I have a feeling that eventually, AI ChatGPT will put an end to online publishing, at least as we know it.
Hear me out.
Right now, when you do a search, when you get a list of websites, you have to click through those websites to find the information that you're looking for.
Basically, there's this unstated partnership between the people who publish those sites and Google.
So Google will rank your site if it thinks you have the information people are searching for when they enter a keyword and you keep your end of the bargain by publishing content that manages to deliver on Google users' expectations.
Enters ChatGPT.
When people use an AI tool like ChatGPT, they're not looking for a list of potential sources of info.
Instead, they're looking for the single info.
This can lead easily into a change in consumer expectations.
It is my prediction that in a short period of time, people are not going to put up with being given a choice of links to click.
They would appreciate source links at the bottom so it would somehow give them the impression that the AI they're using didn't just pull the answer out of its digital ass.
But you get my point.
People's expectations would be “I enter a query, no matter how complex it may be, into whatever AI tool I'm using and I get the answer.”
“I just copy and paste the answer or I just read it quickly and I go my own way.”
People are not interested in clicking on ads.
People are definitely not interested in reading articles or blog posts.
This is going to be the big challenge and it's only a matter of time until we reach that point because consumer tastes are changing.
People don't have time to process information from different sources.
They'd rather be given the answer.
So this is the big challenge online publishers, such as you and myself, will be facing and that we should be wrapping our heads around.
Right now, people get all excited about Google's announcement as well as Microsoft's announcement about AI, but that's like messing around with the position of the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic.
Look at the big picture.
Understand that your paycheck is under siege.
Don't be the last guy to realize all of this.
So you have to have a plan right now on how to get AI to work for you instead of against you.
