I've written before about the need to fact-check answers from general purpose AI tools such as...
Can AI Write Your Marketing Emails?
The answer to that question is "Yes, AI can write your marketing emails."
Another question altogether is, "Should you let AI write your marketing emails?"
The answer to that question is "Not if you want your marketing to stand out from everyone else using AI to write their marketing emails."
Despite my concerns about AI's reliability for research and its troubles with accuracy in general, I will say that AI does a a respectable job of writing.
As part of my continued experimentation with AI, I decided to let ChatGPT and Google's Bard (now renamed Gemini) write a marketing email template for me.
Short conclusion:
Both of their submissions would have been usable for business.
Long conclusion:
Usable doesn't mean publishable. They could have been used as starting points, but the email variations they gave me would not be recognizable as from me due to their generic nature. I would sound like everyone else using AI and goodness knows we already have a plague of copycat emails plugging up our Inboxes every day.
On the plus side, I did glean some ideas for my own emails that I can put into my own voice.
For the emails, I gave both Gemini (formerly Bard) and ChatGPT the same prompt -- "Please write an email of approximately 250 words on the importance of vendor risk assessments in the selection of a SaaS vendor."
Bard / Gemini:
All three drafts exceeded the word count I asked it to meet with their lengths better suited to a blog post. It gave me a Subject of, "Why Vendor Risk Assessments Are Crucical for Selecting the Right SaaS Vendor", and then started the email with this:
"As we delve deeper into the world of SaaS solutions to optimize our business processes, it's crucial to remember that not all vendors are created equal. While the features and functionalities of a platform might seem enticing, overlooking potential risks associated with the vendor itself can lead to significant security, financial, and reputational consequences.
This is where vendor risk assessments come into play. They act as a safeguard, ensuring you choose a reliable and secure partner for your critical business operations."
The emails went on to summarize the primary reasons businesses should conduct VRAs, all of which I cover in my e-Book, "Find Your Cloud 9's".
I would have re-worded those two sentences as:
"My four decades in Journalism and IT Services have taught me that while the features of SaaS solutions might seem enticing, overlooking the security, financial, operational, reputational and cultural risks of handing your business over to third party vendors can lead to the buyer's remorse felt by 60 percent of respondents to Gartner's 2024 Study on Software Buyers Regret. In fact, 56 percent stated the financial blow from the poor fit with their company will significantly affect their long-term business performance."
Or, I could have also started the email as ...
"The best way to avoid becoming part of the 54 percent of software purchase decision-makers who have regretted multiple SaaS selections in the past 18 months? (Gartner 2024 Study on Software Buyers Regret) ...
Conduct Vendor Risk Assessments on prospective SaaS providers that help you avoid the higher cost of ownership, slow and difficult implementations, and over-promised / under-delivered expectations those respondents cited most as the reasons for their dissatisfaction."
ChatGPT:
ChatGPT wrote a good marketing email, as well, even though like Bard it greatly exceeded my 250 word limit. Worse, it started with one of my pet peeves in marketing emails -- the fake "caring intro".
"I hope this email finds you well."
Blech.
It gave me the Subject line, "Importance of Vendor Risk Assessments in Selecting a SaaS Vendor", and opened with ...
"As we continue to explore options for incorporating Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions into our operations, I wanted to emphasize the critical importance of conducting thorough vendor risk assessments in the selection process.
Selecting a SaaS vendor involves more than just evaluating the features and functionalities of their software. It also requires a comprehensive evaluation of the vendor's security practices, reliability, compliance standards, and overall risk profile. Here are a few reasons why vendor risk assessments are essential:"
It then summarized the Top 4 reasons VRAs are essential, which, while informative, would be better suited to a blog post.
I would have re-worded that, too, starting with eliminating the gratuitous greeting.
My Conclusion:
ChatGPT and Bard / Gemini did what they do best for writers -- help us un-block a bout of writer's block or provide ideas for things to note in our emails or write about in future blogs.
AI tools absolutely have a place in business writing today, but unless you want to sound like everyone else using them, don't let it replace your unique voice in the process.
For help with Writing or finding credible, updated, actionable research and information for business decision-making or Vendor Risk Assessments, contact me at 302-537-4198, ericm@edminfopro.com or on our Contact form.
You can also request an online meeting.