Should charities use A.I. content bots?

Content bots like ChatGPT, Jasper.ai, and copy.ai are forms of AI technology that use natural language processing. They can be used to create a variety of content, from copy to digital adverts to code. 

According to its website, copy generated by Jasper is SEO optimised and “passes plagiarism tests with 99.99% original content”. Whereas Copy.ai promises to “produce better articles [than a human] with less effort,” cutting down on writing time by 80%.

Primarily a chatbot, ChatGPT’s language model can be used to write emails, essays, and code. Developed in 2022 by OpenAI, ChatGPT had more than 1 million users within five days of launch and, according to Swiss bank UBS, is the fastest-growing app of all time.

You can check out how Charity Digital put content bots to the test.

What are the pros of using content bots?

The pros of using content bots are immediate and obvious. We look at some of the major benefits below, touching on speed, costs, and reliability.

Content bots are quicker

There’s no doubt about the speed at which bots can produce content. Jasper.ai claims to generate copy five times faster than a human. Copy.ai creates optimised blog posts in seconds, taking you from “0–1,000 words in 4 minutes flat”.

The fastest-ever typing speed recorded by a human is 216 words per minute, so, you could say humans are still winning. Just. Unless, of course, you take into account the time needed for normal drafting, re-reading, and re-drafting.

Content bots are cheaper (probably)

Typically, humans who write on a freelance basis charge by the word. This could range anywhere from 20–70p per word, or more, depending on the type of brief or length of copy. Content bots on the other hand come with a payment plan and, normally, a free trial.

Copy.ai currently offers 2,000 free words per month. After that, a subscription is $36 per calendar month (or $432 a year). Alternatively, the basic version of ChatGPT is free to use, but a premium, paid version will be available soon.

For the price of $20 per month, ChatGPT Plus will provide faster response times, access during peak times, and first access to new features.

Content bots are reliable

Unlike their human counterparts, content bots are not prone to miss deadlines. They do not require sick leave, parental leave, holidays, health insurance, or a workplace pension.

What are the cons of using content bots?

The cons of using content bots are less immediate and less obvious, but they are quite substantial and could potentially pose a lot of risk to charities. We look at some of the major risks below, again touching on speed, costs, and reliability, and also exploring ethics.

Content bots are unreliable

While they might not get sick, content bots can malfunction. They can also miss the brief entirely. For example, reviewers have reported that one major limitation of ChatGPT is the quality of the responses it produces, reporting that replies often sound plausible but upon closer reading “make no practical sense or [are] excessively verbose”.

Most content bots, including ChatGPT and Jasper.ai, do not currently provide sources for the copy it produces either, meaning editors are unable to verify the accuracy of the information it delivers. Moderators at Stack Overflow claim that “answers that ChatGPT produce have a high rate of being incorrect”.

Content bots cost time (and money)

The general unreliability of content bots leads to further issues. Lack of sources, incorrect statistics, or just plain untruths mean that marketers will likely spend more time and energy proofreading, editing, and factchecking. Many reviews conclude that, in the long run, it is simpler and cheaper to create original content using your own creativity and resources.

Furthermore, ensuring good return on investment (ROI) is essential for all charities. Many AI content services, including Jasper.ai, charge by the word. That means, if your content bot takes a tangent and starts talking about an irrelevant service or inappropriate topic, it wastes not just editing-time but negatively impacts ROI. 

Content bots contradict a certain moral standing

The ethics of using chatbots and other AI technologies has been well documented.

All charities, whether they be conservational, educational, health-related, or service-providing to vulnerable people, have a duty to uphold certain principles. In addition to putting beneficiaries first, charities are expected to uphold integrity and openness.

Using AI to write copy designed to aid and serve beneficiaries lacks, at best, necessary care and attention. At worst it is dishonest. And as a result, it contradicts the pillars on which charities stand.