Introduction
Welcome back to the Entrepreneur Mindset Podcast!
ChatGPT is all the rage. People wait patiently and not so patiently for the free version to have space for you to hop in and give it a try, write your latest post or podcast, or get some headline ideas for that blog you’ve already written. Or if you are going all in, you pay for the $20/month subscription and breathe a sigh of relief that you don’t have to wait and your response time isn’t throttled as much.
It is a hot business topic that everyone is talking about, but what you aren’t hearing with as much regularity is that beyond the algorithms, the worry for plagiarism, and the incorrect facts and references the tool can provide is that it lacks the human element that will connect with your reader.
We still need to use our intuition, empathy, and creativity as we create content for blogs, social, courses, weekly emails, and even podcasts.
Behind AI Tools
As I sat down to think about this topic in more depth I’m still quite torn on it. As a college professor, my heart isn’t in it. I want my students to learn how to communicate their thoughts effectively without needing to rely on a program that could go down or be taken offline at any time. As a homeschooling mom of a 6th-grader, well I’m not ready to tackle that yet and so I’ve got my head in the sand. As a business owner I’m in favor of some of the features and vehemently opposed to others and let me give you an example of why.
When I sat down for this week’s podcast and created my outline of what I wanted to cover, I decided to go to two different AI tools put in the same prompt. I said, “I’d like to create a podcast episode on the concept of using AI in business but highlighting that you still need a human element to make the content really valuable.”
What do you think I got?
One tool that is being trialed in a membership that I’m a part of came back saying that AI is a hot business topic, but there’s still a need for human-powered intuition, empathy, and creativity for the content we generate. That sounds great, right?
I put the same prompt into ChatGPT and the first bullet point I received was, “AI can automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency, but it can’t replace the value of human creativity and intuition. For example, AI can help generate ideas for marketing campaigns, but it takes a human to come up with a truly creative and engaging concept.”
Now these two responses are different, but they aren’t so unique from one another that it feels like asking two people on the street about the topic.
So to get a better idea of what would really happen, I went back to AI and asked this question, “How do you envision AI playing a role in business?” The first tool said that it will play a massive role to engage with customers more efficiently, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance the customer experience. ChatGPT said to automate repetitive tasks, enhance customer experience, and reduce costs with efficiency.
I also asked the same question of active business owners in a facebook group. Here are just some of their answers:
- “Outline a few blog posts with talking points, created a long sales page structure, created 2 quizzes with algorithms for scores and result outputs, given me high-search low-cost SEO data, and outlined a course structure with some bulleted content.”
- “Can see using it for sparking ideas into writing my own words. I actually used it for that this morning. I was looking for a heading for something and couldn’t quite get anything that felt right. So I asked chat and it gave me a couple of ideas and I was able to take that and come up with something I like.”
- “I envision it supporting me creatively – so when I feel uninspired, or can’t quite get something going. Using ChatGPT to give me a starting point and spark something in me.”
- “It has helped me to make my quote posts for my IG and outlined a landing page for a challenge I’m running next week.”
What do you notice about the AI generated responses vs. the human responses. Can you hear the difference in the details? The thought and curiosity in the human responses? It is something to keep in mind.
How You Can Use AI Tools
As you can see, AI can only take you so far. AI can’t write your personal stories for you and it is the stories that will help you connect with your audience. It is the moment of, “how does this apply to me?”, and the moments of, “how does this apply to you?” that make a difference.
But AI is here to stay, if I had to guess and so let’s talk a little about what it does well. I jotted these ideas down before even reading the responses from the business owners I asked. You’ll see that there is some overlap here:
AI can:
- Give you a framework to draw on as you are creating
- Help spark your creativity
- Help organize your thoughts into an outline
- Simplify finding hashtags
- Help you get out of an idea slump
But AI can’t:
- Write your content for you in a way that will convert and connect like a grand slam. It gives you a starting place.
- Carefully research your topic and provide fully referenced and non-copyrighted material
- Tell you what it has not yet learned
- Inject human emotion into the text the same way that you will, but some AI tools have been trained to have a warm and empathetic tone.
Here is how I’ve been using AI in my business. This is one time that I won’t ask you to grab paper so that you can take notes. I feel fairly confident that you can remember what I’m about to tell you.
- I copy and paste content I’ve already written and ask for possible headlines that use my words
- I ask AI tools to help me think through concepts for social media posts about specific topics
- I will ask for key points to cover on a topic as a starting place for my own writing, content, and deliverables.
The key here is that when I do these things I then adjust everything to be in my voice, with my words, my stories, and my point of view.
The reality is that you want to create high quality content – whether you use AI to help you or not. According to Search Engine Journal (article linked below) they note that Google has this to say,
“1. Google prioritizes high-quality content, regardless of whether humans or machines generate it. 2. Google advises publishers to produce helpful, people-first content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). 3. Using automation or AI strictly to manipulate rankings in search results is considered a violation of Google’s spam policies.”
Action Item
So what kind of action can you take this week?
First up is to get clear on what you want to share with your audience. You can use AI to help you brainstorm possible topics based on your business model and ideal client. Then take the topics you’d like to cover and tell stories, share your experience, create a way for your clients and potential clients to interact with you as you email, blog, podcast, and post.
Your clients would prefer a slightly messy email that has heart than an AI generated email that doesn’t really connect with them. Think about when you get a form email response or letter. It takes the wind out of your sails. You’ve invested time in someone or something and all you get is the form response.
AI can create that same sense of disappointment for your clients. Instead, commit to surprising and delighting them with a more personal communication.
Conclusions
At this point you can probably tell that I like the concept of AI, but I’m not throwing in the towel on creating my own content.
But I also know that creating your own content to connect and create rapport can be tricky. This is exactly why I’ve invited author, Cate Butler Ross on the show to share her ideas around building community with your stories in business. You won’t get any “bro marketing” tips from her, but you will get that sense of deep down connection and trust.
I’m excited to invite you into my conversation with Cate and if you want to get a jumpstart on learning how to be more heart-centered in your communications, you can grab her book, SOUL STORY: Tell Stories that Call in Your Soul Tribe, today.
So I will see you back here on Thursday for another episode of the Entrepreneur Mindset Podcast, where a focus on mentoring, community, and implementation removes the overwhelm of building your successful and profitable business and adds in a dose of momentum.
Until next time, have a healthy, safe, and happy week.
Show Resources
Search Engine Journal:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ai-content-in-search-results/478889/#close
Get your copy of SOUL STORY: Tell Stories that Call in Your Soul Tribe by Cate Butler Ross:
https://www.amazon.com/SOUL-STORY-Tell-Stories-Tribe/dp/B0BYRXDQLN/
