ChatGPT. You've heard of it, right?
Seems like the whole world is going nuts for it, and rightly so! I watched a YouTube video by Alex Hormozi discussing OpenAI and ChatGPT, and what struck me as interesting is that Creatives thoughts that they would be the last industry that AI would touch.
As it turns out, they were the first.
Copywriter? Yup
Designer? Yup
Filmmaker? Hmm, not yet.........
But, as we take pride in calling ourselves a storytelling agency, and not just a generic marketing agency or film production company that puts out the same content as everyone else, I had to take a dive to see whether this tool could be useful to us, or even have the potential of replacing us.
So, the real question on my mind is -
Can a machine like ChatGPT truly capture the humanity and emotional depth that makes a good story great?
The short answer is no.
I think a good place to start is to talk about the data that ChatGPT is trained on. But to be frankly honest, I have no idea, so I went and asked ChatGPT and it gave me the following response:
"ChatGPT is a powerful language model that is trained on vast amounts of data. The training data for the model consists of text from various sources such as books, articles, websites, and more. The model uses this data to learn patterns and relationships between words and phrases, which allows it to generate text that is similar to human-written text. However, the data that ChatGPT is trained on is limited to the text that it has been exposed to." As humans, we know that life is complex and nuanced. Our experiences and emotions are constantly changing, and they shape the way we view the world. In contrast, ChatGPT can only generate text that is based on patterns and data it's seen before.
As a result, the stories it generates can feel flat and unengaging. And trust me, I've tried. I've given it alllll of the prompts:
"Write it in an empathetic and compassionate voice"
"Rewrite this post but use a storytelling arc to structure it"
"Write it like you're Hemingway" - okay okay, on this one it didn't do a bad job, but Hemingway isn't the easiest to read anyway, so who on earth would want their landing page copy in that tone?
So, I wouldn't say that the lack of storytelling ability doesn't mean ChatGPT isn't useful. In fact, it can be a great tool for brainstorming and generating ideas. Instead of getting stuck in a creative rut, which happens to the best of us, ChatGPT can help jumpstart our brainstorming sessions by generating a variety of ideas and options.
At Impact, it delights us to take on a client that wants a storytelling email campaign. Sure, we like storytelling film, because it gives us the opportunity to authentically share someone's truth without a brand's ideologies getting in the way, but an email campaign allows us to share a short, true story in each email.
Real stories. Stories that have affected our lives. Stories that have affected the lives of our clients. Stories that we humans deeply resonate with.
Stories that boost engagement rates because of their authenticity, so week after week people are itching to receive a new email.
It's clear already that ChatGPT cannot write emails like this.
Another important aspect of storytelling is understanding the context and goals of the brand. We human storytellers have a deep understanding of the brand and its target audience, and we can craft stories that align with the brand's message and resonate with the audience.
ChatGPT, as we found out earlier, can only generate text based on patterns and data it's seen before. It doesn't have the ability to understand the brand's message or target audience succinctly. It can generate text that is similar to what a human might write, but it will never truly understand the brand's message or target audience, their hopes and dreams, struggles and worries.
Moreover, storytelling is an art form that requires creativity and imagination.
We human storytellers are able to tap into our own creativity to come up with unique and engaging stories. ChatGPT, on the other hand, can only generate text that is similar to existing stories. It cannot come up with truly new and innovative ideas.
So, there we have it, we had to chime in on how we feel regarding AI as a storytelling tool.
Do we feel threatened like our job is under attack?
No.
Do we feel excited for the potential of using tools like ChatGPT to automate the tasks that suck our time, giving us more time for authentic creativity that, in the end, benefits our clients?
100% yes.
(OpenAI + Zapier = Power!)
In conclusion, while ChatGPT is a powerful tool for generating text, it will never be able to replace the creativity, emotional understanding and the ability to understand the context that human storytellers bring to the table.
Now, more than ever, I feel and even stronger calling to stay true to our path and help people understand that it's not about the technology, but the humanity behind the story.
Brands need to be aware that while ChatGPT can assist in creating content, the human touch is still essential for truly engaging and effective storytelling marketing.
As the renowned screenwriter William Goldman said:
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today."
And I'm not 100% sure that AI fully understands the need to change this world narrative for a better one. Yet...
So anyhoo, if you wanna connect with some real people with real stories who can tell your brand's story in an authentic, human way, click here to book a call with us.