Can you use ChatGPT to write your About page?

Can you use ChatGPT to write your About page?

The other day, I was tagged in a local Facebook group (by a few people actually!) after someone asked for a “writer of some sort to write an ‘About Us’ page for a website/business.”

And, almost instantly, my blood began to boil. 

Not because other copywriters were tagged and commented. (Super happy for them to be recognised and/or put their hand up!)

But because of some of the comments…

Can you guess what they were?

“Give it a crack in ChatGPT!! It is the best!” (8 positive reactions)

“Have you tried ChatGPT?” (2 positive reactions, plus one comment “Agree”)

“Try JasperAI.”

“ChatGTP.” (Wrong spelling, but knew what you meant…)

And it reminded me why my newly created role of ChatGPT Trainer is so important right now…

Remember – ChatGPT can’t read minds!

Let’s take a step back – and I’ll further explain what the original author of the post requested.

Following the first line of the request mentioned above, she added that she had “tried writing it myself but I am just unable to communicate what I want to say in writing form.” And she asked for “someone to basically ‘interview’ me and my business partner about our company and put together a piece of writing for our business page.”

The author’s situation is a very common one. I see it in about 99% of my clients.

But simply suggesting ChatGPT – or any other form of artificial intelligence – is NOT the answer here. 

Because the key is KNOWING how to use it.

AI is not a mind reader. It’s NOT YOU.

It can’t TELL you what your business journey has been like.

It can’t SHARE your missions, visions, and values.

It can’t DESCRIBE the catalyst or inspiration that led to the launch of your business.

However – yes, it can *technically* interview you and make your words sound better. But you need to put the effort in!

ChatGPT doesn’t *really* know you

It’s important to remember that all ChatGPT and AI content has come from other sources. 

ChatGPT has no original thoughts. It is just a tool.

So asking it to write you a personalised, custom About Page is simply not going to happen without you – as a human – knowing the prompts to put in or how to edit the words it spits out.

In fact, here’s a little exercise to try –

Ask ChatGPT to write a bio description about you. 

You can give it the basics, like your full name, business name, and a few key services. 

Now, while some of the information will come back correct (and somewhat well-written), I can almost guarantee there will be a LOT of completely inaccurate stuff too.

(Some friends and I tried this exercise ourselves. So we know it’s true.)

But you know what will be absent from the bio content?

The heart and soul.

The storytelling.

And the ‘you-ness.’ (Yes, I can make up words…ChatGPT can’t!)

So if you’re keen to use ChatGPT for your About Page, you need to know how to guide it – so it can guide you effectively.

Can ChatGPT interview me to help write our About Page? 

In her post, the author asked for someone to interview her.

Technically, ChatGPT CAN help here. You can ask it to provide questions – suitable for an About Page – for you to answer.  

Here’s what I suggest asking for –

“I need to write an About Page for my business <insert name>. Could you please provide 10 questions for me to answer to help me flesh this content out?”

As an example, here’s what ‘Chatty’ provided me –

1. What is the mission of <insert name>?
2. How did <insert name> come into existence? What inspired its creation?
3. What sets <insert name> apart from other marketing agencies or service providers?
4. What services does <insert name> offer? How do these services benefit clients?
5. Who are the key members or founders of <insert name>? What is their background and expertise?
6. What is the philosophy or approach that guides <insert name>’s work?
7. Can you share any success stories or case studies of clients who have benefited from <insert name>’s services?
8. How does <insert name> stay up to date with the latest marketing trends and strategies?
9. Does <insert name> have any partnerships or affiliations with other organisations in the industry?
10. How does <insert name> engage with the community or give back through its work?

Pretty good questions to reflect upon, huh?

However – the author said she’s “unable to communicate” what she wants to say. 

So while she could try to answer these questions, she’d probably struggle to turn it into quality content.

In fact, she’s probably already thought about those questions.

Can she use ChatGPT here? Possibly.

Yes, she could try inserting her rough responses into ChatGPT and ask for it to re-word it. 

But she also needs to know *how* to ask it. And *what* to ask for. 

Getting her writing prompts right is key here.

Otherwise, it’s simply ‘garbage in, garbage out.’

She needs to ensure her request includes:

• her tone of voice
• the pain points of her audience 
• the solutions her business brings, and 
• the best structure for the About page. 

FYI – there are no guarantees that Chatty can do a decent job here. 

But it can provide an ‘okay-ish’ start.

Are you saying I *must* use a copywriter for my About Page? 

If you’re time poor and have a million other things to do, then yes – outsource to a copywriter.

They can then spend 30 minutes interviewing you – and work on your copy while you spend your time (more efficiently) elsewhere.

But if you have time on your side, there IS a strategy that I’ve recommended to others in the past.

If you struggle to write what you want to say, but know you can verbalise it – I suggest recording yourself via Zoom or a similar software. 

Then upload the recording to a tool/platform like Rev.com to organise a transcript.

After all this – you can THEN insert your full transcript or excerpts into ChatCGPT and provide the following prompt –

‘I’m about to insert a transcript for you to use to create content for my <insert business name> About Page. Please ONLY use the transcript and no external sources. Also use exact quotes as required. Ensure there are relevant headings inserted and dot points included as necessary. The tone of voice needs to be <insert tone> and it should be in first person. Please say PLEASE PROCEED after you have read and understand these instructions. I will then provide the transcript.’

After it says ‘PLEASE PROCEED’, paste your transcript in the message bar and see what happens.

You will most likely need to edit what it creates – but you’ll have a fairly decent starting point.

You know why? Because it’s using YOUR words and YOUR stories here.

In Summary

ChatGPT can definitely be useful in creating an About Page – but you don’t know what you don’t know.

If you want to ensure a high level of quality in your writing, there’s nothing like originality and asking a copywriter to capture your uniqueness.

But if you DO want to use AI, then I urge you to use it properly! It’s just an artificial intelligence tool – not a mind-reading expert.

If you need some support with pulling together an About page – or website copy in general – with ChatGPT, I can help.

Book in a personalised ChatGPT Content Roadmap session here. Together, we can look at what you need created, the best prompts to insert to suit your needs, and assess/edit the output to ensure high quality.