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How might ChatGPT help – or not help – your brand’s ecommerce presence? 

There’s no doubt about it – artificial intelligence (AI), and related tools such as ChatGPT, has been a frenzied topic of conversation among online marketers in recent months. 

Developed by research laboratory OpenAI, ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that – at least on paper – could fulfil a broad range of functions for ambitious brands, including the generation of marketing copy and engagement in conversational dialogue. 

But how much about ChatGPT – as it presently stands – could be genuinely useful, and in which respects might the hype about this much-talked-about AI tool still outpace the substance? 

ChatGPT is easy to use, and could help with generating ideas and boosting conversions 

One of the best things about ChatGPT is that it’s very easy to use – you can make requests to it like you would to a human being, and it will produce answers for you. 

You might, for example, ask it to write a product description for your ecommerce site, mentioning certain details you would like it to include. Or you could provide the tool with bullet points for various aspects of your in-store products’ specifications, and ask it to rewrite the text so that it is more exciting. 

Another thing that ChatGPT is very good at, is providing a full, in-depth response to a simple request. So, if your e-tail store needs a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page, you could simply ask it to “write FAQs for an online store”. When you do, it will identify questions that are frequently asked, and provide corresponding answers (although you should be wary of being too vague with your requests, as this might result in copy being produced that isn’t relevant to your specific store). 

ChatGPT could, then, be a very good way to generate ideas and information that you might not have considered if you were trying to carry out research with little more than Google. This, in turn, could help you make the tweaks to your online store that will enable it to boost conversions.

However, there are still some very real limitations with AI chat tools 

While a lot has been said about what ChatGPT can do, it is important to understand its limitations beyond the hype. It is, after all, a new and still-evolving tool. 

If, for instance, you use ChatGPT to generate content as we mentioned above, the responses the chatbot gives are still likely to be imperfect. There might often be awkward word choices and repetition, and the tool probably won’t understand your brand values and target audience. It might also unintentionally plagiarise content from elsewhere. 

So, at the very least, there still needs to be a human being overseeing what ChatGPT does for your brand. That means it is crucial for someone who understands your brand and your online store’s requirements to carefully proofread the text that emerges from the chatbot. 

And it isn’t just potential misspellings or grammatical mistakes that you need to look out for when proofreading, as the copy ChatGPT produces might not fit in well with your brand’s desired ‘tone of voice’, either. That’s another respect in which a human editing the text before publication can be hugely important. 

So, you shouldn’t treat the copy that ChatGPT comes up with as content that you will be able to publish on your site straight away. But for such purposes as generating ideas, suggesting alternative phrasing, and highlighting opportunities you might have missed, the chatbot can still be very useful. 

Work with renowned ecommerce experts in Gibraltar, the UK or Spain – and watch your brand grow 

For Internet marketing services ranging from website design and graphic design to search engine optimisation (SEO) and programming services in Gibraltar, Spain, or the UK, there really is no need to look further than Piranha Designs. 

Enquire to us now via phone or email, and we will be pleased to have a free no-obligation discussion with you about how we could assist with your upcoming project.