Although chatbots are unlikely to replace writers, they can provide useful automation for creatives
Another article of mine was published on Vanguard Creative (formerly Vanguard UX), where I argued that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbots are unlikely to replace writers or other creatives. Despite the hype, GenAI chatbots don’t understand human language like we do. Nor is there any evidence that they can consistently outperform professionals in creative writing tasks.
If anything, the tide may be turning on AI hype, especially as complaints build up about these bots filling the web with AI slop.
Having said that, it’s also true that GenAI chatbots can provide useful forms of automation for writers and creative people. For instance, they can be helpful for automating certain routine tasks. Here are three in particular that I can think of …
Drafting templates
Setting up standardized templates—with appropriate layouts, headings, fonts, etc.—can be a tedious and sometimes time-consuming task. But a GenAI chatbot can do it in a few moments. Then, a professional writer can rework the document to refine the design and rewrite the content accordingly.
In such cases, the bot functions as a virtual assistant, not a replacement, for writers—namely, by helping them get the more routine aspects of their work done more quickly.
Enhanced searches
Writers typically have to do a lot of research before putting pen to paper—or fingers to keyboard. And online searches are often indispensable for research nowadays. With conventional keyword-based searches, we usually have to search for the right keyword to find the right search result. Unfortunately, we don’t always know the exact term to search for to get the desired result.
GenAI chatbots can be one way to solve this problem. By letting us enter much more than just a keyword, these bots allow for what the Nielsen Norman Group calls keyword foraging:
“For simple situations … where the user knows what they need but does not know the correct keyword, generative AI greatly facilitates keyword foraging.”
Automated documentation
Nobody I know enjoys taking meeting notes. One thing that has surprised me is how effectively chatbots, when integrated into GenAI platforms, can perform this function. For instance, Microsoft Copilot, when used in Microsoft Teams for virtual meetings, does a pretty good job at transcribing meetings.
I’ll end this train of thought by saying that the more I explore technologies like GenAI chatbots, the more I realize that AI is essentially about automation, particularly of routine tasks. So although chatbots are unlikely to replace writers, they may be able to provide some useful forms of automation for creative people.
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