Will We in Communications Fire Our AI Assistants - From Grammarly to Jasper

“In my opinion, Jasper is not a worthy long term investment. I wouldn't be surprised if the company went bankrupt within the next year.” - By Justin Gluska, Goldpenquin, August 26, 2023

The Wall Street Journal reports today:

“Jasper, a generative AI writing tool for writers and businesses, saw declining user growth for four consecutive months ended in July. The company, which raised $125 million last fall, conducted a round of layoffs in July and cut revenue projections for this year, people familiar with the matter said.”

This back-down-to-earth phase of the potential mainstreaming of generative AI could be a pause before another big takeoff in usage. Or it could represent the reframing of the technology from “hey-look-at-this” to a “watch-but-don’t-bet-the-ranch,” ranging from funding to incorporating it in operations.

This isn’t the first time some of us in communications have tried AI “assistants” and wondered if they were worth putting up with how they made us work and their limitations. For instance, a client mandated I use Grammarly. Its performance was as error-filled as that of Word’s Review function. I had no confidence in it. Also it was cumbersome to navigate. Overall, it slowed me down without creating value. When the client transaction ended, I deleted it. (However its ghost keeps haunting me on Google.)

Meanwhile my initial euphoria about ChatGPT has deflated. Right after its November release I used the bot for this and that. The experimentation included branding slogans for elite law firm Paul Weiss (a former client but not at the time). I focused on it because I knew the firm. The task was, of course, simple. Yes, the results were, given that they were produced in seconds, excellent. But, as I said, I didn’t request anything complex. No prompting for an in-depth exploration of where the law firm, which has been full of bold moves, might be heading. How well can generative AI connect the dots on what has not already happened?

So, here I am, humbly asking: Was my excitement premature? My signature is transformative communications. Can AI assistants add value?

Recently I was researching an article on shoplifting for a magazine. Skilled in what to feed into the prompts, I started out with a variety of those. Based on what was generated I narrowed the AI project to specific issues. However, no out-of-the-box (the kind that third-party media pays us writers to provide) data or insight popped out. Nonono, there wasn’t enough depth for even a first draft.

Frustrated, I returned to conventional search on Google. That’s how I was able to come up with an engaging angle, the up-to-date statistics and a sophisticated analysis about solutions. In short, I primarily put together the article in the old-fashioned way. Likewise during the past few months I had interpreted Paul Weiss' strategic surprises for articles on The Large Law Firm and You without bothering to seek out help from AI. 

Most of us in communications have tried out AI assistants. Each has merits. For example, Jasper is useful for SEO optimization. If we’re exhausted Grammarly will keep us from submitting a work product lacking conciseness, with typos and wrong usage. But for experienced content creators they might not provide enough value to lug around in our toolbox.

Although Gluska balks about the price of Jasper - $39 monthly for solos, $99 for teams – that’s not my beef. (In contrast ChatGPT Plus is $20 monthly.) It’s the old fundamental in business: Will “hiring” an assistant require an adjustment and create a daily process that had not enough of a payoff? This won’t be the first time I decided “delegating” had been a mistake.

2023. The way through the uncertainty, AI disruptions and need to conserve financial resources is to be proactive and a lot smarter. That ranges from your organizational communications to career issues.  Complimentary consultation with award-winning marketing communications crafter and coach Jane Genova. (For appointments text 203-468-8579 or janegenova374@gmail.com)