Can ChatGPT replace social media managers?

You’ve probably heard AI is coming for your job. Recent innovations like ChatGPT feel closer to Westworld than Siri, but I’m not sweating an I, Robot future just yet.

For those of you who haven’t bunkered for fear of Skynet, ChatGPT is “a large language model trained by OpenAI. It is designed to generate human-like text and can be used for a variety of natural language processing tasks, such as language translation, question answering, and text completion,” according to itselfI. I literally asked the program what it is.

It’s pretty impressive. It’s also free, for now. And I truly think tools like this are incredible resources that shouldn’t be fought—they can help brainstorm, scale ideas, write alternate copy, and bolster those humans you employ (like how this agency’s cleverly using AI “interns”). That said, it hasn’t made our human brains irrelevant just yet, if only because I’ve still gotta feed it original ideas to encourage the output.

But hey, that’s my human take. Figured I’d give ChatGPT a shot to defend itself. I threw “Write me an 800-word newsletter on whether ChatGPT will replace social media managers” as my input.

Then, incredibly—ChatGPT told on itself. The program wrote me an essay on why it could never replace social media managers…that I fully agree with. Every word.

Below is the unedited output.

ChatGPT is a powerful language generation model that can generate human-like text. It has the ability to understand and respond to a wide range of topics, making it a potentially valuable tool for businesses and organizations looking to engage with their audience on social media. However, it is important to note that ChatGPT is not a replacement for social media managers, but rather an addition to their toolset.

While ChatGPT can generate text that is similar to that of a human, it does not have the same understanding of context, emotions, and social cues that a human does. Social media managers are responsible for crafting and managing a brand's online presence and reputation, which requires a deep understanding of the brand's target audience, their needs, and the nuances of social media platforms. ChatGPT, on the other hand, can generate text based on a given prompt, but it does not have the ability to understand the bigger picture and make strategic decisions.

In addition, social media managers are responsible for creating and curating content, managing and responding to comments and messages, and monitoring analytics to measure the success of their efforts. ChatGPT can assist in generating content, but it cannot replace the creativity and strategic thinking that goes into creating an effective social media campaign.

Another important aspect of social media management is community management. Social media managers are responsible for building and maintaining relationships with their brand's audience and fostering a sense of community around the brand. ChatGPT cannot replace the human touch and emotional intelligence required for this task.

However, ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for social media managers to generate content and responses quickly and efficiently, especially in situations where a fast response is needed. For example, ChatGPT can be used to generate automated responses to frequently asked questions, or to generate content for social media posts.

In conclusion, ChatGPT is a powerful language generation tool that can assist social media managers in their tasks, but it cannot replace the human understanding, creativity, and emotional intelligence required for effective social media management. Social media managers will still be needed to make strategic decisions, create and curate content, and build and maintain relationships with their audience. ChatGPT can be a useful addition to a social media manager's toolset, but it should not be seen as a replacement.

So uh…yeah. Cool tool. Powerful tool. Not a human replacement yet…but uh…yeah.

There are so many social big thinkers out there, writing all kinds of amazing strategies, analysis, and breakdowns. All ships rise with the tide, so here are a few reads from other places I think you could learn from.

“Snapchat’s trippy new brand campaign aims to answer the question: What is Snapchat for?” (Fast Company)

It’s always fascinating to watch social media platforms build big campaigns to tell ya what they’re about. Snapchat’s maybe the hardest to position—as their new CCO said, they’re “the best known, least understood.” I kinda love this new commercial they’re showing, though.

“Tears, blunders and chaos: inside Elon Musk’s Twitter” (The Guardian)

Have you seen WeCrashed? That AppleTV+ series starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway about WeWork? I need a docudrama on Elon’s Twitter immediately.

“Britney Spears shared the comments that caused her to delete her Instagram, and it’s so messed up” (BuzzFeed)

It truly bothers me how everyday people are comfortable treating celebrities and pro athletes terribly. Find a better use of your time than leaving an awful Instagram comment.