Product Marketing and the ChatGPT Apocalypse

Product marketers are worried that ChatGPT will take over their jobs. In this series of observations, I assure you that it won't, if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing.

I gave Reason #2 last week: because ChatGPT doesn't have the context of the market-specific positioning you create. Here's reason #3: it's terrible at tone.

ChatGPT Is Tone-Deaf

I'll admit this example is a bit silly, but I wanted to see what kind of copy I'd get for selling green beans during an apocalypse. The result is below:

"Canned green beans, the perfect food for any apocalypse!" says it all. The ChatGPT did add some apocalypse-specific text about shelf-life and ease of storage, but the cheery tone is completely off. Moreover, the tone is always the same, whether it's "beans are great for the holidays!" or "take beans with you in the escape pod!" No product marketer is going to write copy like this, unless they hand the reins over to the bots completely.

Tone Is Shaped by You and Your Market

Tone matters. It's key to building an authentic voice in your market. You may be able to instruct ChatGPT to produce a more market-specific or appropriate tone but, as with positioning, you'll have to know what you're looking for in order to enable the tool to deliver. One more difference between a bot and a badass product marketer.

About the Author

Diane Pierson is the Founder and Principal Market Strategist of Innovate on Purpose, a consultancy enabling successful product innovation for tech companies through strategic focus and powerful go-to-market strategies. Diane is also a visiting instructor at Pragmatic Institute. Contact Diane at dpierson@innovateonpurpose.com.