ChatGPT and SEO – An introduction to AI content in SEO for 2023
Until November 2022, few had heard about it. Since then, it feels like every ‘thought leader’ on LinkedIn has shared their opinion.
Ever since Open AI released its ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), people working in various sectors have been wondering about the platform’s possibilities and how it might, possibly, transform their lives.
What will be the effects of ChatGPT in digital marketing? Will it end Google’s search monopoly? How can you use ChatGPT for SEO content? In this guide to ChatGPT, we will explain the platform, its potential, and the increasing role of AI content in SEO.
Contents:
What is ChatGPT?
What is the main aim of ChatGPT?
Why are so many people talking about ChatGPT?
Will ChatGPT really challenge Google?
Can Google detect AI-written content?
Should you use ChatGPT for SEO content?
Does Google love or hate AI content?
Will Google ever rank AI content?
Should ChatGPT be part of your SEO strategy?
Why copywriters shouldn't be too worried (just yet) about ChatGPT
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI-powered natural language processing technology that can be used to generate personalised responses for online chat conversations. It uses a language model based on GPT-3 which is an advanced natural language processing (NLP) system.
With ChatGPT, a user can get detailed and well-articulated answers across multiple domains. Unlike the usual search engine results, there’s no competitive ranking of results. Instead, the platform provides conversational answers and can create everything from plays to essays, cover letters, social media posts and website content.
What is the main aim of ChatGPT?
To explore how it will influence AI content in SEO, we need to first understand the aim of ChatGPT. The main purpose of ChatGPT is to comprehend and generate human-like language with unprecedented fluency and accuracy.
ChatGPT uses deep learning algorithms to better understand user input and respond accordingly. This innovative technology has been gaining popularity due to its ability to generate more natural-sounding conversations.
Its potential for use in customer service, marketing, medicine, law, academics, journalism and other domains has generated a lot of interest among everyone from tech enthusiasts to marketers, lawyers, medical professionals, students and AI experts.
Why are so many people talking about ChatGPT?
You don’t get the usual search results from ChatGPT. You get conversations. For a user, it feels closer to talking to another human being. But where it’s truly remarkable is in its ability to deliver results in the form of long-form text based on mere word prompts.
If you need to deliver a lecture on the Euro’s performance over the last decade or summarise a legal response or create a news report about the Brazilian elections, all you have to do is give ChatGPT the relevant prompts.
Those who are time-poor see this as an opportunity to skip ‘mundane’ research (personally, I think research is a key part of producing quality website content, btw) or manual documentation of search results. The tool can automate several functions and optimise the way it generates results.
Will ChatGPT really challenge Google?
Since ChatGPT can provide contextual answers in the form of conversations, a user gets appropriate responses to their queries. But does it mean that Google is under threat from ChatGPT? The answer, at least for the short and medium terms, is no.
That’s because the basic user expectation on Google is based on a query getting contextual answers, whereas with ChatGPT, you would get exact responses. Plus, the variety of search results including side boxes and multimedia results makes Google a powerful and holistic search engine.
Can Google detect AI-written content?
Theoretically, Google can not just detect AI-altered plagiarised content but also demote it in search rankings. Remember that this applies to existing content that’s been changed or rephrased with the help of AI.
This is different from AI content in SEO. What we’re discussing is the scourge of ‘content farms’ that operate by copying or rephrasing content.
But whether Google can detect content created by platforms like ChatGPT remains to be seen. That’s because it creates new content. But there are new tools to detect AI-written content such as GPTZero, which has been developed by a Princeton student.
Should you use ChatGPT for SEO content?
If you’re considering using AI content in SEO, you should know that ChatGPT is an excellent aid and not a substitute for creating SEO content that will convert. You can use the platform to generate ideas, explore topics, find keywords, discover and analyse your target audience, improve your content and make it more readable.
But while ChatGPT can get you started, it’s better to use experienced SEO professionals to create content that’s truly unique, human and customised to the needs of your target audience. Creativity, innovation and judgement of specialists are of the utmost importance and that could be one of the differentiators in digital content in the future.
Does Google love or hate AI content?
Google has repeatedly made it clear that they dislike AI-altered plagiarised content. The search giant has developed algorithms to search for and demote such content.
Auto-generated content without human intervention or with minimal human input will usually be stuffed with keywords. These serve no purpose other than to attract users. Google’s algorithms can detect these patterns and scrape the content from their results.
Will Google ever rank AI content?
Interestingly, Google ranks AI-created content if it provides value to the user, is well-written and delivers a worthwhile response to a user’s query. Content doesn’t have to be written by a human being – it just has to meet Google’s criteria.
But Google considers content as spam if it has keyword stuffing or mere rephrasing or translations of existing content.
Should ChatGPT be part of your SEO strategy?
Yes, but use it cautiously. You can use ChatGPT as an AI tool in your content strategy. It can be used for generating ideas, delivering creative content, checking copy for grammatical errors and audience analysis.
But to get the most out of it, ChatGPT needs to be used by individuals with the subject expertise. That’s because brands have their own character and only a team who knows that brand inside out will truly know it.
Otherwise, a brand can inadvertently end up creating content that’s monotonous, devoid of its unique characteristics, stuffed with keywords and doesn’t engage its audiences.
Why copywriters shouldn't be too worried (just yet) about ChatGPT
Copywriting isn’t merely about finding keywords and using them in content. It’s about using imaginative, relevant, compelling, human and engaging pieces of copy. And thankfully for copywriters like me, ChatGPT can’t deliver it – at least, not yet.
Another issue is that ChatGPT doesn’t have access to current data. This is why it can generate inaccurate and false responses. Copywriters have the talent and experience to know how to avoid these, usually through that thing we like to call ‘research’! Plus, any credible copywriter will check content multiple times for mistakes, factual errors or omissions.
So where does that leave us? There’s no doubt that ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can automate research, generate reports, create analyses and deliver human-like responses. But I’m not currently afraid of its arrival. It still has some way to go before it can replace human intervention through imaginative and engaging content.
Nevertheless, I might start working on a fallback career, just in case… 😉
Does your online content lack personality? If you’re looking for a human touch to help set your business apart from your competitors, get in touch.
Main image: Cytonn Photography via UpSplash.
And finally, for those in any doubt, this blog post was written by a real human, not a computer robot. 🤖
