Is artificial intelligence (AI) holding you back from starting a career in health writing?

In December 2022, OpenAI revealed its new AI chatbot, ChatGPT, with the capability of generating long-form content in response to a prompt.

The bot is so sophisticated it can form follow-up responses to prompts and provide detailed responses in the format requested.

ChatGPT’s AI-generated medical content could generate outlines for health articles, write essays, and provide headlines and subheadings for any given topic.

Shortly after ChatGPT’s unveiling, the internet was buzzing with doom and gloom theories of AI and the future of medical writing and copywriting.

Would companies no longer seek copywriters now that they could input a few keywords and have the AI spit out a detailed article on the topic requested?

If you’ve found yourself briefly panicking about your prospects as a health content writer or medical copywriter, this article is for you.

I spoke with two copywriting experts about their thoughts on ChatGPT and its effect on the copywriting industry.

Hopefully, their insights will not only assuage your fears but also give you a hopeful outlook on how you can benefit from AI-driven medical writing in your business.

AI tools aren’t new

AI software isn’t something new or unique to the writing field. Many professions are already incorporating AI tools into their business.

Belinda Weaver, founder and CEO of Copywrite Matters, has worked in the copywriting space for many years. Weaver believes that AI tools have already made headway in other professions.

She brings up the example of Canva, a popular graphic design website offering many free graphic design templates and tools for anyone to use.

After the launch of Canva, designers had to find a way to adjust and level up their designs to highlight their talents.

And medical copywriters already use AI machines in their toolkits.

Ellyn Vohnoutka, RN, a medical copywriter and founder of EAV Agency, notes that many medical copywriters are currently using AI tools for SEO research and editing.

Commonly used tools are editing software websites that help polish your writing, such as Grammarly and ProWritingAid.

Medical copywriters aren’t going anywhere

According to Weaver, ChatGPT, or other similar AI tools such as Bing Chat, will not be replacing copywriters. “AI tools are just tools and while they aren’t going away, clients will continue to hire copywriters,” she states.

If anything, AI tools may influence companies’ perceptions of how long completing a task may take. It’ll be up to copywriters to educate companies on all that goes into working on their projects.

“Copywriters must show clients that they don’t simply churn out words for dollars. Copywriters are strategists, advisors and collaborators in effective marketing.”

Vohnoutka agrees and echoes a similar sentiment: “Writing is only a portion of what you do when you create copy and content. There’s topic research, customer research, keyword research, or expert interviews that all take place before and during content creation.”

Content and copywriters are valuable assets for a company. Our talents cannot be reduced to a single task.

Vohnoutka also makes an especially salient point regarding medical copywriting: “The major issue of accuracy and citing reliable sources. Health-related content generated by AI is still low quality.”

Our expertise and evidence-based research are irreplaceable.

So, how can medical copywriters incorporate AI into their work? 

Well, let’s start with how not to use it. Plugging in a prompt and copying the output with minimal changes won’t work.

Firstly, it’s unethical (since you didn’t write it) and the software has issues with misinformation. You could accidentally be misquoting facts or drawing on unreliable sources.

Secondly, Google can detect AI-produced work and it could hurt your rank.

Vohnoutka says clients who rely on these AI-generated articles for their websites may end up with lowered conversion rates as Google buries their site.

Copywriters should instead focus on using ChatGPT as part of the outlining and brainstorming process.

Vohnoutka suggests using the software as a way of “getting over the blank page syndrome.”

She uses the AI tool to help her brainstorm titles and hooks for her projects.

“The output is typically kind of generic, but you can play with it and craft it into something more engaging and unique.”

Bottom line: Don’t let AI scare you away from a career in medical copywriting

Both Weaver and Vohoutka are optimistic about the future of medical copywriting.

The arrival of new AI tools shouldn’t deter you from pursuing this lucrative career.

Weaver advises: “Do work you love. If it’s writing, copywriting gives you an excellent (and proven) way to earn a great living from writing. And that won’t change.”

Vohnoutka has some practical tips for new health and medical copywriters.

“Focus on developing skills that enhance (your) writing, such as curiosity, empathy and storytelling. These are skills that help you create copy that’s truly engaging and that no AI tool can replicate.”