Positive change

AI isn’t going to take your job, but it could make it easier

Ben O'Callaghan - September 2024

In September 2024 ChatGPT hit 200 million weekly users and, with the imminent launch of Apple Intelligence, this figure is only likely to rise. These platforms, alongside others like Google Gemini, DALL-E and Midjourney, give users everywhere access to powerful tools that can create almost anything you ask of them.

We’re more familiar with some types of AI, like social media algorithms or website chatbots, than we are others. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, is less understood. At their core, these platforms have large language models – algorithms trained on a large sample of language able to interpret, manipulate and produce language in a humanlike way.

A recent survey found that 64% of marketers fear AI will take their jobs but, in reality, AI offers those of us in the creative industry an opportunity to shake up the way we do things and focus on the important stuff – if we know how to use it.

Here are 5 tips for using ChatGPT to make your working life easier:

1. We’ve all got a personal assistant now.
   Show it your calendar by uploading a screenshot or using an add-on and you can ask it to suggest times for meetings, prioritise work based on deadlines you provide, create a to-do list or daily agenda by telling it what you need to get done, or even move things around to make the impossible possible.
2. It’s the best proof-reader around.
   Paste in some text or upload a document and ask for it to be proofed. You can even ask it to fix any changes or provide a list to action yourself. Need to make sure you’re in line with a style guide? Upload that too and ask it to use the rules when proofing. Use it to accurately summarise everything from meeting notes to lengthy briefs.
3. No more number crunching.
   Use it for data analysis or quick maths. Upload data from a survey, creative testing or social platforms and ask it to cut the data any way you like, or just pull out key themes. You can even save yourself some stress by getting it to check budgets all add up correctly.
4. It knows everything.
   ChatGPT now has access to real-time data, so give it research tasks to do. Want to know about competitor campaigns? Just ask. Generate lists of relevant spokespeople or influencers when you’ve run out of steam and supercharge due-diligence searches by giving it your criteria.
5. Your creativity, no limit.
   AI can enhance all of our creativity by building on the thinking we’ve already done. Get it to suggest fresh ways of wording things, adjust the tone of copy or condense points for social media character limits. Similarly, you can use text-to-image tools like Midjourney to bring a vision to life and generate imagery for pitches or presentations when nothing suitable exists.

As useful as it can be, remember AI is not perfect. It interprets language in a humanlike way but can never replace the skill and nuanced understanding we, as communications professionals, bring. Everything still needs to be checked.

It’s also only as good as the information we provide, much like writing a thorough brief. Make sure you give as much detail as you’ll need it to consider and don’t worry about your prompts being too long – it can’t switch off and stop reading like we can.

_{Sources: OpenAI, Funnel: Marketing Data State of Play 2024.}