The Rise of AI – who is the author of the content you are reading?

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by rob

One of the key things we pride ourselves on at Alchemis is the element of human interaction. We have always been great believers in the mantra that “people buy from people” and that is why we still spend a significant amount of our time building rapport with prospects on the phone (with a view to them being fully receptive to our clients’ offers by the time they meet them).

There are so many nuances you can pick up on with an actual conversation that just may not convey when sending an email.
At the moment I don’t think AI has quite progressed to a level that it could replace a skilled human new business professional verbally discussing with a Marketing Director how to drive their brand forward by appointing XYZ agency to help them with whatever their creative specialism is for a new campaign.

However, when it comes to churning out content or emails we very much are nearly there.

But, before we sit back smugly and congratulate ourselves on the fact that the job’s been done, is there a glimmer of doubt that by having everything churned out by AI, the agency using it may in effect be dumbing down its workforce? After all, if staff don’t need to know about the material they are pumping out, where is the quality control or integrity being applied within that agency when they take on a new client?

Will you end up with a bunch of employees who don’t really understand that much about the things they (or actually the AI) are talking about, simply because they haven’t needed to learn or experience it?

Let me put some context to all of this.

Over the years, I’ve written numerous blogs covering a range of marketing disciplines in a broad context, usually relating to business development in some way.

It takes a bit of time to think about what I want to write, then structure it in a readable way and at the same time make it engaging enough that you won’t doze off before you get to the third paragraph.

Today, however, out of sheer curiosity (and a media overload of AI stories) I thought I would dip my toe into the future and test out ChatGPT by asking it the question “why would a digital marketing agency use an outsourced new business agency?”

The text in italics below is what it came up with verbatim… In less than about two seconds.

A digital marketing agency may choose to use an outsourced new business agency for several reasons:
Expertise and Specialization: Outsourced new business agencies specialize in generating leads and acquiring new clients for businesses. They have dedicated teams with expertise in sales, prospecting, and lead generation. By partnering with such an agency, a digital marketing agency can leverage their specialized skills and knowledge to expand their client base effectively.
Cost-Effectiveness: Building an in-house new business team can be expensive and time-consuming. It requires hiring and training sales professionals, setting up infrastructure, and ongoing management. By outsourcing this function to a specialized agency, a digital marketing agency can save costs associated with recruitment, training, salaries, and overhead expenses.
Focus on Core Competencies: A digital marketing agency’s primary focus is on delivering marketing services to clients. By outsourcing new business acquisition, they can concentrate on their core competencies while leaving the lead generation and sales activities to the experts. This allows the agency to allocate more time and resources to delivering quality services to existing clients.
Access to Networks and Resources: Outsourced new business agencies often have extensive networks and databases of potential clients. They have developed relationships and partnerships over time, which can be leveraged to identify and connect with prospects. By partnering with such an agency, a digital marketing agency gains access to these networks and resources, expanding their reach and increasing the chances of acquiring new clients.
Scalability and Flexibility: Outsourcing new business acquisition provides scalability and flexibility for a digital marketing agency. As the agency grows, it can easily scale up its new business efforts by working with the outsourced agency to meet increased demand. Likewise, during slower periods or when the agency wants to focus on other initiatives, they can reduce or pause the outsourced services accordingly.
Objective Perspective: An outsourced new business agency brings an external perspective to the table. They can offer insights, strategies, and ideas that may be different from the internal team’s viewpoints. This fresh perspective can help the digital marketing agency refine their sales approach, identify untapped opportunities, and improve their overall new business acquisition strategies.
Overall, by partnering with an outsourced new business agency, a digital marketing agency can benefit from the specialized expertise, cost savings, scalability, and access to resources that the agency brings. It allows the digital marketing agency to focus on its core strengths while efficiently acquiring new clients to grow their business.

What is remarkable to me is just how similar the points are to ones we have made in previous blogs on this sort of subject. And with this in mind it got me thinking just how much other content I had been reading across the media / web that was directly churned out by AI and then maybe had the odd amendment thrown in here or there to “humanise” it?

Did the person posing as the author have a real grasp of what was being said? Did they even need to or would they just plug any follow up into ChatGPT too, in order to deal with queries or objection handling?

And now the final question:

Have I written any of this blog at all or am I already in The Matrix?

Keep your brains active people!