To Use or Not to Use – ChatGPT for Writers

Just like William Shakespeare said, “To be or not to be”, it’s time for all writers to think – to use or not to use ChatGPT. As someone who’s been a writer for over 14 years, the last 1 year has been more transformational than any other year. When ChatGPT came along in late 2022, it felt like a magical tool – that would truly erase the work done by writers – because it was so fast, so easy, and so free. It can deliver ideas, make suggestions, write an article, or even a book. Then would you really need writers? What do we bring to the table that ChatGPT doesn’t?

If you ask me, it’s emotions and experiences.

While ChatGPT uses an incredible amount of data to bring you the content you need, a writer uses their heart and mind – something that no machine could ever replace. There’s another issue with writing using ChatGPT alone. Articles, headlines, or even brochures written by the tool are easy to spot. It may not qualify officially as plagiarism but it’s almost very close. In the last one year, I’ve found my way around the tool to embrace it, and continue a love-hate relationship with it.

Here are a few things I would recommend writers to use ChatGPT for:

Unlock Unlimited Suggestions 

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT for more than a day, you’d know it has the power to unlock new ideas, and use the word unlock too often as well. You can get ideas for articles, blogs, social media posts, title recommendations, and much more to kick-start your creative process. Rather than using Google non-stop to find some interesting and relevant ideas, ChatGPT can definitely be your friend in need.

Embrace the Tapestry of Research

Tapestry is another one of ChatGPT’s favourite words, and if you research it enough, you’ll know why. Since the tool gets information from countless sources, it’s a good idea to research something. If you ask ChatGPT about a particular topic, you’ll be amazed at the kind of answers you’ll get. However, remember to check your sources because the information could be dated, so it’s crucial for accuracy.

Empower your Writing with SEO Optimization

ChatGPT is also extremely helpful to optimize your content for SEO. It can help you with keywords, meta descriptions and ideas to enrich the content for search engines. However, remember, Google’s search engines can easily spot ChatGPT content and it doesn’t rank very well. So even though you’ll get a direction, you’ll have to do the writing on your own if you want to experience the results of SEO.

Get Another Set of Eyes on your Content

Just like an editor or a proofreader, ChatGPT can offer an additional set of eyes on your content. It can help spot grammar or spelling mistakes and even give you suggestions to improve the tonality of a particular paragraph or chunk of content.

Use it for Rewriting and Summarizing

Maybe your client wants you to rephrase a particular sentence and you’re stuck. Or maybe you need a summary of a long text in a short paragraph. In such instances, ChatGPT can be your saviour. It can help you rewrite content in the most enticing ways and summarize points very clearly. Sometimes, even the best writers struggle to write short and straightforward sentences. In such cases, ChatGPT can help you enhance the readability of your content and keep readers focused on the core points.

What Not to Do with ChatGPT

Remember, ChatGPT can never deliver exceptional copy. It does churn out content that sounds that it’s written by a machine. It lacks an opinion and often heart in any piece of content. It could use the most beautiful words of the language, but it can’t entice your audiences to read more unless it’s relevant to them and full of emotion.

I do think it’s super impressive that a computer can write so much, but remember, not to publish anything it writes without your own editing and ideas.

Yes, ChatGPT is here to stay, and probably take away the magic of writers in some way or the other. But I think if we can use it as a tool and still manage to bring magic and creativity into our writing that overcomes what ChatGPT offers, we’ll always have the upper hand.