Does ChatGPT and AI Copywriting Damage Dental SEO?

Let’s talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and dental SEO. AI—the buzzword of the decade—continues to make headlines and stir up excitement among industry leaders, but it’s important to look at the limitations of this technology. For all the good it can do, AI can also damage your dental SEO strategy if used unwisely. 

Dental marketing can be improved with AI when used correctly, so it’s important to understand how these tools work. This article will dive into the basics of artificial intelligence, provide some guidance on AI best practices, and list some tips for incorporating AI into your dental SEO strategy.

In a nutshell, artificial intelligence attempts to mimic the way the human brain works. AI tools intake and digest information from real people and online content in huge volumes at a rapid rate. Imagine a robot in a room reading thousands of books and websites extremely fast, and retaining all of the information perfectly. This is called machine learning, and it results in several different types of AI programs.

Generative AI

One common tool is AI-generated images and other visuals. Midjourney is the most popular generative AI right now and produces all kinds of fascinating results. We’ve played around creating dental practice wallpaper ideas and dental office designs using the Midjourney AI tool.

AI Assistants 

Voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google also use AI to converse with humans and provide intelligent feedback. Learn more about SEO for dental practices using Alexa voice search.

LLMs

Large language models (LLMs) simulate human conversation. These are bots you can “chat” with by typing out messages and receiving intelligent answers. The most popular LLM right now is OpenAI’s ChatGPT. From writing high school papers to arguing law cases, ChatGPT can seemingly do it all—but that doesn’t mean it should.

In order to use ChatGPT, you only need to follow a couple of simple steps. 

1. Create an account

You do need to create an account in order to use ChatGPT. You can either use the free version or pay for a more advanced version.

2. Input a prompt

Once you’ve created an account, you can start chatting with the AI right away. In order to get insights, you’ll need to provide a prompt or command. This can be a simple question like “What should I write about on my dental website blog?” or a detailed set of instructions. 

You could even input something like this: “Write an 800-word blog post about gingivitis. Include information about the dangers of the disease, how to treat it, and why visiting your dentist often can help prevent it.” You’ll receive an entire draft of a blog for your website. (Just be sure to re-work the text and put your own spin on it.) 

AI tools spit out responses quickly, and the more detailed you are in your request, the more detail you’ll receive. You can also ask follow-up questions, and it will remember the flow of conversation. 

LLMs like ChatGPT, Bard (from Google), and Bing Chat are amazing tools for dental SEO blogging, but their results should never be used verbatim. Let’s talk about why.

As tempting as it is to ask ChatGPT for answers and plug them directly into your website, there are several reasons why this is a bad idea. 

ChatGPT errors

First and foremost, ChatGPT often contains errors. When AI doesn’t fully understand your prompt, or compiles information incorrectly, this is often referred to as an AI hallucination. In other words, it will just make something up.

Other times, ChatGPT may include text that directly indicates a conversation with an AI. Phrases like, “As an artificial intelligence,” may be included in an answer to a prompt.

Copyright infringement

A big problem with ChatGPT is that it often includes text plagiarized from other sources. Even short phrases incorporated word-for-word can set off alarm bells in a plagiarism checker. AI dental content marketing copyright law is also a bit of a gray area, so it’s important to always re-work AI-generated content.

Search engine algorithms

It might seem enticing to throw a ton of high-ranking keywords into ChatGPT and let it create an SEO-optimized article for you, but search engines are now able to detect when content has been generated by AI. Spamming your website with AI-generated content can actually hurt your SEO, especially if you’re just copying and pasting.

Major media outlet CNET fell under scrutiny recently for using an AI tool to write dozens of stories riddled with errors in an attempt to game the Google algorithm. CNET published over 70 stories completely generated by AI which raised major red flags in the algorithm.

While new technology can help streamline certain processes at your practice, it’s important to remember that dentistry relies on relationship-driven marketing in an AI world. Use ChatGPT and other AI as tools, not human replacements.

SEO for dentists is changing with the influence of AI copywriting. Those who know how to use these tools wisely are jumping ahead of the competition, and ranking higher than ever. 

You can improve the quality of your dental SEO with AI, but there are some best practices to keep in mind. 

• Use AI as a brainstorming tool, not a copy-and-paste solution. LLMs are a great way to inspire creativity, cure writer’s block, and have fun with your content.
• Ask for blog and social media post drafts from ChatGPT, but always go over them thoroughly and re-work the text as needed. Again—these are tools, not replacements for your expertise!
• Don’t forget to try out generative AI for unique imagery in your posts as well. The more descriptive the prompt, the better.
• Check your content against a plagiarism-checker and AI detection tools after re-working text to make sure you’re not hurting your SEO.

At the end of the day, experimenting with AI is a great way to get ideas, speed up the drafting process, and optimize your SEO strategy.

Working with a dental marketing company that understands AI copywriting is the best way to get ahead in your dental SEO efforts. My Social Practice uses AI technology to help generate captions, post ideas, and other content, while always keeping best practices in mind. Let us help you step into the future with AI technology, and get your practice to rank higher, faster.

If you are ready to take the next step to attract new dental patients but don’t know where to begin or simply don’t have the time to get going, My Social Practice is here to help. Fill out a form to get a personalized no-obligation dental SEO summary and quote. An SEO and marketing strategy can be one of the best investments you’ll make for your dental practice. We can’t wait to get you started.