ChatGPT – SEO’s digital friend or foe?
There has been an enormous fanfare over the past few weeks following the launch of ChatGPT, the AI language model, or chatbot that is taking the world by storm. Launching before Apple and Google could get a look-in with their competing products, OpenAI, a company founded by influential tech entrepreneur Sam Altman and Elon Musk, among others, launched ChatGPT leaving the big boys playing catch-up.
The rise in artificial intelligence (the AI part for OpenAI) has moved markets and generated acres of newspaper inches, however, just how revolutionary will AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) will prove to be and should we be concerned about the impact it will have on the relevancy of SEO and marketing content going forward if all we have to do is ask a virtual assistant a question, without asking our Google search engine?
ChatGPT – what it can do
- Generate natural language responses to direct questions
- Write responses in human-like language
- Learn from your previous conversations, making conversations ever more relevant
What they can’t do, however, is reliably tell the truth. Essentially, ChatGPT searches for answers to your questions and answers them with a degree of probability – it has been described, somewhat rudely, as ‘souped-up autocorrect’, but it doesn’t have any concept of whether it is telling the truth or not. The launch of Google’s rival product, BARD, this week managed to wipe 7% of the company’s value last week – a truly eye-popping $102 billion – after their much-vaunted product got basic facts wrong in the launch presentation.
While chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular, it’s important to remember that they are just one part of the digital marketing landscape. SEO and marketing content are still just as important as ever, and businesses that ignore these key components are likely to fall behind their competitors who keep up with the fast-changing digital evolution.
AI chatbots will almost certainly become more widespread, as companies make use of them to interact with their customers in a more natural way and foster better relationships with their clients. With applications such as customer service, lead generation and sales and marketing, it will become harder to tell if you are speaking to a real person or an AI bot.
SEO has a different application, however, and will still help businesses increase their visibility in search results, which will continue to be a major source of website traffic. Customers may initially interact with a chatbot once they reach their desired website, however, they will still use search engines to find specific products, services, or information. By optimising their website for search engines, businesses can improve their chances of appearing in relevant search results and reaching a wider audience.
Marketing content is set to continue to be an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. By creating high-quality content tailored to their target audience, businesses can engage with their customers and build brand awareness through blog posts, social media content, videos, and infographics. Marketing content should be informative, entertaining, and engaging, and should provide value to the customer for the foreseeable future.
The digital world is going through an upheaval as these new technologies come onstream, nevertheless, clients will continue to be in need of your products, so let us help you ensure that their path to you is simple and that once they find you, they discover your content is informative and engaging. Contact us to have a chat about your current digital strategy.
