Is AI OK? The Pros & Cons of Artificial Intelligence

Ask anyone what they think of AI and you’re bound to get one of two answers:

1. It’s exciting. Who knows what will be possible with it in the future.

2. It’s the worst. AI is fake and will do more harm than good.

Artificial intelligence is a polarising topic indeed. It may be too early to know the full implications of it, but what we DO know is that it’s neither all good nor all bad. It has pros and cons like anything else.

What’s more, AI is changing and will continue to change the way online marketing looks and works.

Here are a few major pros and cons of artificial intelligence and its impact on digital marketing:

PRO: It saves time and money

ChatGPT and other AI tools can produce a first draft in seconds that might take a person hours. Across a full year of work, the time and money saved can add up.

Note that the quality is not always as good as a person doing the same work, so some time will still be spent fixing content and correcting AI’s mistakes. No doubt the quality will keep improving, though.

CON: It tempts website owners to “cheat” Google

Some website owners use AI to churn out large numbers of articles in a fraction of the time it takes a seasoned writer or blogger.

Google’s position is that it rewards helpful, original content however it’s produced, and that using AI mainly to manipulate rankings breaks its spam policies (see Google Search Central’s guidance on AI-generated content). Mass-produced, low-value pages are a risk, not a shortcut.

PRO: It automates tasks

Tedious tasks like drafting replies to emails and chat queries and writing social media captions can now be handed to ChatGPT and other AI tools, freeing up time for people to focus on marketing strategy.

CON: It often comes off as fake, robot-written content

We can often tell when something was written by a bot: it lacks the nuance typically found in human writing. Our Mildura digital marketing team fully expects this to change, with AI-generated text sounding more and more human, but a human edit still matters.

PRO: It makes more possible

With all the time saved on tedious tasks and content writing, imagine what else we can spend it on.

CON: It will change some jobs

Perhaps the biggest consequence of AI is that some roles will change, and some tasks people are paid to do today will be taken over by AI tools.

That’s a real concern. It may also open up new options for some people and redirect their careers toward more fulfilling work.

Rock Solid Marketing offers SEO and web design from Mildura. Contact us to learn how we can set your website up for success.