
- “Are the proof points I used adequate?”
- “How well does this speak to our target customer?”
This can find things you might’ve missed and smooth out any wrinkles.
That doesn’t mean I always listen to said feedback, though. ChatGPT can be wrong. It can be overly affirming of every decision you make.
Still on you to make the final call (noticing a pattern here?).
Plan Out Angles, Email Calendars, Promos, and Flows (With Guidance)
ChatGPT can indeed write, but I think it’s an even BETTER assistant at planning and outlining.
Goes for anything, but, me being an email marketer, I’ve seen it firsthand with angles, email calendars, promos, and flows.
Angles
ChatGPT can help you come up with a TON of angles for emails. One of the best ways to do this is to ask for X number of angles for different formats or structures.
For instance, I may ask it to give me 5 angles each: Problems, goals, and objections.
It’ll then give me a nice, neat list of them.
Email Calendars
ChatGPT can help you settle on a cadence, types of content, and offers to mail about each month. It can then help you fill out an entire month of content (including an actual calendar) fairly quickly.
Granted, this isn’t that hard to do yourself once you have the first three things I mentioned. However, having ChatGPT to “lay it out” for you makes it smoother.
Also helps you make sure you don’t miss anything in your calendar.
For example, I’ve used it to help come up with a rough outline for what type of email to send each day for a client. I then helped scope out a larger cadence, determining what we’d do each week (value + offer vs. short promo vs. long promo).
I’ve also used it to bounce around ideas for what to focus on with my own list.
Promos
Zooming back in, ChatGPT is a great help in validating ideas for and planning out promotions.
Primarily, it can help you brainstorm offers and workshop each email angle.
Zooming back out… ChatGPT can aid in identifying promo opportunities throughout the year. Running sales for holidays, niche-relevant national XYZ days, and so on.
Flows
You can give ChatGPT the general guidelines, such as flow type, number of emails, days, and so on, and it can sketch an outline.
Then, you can dial things in. You will have to do some work, but ChatGPT gives you something to “go back and forth with.”
Figure Out Simple Technical Matters
The tech side of email marketing can be a headache. Things won’t load, coupons won’t work right, and so on.
Good news: ChatGPT can help you find the answers to a lot of these questions.
For example, I’ve used it to build a dynamic image/product block for browse abandonment.
I then had to troubleshoot an issue with certain product names displaying incorrectly — and ChatGPT gave me a simple code snippet to fix it.
I’m sure some of these answers are buried deep in Klaviyo help articles. But ChatGPT handled it way faster and with more certainty.
(Oh, I’ve used it to figure out various Thrivecart features, too.)
One Last Note On Bespoke AI
You can hire developers to build bespoke AI systems or bots for you. I know businesses that do that.
However, not everyone has the budget or willingness for it.
Even then… you STILL need someone overseeing the output of such programs.
At scale, you might still need to hire people to review these things.
Not Replacement… But Role-Changing
ChatGPT can help with a LOT more than I listed here, I’m sure. But these are some of the main ways I use it, day-in and day-out, for several clients.
It’s still on you, the marketer (or business owner), to understand the business, customer, products, and whatnot.
Not to mention understanding (and being consistent with) the brand voice, knowing what makes good copy, and having a knack for creativity and ideas.
Those that learn how to wrangle this tool and use it effectively toward their ends won’t be “replaced,”…
But, rather, superpowered.
My AI-Assisted Email Copywriting course shows you that.
Don’t fear the ChatGPT. Treat it like a robo-copy assistant and you’ll win.
What To Do Next
- Share this article with someone who might find it helpful (or entertaining).
- Get my free eBook using the form below to learn the 5 things stopping you from turning “one-and-done” customers into repeat buyers.
- Reach out to me if you have a sizable email list and make less than 20% of your revenue through email.