Adapt or Die With Generative AI
Why almost all content creators will switch to video
Do you fear that any part of your job is at risk to generative AI? You’ve probably heard the fears. “Oh no, ChatGPT is going to take my job!” For some companies like Chegg, those fears are a harsh new reality.
Chegg’s stock took a major hit because its online learning platform is basically a content creation platform for students. But why would someone pay for a Chegg subscription when they could simply ask ChatGPT or Bard for the information and receive it for free?
This should be a canary in the coal mine moment for all content creators. In particular, bloggers, affiliate marketers, and copywriters who pump out formulaic articles like: “The 5 Best Printers To Buy!” Anyone who writes product reviews, book summaries, or anything without a human soul or perspective will become obsolete. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon.
ChatGPT and Bard are already capable of providing this information. It may not be perfect, but it can get someone’s research started in a far more direct and concise manner than the way most blogs or even Wirecutter articles present it. Most importantly, the integration of generative AI with Bing or Google search completely rewrites the SEO environment.
My prediction: this seachange will force content creators to switch almost entirely to video content.
Why generative AI will replace most written and even audio content
Generative AI can write fast. After submitting a prompt, ChatGPT allows you to witness its thought process, pumping out copy at a frenetic pace. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense. Sometimes the facts are wrong. But it’s fast.
Google’s Bard forces you to sit and wait. For maybe five seconds. Then it hits you with hundreds of words all at once. A tidal wave of information that would have taken you hours to compile and draft. Again, not always perfect, but mostly on point and always fast.
In a few short months, generative AI has proven capable of automating many of the tasks involved in written content creation: research, writing, and editing. While this gives some the ability to produce more content in less time now, it’s really like receiving the black spot in Treasure Island: content creators who fail to adapt will suffer the fate of Long John Silver and lose authority.
Generative AI will largely consume low cognitive writing that fits neatly into formulas. Only writers that create content that connects human stories and conveys unique perspectives will survive the coming mass extinction. Adapt or die, as Darwin said (kind of):
“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin
The same can be said for podcasters. We haven’t witnessed generative AI’s capabilities in audio as we have in written content, but the potential is there. Have you heard of “voice skins”? You should.
All of this comes down to search engines
Why did Google’s stock take a hit when ChatGPT’s capabilities went mainstream? It didn’t help that their competitor product, Bard, made a factual error at a public company event. But it also doesn’t help that ChatGPT is viewed by many as an existential threat to Google’s core business: search. Now that Google has announced additional capabilities with Bard and the integration of its generative AI with other Google products, the market has reacted more favorably.
The initial market reaction highlights how important search is to Google’s core business. That’s due to the fact most of its ad revenue comes from search results. And guess who else depends on how search is configured? Content creators.
If there is a fundamental change to the way search works online, that will disrupt almost every blog out there. How will people find your work outside of social media? If generative AI feeds people exactly what they want to eat, there’s no need for them to scan search results and click on your website. And that’s exactly what ChatGPT and Bard are perfecting: giving you exactly what you want all within the confines of their generative AI tool and platform.
So if content creators who write for a living or side hustle want to stay relevant, how can they adapt?
Make video content
If you’re a content creator who has not embraced the TikTok-ification of the content world, you’re neglecting a major opportunity. It is a great way to promote your written work and one of the best ways to scale and reach a wider audience. Whether it’s TikTok, YouTube Shorts (or long-form videos), Instagram Reels, or even Idea Pins on Pinterest, there are numerous avenues to explore in the video content world.
The best part about building an audience on any of these platforms? Generative AI can’t really compete. At least yet.
See for yourself what Meta created: “a new AI system that lets people turn text prompts into brief, high-quality video clips.” Quality may be in the eye of the beholder.
YouTuber Casey Neistat also made an entertaining video that was scripted entirely by AI. It turns out AI cannot tell a story, let alone create a video telling that story, as well as a human being can. Again, at least for now.
I’m not sure what the future holds with generative AI and video content but the current evidence suggests it’s a long way from replicating human creativity when it comes to video. Product reviews, book summaries, and the other forms of formulaic content at risk in the writing world may live to see another day in video.
There’s simply a big difference between typing a query or prompt in search of an immediate answer, and watching someone actively explain or entertain via video. The latter is far more engaging and much harder for generative AI to currently replicate.
Adapt or die in a future with generative AI
If you’re a content creator or someone who does process-oriented tasks at work, you should be asking yourself how you can evolve your craft into a higher cognitive form. How can you add unique human value in what you do? Think about your audience or customer, and what your unique value proposition is when compared to what generative AI might be able to accomplish instead.
Making the switch or enhancing video content is a good hedge. Use it to promote any written work. If you’re in a corporate job and worried about the threat of generative AI, consider how you could use its tools to make yourself and your team more efficient and effective. The people who embrace and adapt to new AI technology will be the people who excel in the immediate future. The others will go the way of the dodo bird.
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