Artificial intelligence (AI) is nothing new.
From the C3PO in Star Wars to HAL 9000 in 2001: Space Odyssey, we’ve been equally fascinated by and fearful of AI since the concept first emerged in the science fiction genre.
However, general consumers having direct access to AI technology is something new. We have more access to AI than ever, and it’s revolutionizing nearly every industry–from business to art to education.
And ChatGPT–today’s most accessible AI tool–is, arguably, at the forefront.
How can legal marketing professionals use tools like ChatGPT to their full potential? Should marketers use generative AI to write content? And what are the risks?
First, a brief intro to ChatGPT.
ChatGPT began in 2016 with the launch of OpenAI, a research organization specializing in “safe artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity.” A group of researchers that included Elon Musk and Sam Altman founded OpenAI to solve some of the world’s most complex problems.
Specifically, ChatGPT is supposed to make information more discoverable and accessible while making complex outputs faster and easier. Its technology can generate human-like responses to user prompts and questions, making it useful for various applications, including chatbots, content creation, and language translation.
The latest version, ChatGPT-4, is one of the most advanced language models available today, promising “safer and more useful responses” than ever. GPT-4 has a broader knowledge base and more accurate problem-solving capabilities than its predecessors.
With more data and computation abilities, general users, researchers, developers, and businesses worldwide are using ChatGPT-4.
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The useful features of ChatGPT for legal content marketers.
ChatGPT’s features make it an attractive tool to many legal content marketers. Here are some of the advantages of using ChatGPT today:
- Natural language processing (NLP): ChatGPT can understand and generate natural language, allowing it to communicate with us (humans) and making it a viable option for creating chatbots, responding to customer service requests, and generating “human-like” content.
- General knowledge: ChatGPT taps into a vast knowledge database, providing informative, helpful responses to questions and prompts and making it beneficial for educational and informational applications. However, as we’ll discuss later, it requires a human fact-checker.
- Scalability: Developers can train ChatGPT on continuous data inputs, improving its language generation capabilities over time and making it highly scalable and adaptive to new applications and use cases.
Features like these have motivated some legal marketers to jump head-first into generative AI, exploring ways to supplement or replace processes and tasks and create marketing products for their clients, including web copy, emails, and social media posts.
Though our agency doesn’t use ChatGPT to write our clients’ website content, we’re also exploring the ways we might leverage this new technology in our processes.
I can explain:
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AI-generated content: concerns and unanswered questions.
Nobody wants to be Blockbuster, the Luddite in the battle for the video rental industry. They want to be Netflix, the forward-thinking visionary that tapped a pain point and redefined an entire industry.
But this isn’t that.
Whereas Netflix tapped a frustration with late fees and made movie rentals easier by dropping discs directly into consumers’ mailboxes–and later their televisions–AI-generated content solves no such pain point for end users of web content.
Successful legal websites that rank in the organic search results and convert leads into signed cases rely on many things, primarily building trust. Trust in the expertise and authority of the law firm.
A legal marketing agency’s value lies in building websites that become assets for the law firms it serves–assets that plant their flags at the top of the organic search results and generate millions of dollars in signed cases.
AI-generated content risks doing exactly the opposite … creating mistrust.
Concern: AI-generated content lacks depth.
ChatGPT lacks human experience, emotion, and understanding, often producing content void of context and insight. OpenAI’s goal is to develop artificial general intelligence that has original ideas. Still, ChatGPT, in its current form, fails to provide new insights that set one page of content apart from another. We need humans for that task.
Concern: Chatbots get many things wrong.
ChatGPT is only sometimes accurate, so relying on it for content creation may be a dangerous game. It confidently says many wrong things, even inventing “sources” for its inaccurate information. Therefore, concerns about trust, accuracy, and authority in the content are valid.
Question: What does Google think about AI content?
Google released a statement loosely saying it doesn’t matter how content is created, as long as it’s “helpful content written for Humans by Humans.” Some marketers have taken that as a green light to proceed full steam ahead with AI-generated content. And some SEOs are already sharing success stories, recounting how they’ve used generative AI to write content that ranks at the top of the Google search results.
We aren’t yet convinced it’s a long-term solution. And we refuse to risk the long-term viability of our clients’ websites for what might be short-term wins.
There’s a lot more to this part of the story–will Google shift its definition of helpful content (it has before) and, the big one, do consumers even want AI content?
For now, I’ll just say that if you use ChatGPT to write content for your website, disclose that AI wrote it and make sure a human reviews it.
Question: Who owns AI content?
A new rule from the U.S. Copyright Office says it doesn’t protect AI-generated content. The question of ownership is muddled.
Getty Images is suing the creators of an AI art generator, claiming the creators used Getty’s photographs without permission to train the AI. A group of graphic artists is pursuing a separate lawsuit with similar claims. Creators of the AI tools claim their use of the artists’ material falls under fair use.
How can law firms use ChatGPT for content marketing?
Can ChatGPT replace the value and authenticity of human-generated content? I’d say, no–but there are several ways legal professionals can use ChatGPT to assist with content marketing.
For example:
1. Topic ideation and content research
ChatGPT can help its users understand related topics and searcher questions so lawyers can better target people seeking their services. While ChatGPT can’t come up with “unique” topics, it can help turn the wheels.
Simply input a high-level keyword or phrase and ask ChatGPT to generate a list of topics.
Example prompts:
- “Generate a list of 10 blog post ideas related to family law for a family law attorney blog.”
- “Generate a list of article topic ideas that pertain to ‘What to do if you get a DUI’ for a law firm blog.”
- “Generate a list of potential web page topics for an estate and probate law website.”
- “What are some trending topics related to corporate law right now?”
- “What are some frequently asked questions that potential law firm clients might have about divorce?”
2. Content structuring and outlines
ChatGPT can help lawyers structure content by creating outlines for blog posts, articles, and web pages.
You can use content outlines to support your writing or hand them off as a brief to writers to create the content for you.
Example prompts:
- “Create a blog post outline for an article titled, ‘What is Medical Malpractice Law?’”
- “Create a blog post outline for an article titled, ‘10 Tips for Hiring a Great Attorney’”
- “Write a web page outline for a family law service page.”
- “Provide an article outline for an article titled, ‘Why It’s Worth Hiring an Estate & Probate Attorney.”’
3. Keyword intent and categorization
To have an effective SEO strategy, you must research the keywords your potential clients use to find your services. You will need SEO tools (like Semrush or Ahrefs) to research these keywords, but ChatGPT can help you organize them.
For example, you can ask ChatGPT to sort keywords by search intent, which means it’ll determine if the keywords are commercial, informational, or transactional. Then, you can decide if the keyword matches a service page (commercial) or a blog post (informational).
Example prompts:
- “Organize this set of keywords by search intent–informational, commercial, or transactional.”
- “Place these keywords into the appropriate category: family law, probate law, or corporate law:”
4. Content strategy / editorial calendar
ChatGPT can help you create a content strategy and editorial calendar for your law firm.
It can help plan your social media content, develop blog post topics, and create a posting schedule. While ChatGPT can’t post the content for you, it does empower you to get organized and plan your content.
Example prompts:
- “Create a content calendar that includes 12 blog post ideas related to personal injury law.”
- “Create an editorial calendar for a foreclosure defense law firm blog.”
- “Create a social media content calendar for a medical malpractice law firm. Include five topic ideas each for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.”
5. Email templates
ChatGPT can be a helpful tool when creating email templates.
For example, maybe you’re struggling to outline the layout of your monthly newsletter. ChatGPT might provide some direction, proposing sections for business updates, your latest blog post, and a call-to-action.
ChatGPT can help you create email templates for client follow-up, marketing outreach, and asking for client reviews. You’ll want to edit and tailor the copy to your target audience and ensure it accurately reflects your business.
Example prompts:
- “Create a follow-up email template for an email from a personal injury lawyer to a potential client lead.”
- “Create an email template for asking a happy probate law client for a testimonial on Facebook and Google.”
- “Create a monthly email newsletter template for a law firm.”
6. Video outlines
If you do any form of video marketing, it may be helpful to use ChatGPT to explore talking points or exciting topics you might cover in your videos. That way, you’ll have a structured plan for your video as you record your content.
Best video marketing practices include an attention-grabbing introduction, providing clear and helpful tips throughout the video, directing viewers to related resources, and including a call-to-action at the end. With the correct input, ChatGPT can help create an outline that includes these elements.
Example prompts:
- “Write a YouTube video outline for a video titled ‘5 Learns I Learned as a Litigation Attorney.’ Include a catchy introduction and conclusion.”
- “Write a video outline for a Facebook Live video about the best online legal resources for clients.”
- “Write a YouTube video outline for a video titled ‘8 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Divorce Lawyer.’ Be sure to include these talking points.”
How to Brief ChatGPT to Get the Best Output
Want to get the most out of ChatGPT? It’s all in the prompt.
Here are a few tips for providing the best input to get the best output from ChatGPT.
- Be specific: The more specific your prompt, the better ChatGPT’s response will be. Provide clear instructions, ask pointed questions, reference specific details, and add context wherever possible.
- Be concise (but not too concise): Keep your input concise so that ChatGPT can focus on your query or instruction. But at the same time, include enough specificity to get an answer that fits your purpose.
- Add audience details: When using ChatGPT for content outlines, consider who will read your content. Add audience details where appropriate. For example, if you’re using ChatGPT to help you outline a page you’ll write for business owners, reference this in your prompt.
ChatGPT: changing the world of web content? The jury’s still out.
Undoubtedly, AI is reshaping the world of web content.
And while AI tools like ChatGPT can make content planning, creation, and management more efficient, they’re no replacement for the authenticity, knowledge, and storytelling of humans … for now.
Maybe in 10 years we’ll look back and wonder why we ever worried about robots taking the place of humans in marketing. Or maybe we’ll adapt and co-exist in harmony. Would you give complete control of your business’ messaging to a robot today? I’ll wait on the verdict.
About the Author:
Alex Valencia is a successful entrepreneur, marketer, and the president of We Do Web, an Inc. 5000 business. His firm devises content and marketing strategies and produces online content for law firms and small businesses nationwide. Alex is a frequent contributor to Search Engine Journal and Entrepreneur, as well as a Forbes Council Member and contributor.
