ChatGPT 5.0 – what it means for comms, by Lisa Shaddick, Managing Director

ChatGPT 5.0 has recently launched. According to Digital Silk, about 10% of the global population is using ChatGPT – that’s about 800million people weekly - with 1 in 5 adults in the US using it for work. What’s even more interesting, according to the Digital Silk data, is that of those 20%, 68% don’t tell their bosses they’re using it. For the communications sector, the Digital Silk research also held some sobering statistics: over 2 million businesses worldwide – 92% of Fortune 500 companies - have incorporated ChatGPT into their workflow, and of those, 58% are using it for copywriting and content. The question is, will it permanently replace some of the work we do for clients.

Friend or foe

Without question ChatGPT has a place today in business. It can carry out tasks such as research and data analysis quickly and easily, freeing up employees’ time to do other things, thereby streamlining process and increasing productivity and saving costs. There are also customer service applications as well as brainstorming and idea generation.

The 5.0 launch has made heavy weather of the fact there it has less “hallucinating” – generating false or nonsensical information. Hallucination rates vary based on the task, and the version used. ChatGPT 5.0 claims its hallucination rate is ~ 9.6%, which is lower than version 4.0.

However, when it comes to copywriting and content generation, the cons outweigh the pros. It may seem like a very convenient solution, but there are significant limitations that may trip you up.

The cons

The first is deep understanding. Even though it is artificial intelligence that we may anthropomorphise, ChatGPT is not a human that, according to Oxbridge Essays, possesses “genuine understanding”. Rather, it generates “responses based on patterns and data it has been trained on, without comprehending the underlying concepts.”

Secondly, it lacks context and relevance. There are limitations of specialised topics and some reports of bias and ethical concerns. Then there is the issue that AI-generated content can be detectable, which may not be the look you want for your brand or your consultancy.

But the biggest con related to using ChatGPT for copywriting or generating content is that it is dependent on the prompts supplied. You may end up concentrating more on the prompts than the content itself. As one blogger described his experience using ChatGPT for writing, “like with every other “silver bullet”, cracks started forming”.

What’s the answer

Am I saying AI shouldn’t be used at all for copywriting? No. But the human expertise to review, re-write and edit what is generated will be required for a long time still.