• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 26, 2023

Many consumers would like help in writing product reviews, Bazaarvoice reports in a new study. 

But this marriage of user-generated content and gen AI could be risky. Take the new flap involving Gannett. 

Staff members at Gannett-owned USA Today noticed product reviews on their section "Reviewed" that they suspected were written by artificial intelligence. Nobody had ever heard of the writers and there was no record of them, according to The Washington Post. 

The Verge reports that posts appearing on a new shopping page did not have bylines and suffered from a mechanical tone and repetitive phrasing. Union members, who made these charges, fear this is part of an attempt to replace them. 

Gannett denies that it posted AI-written content. The shoddy articles were written by freelancers and did not meet Gannett’s editorial standards, a Gannett spokesperson says, according to The Verge.

But this is not Gannett's first brush with this subject. Earlier this year the company halted an effort to insert artificial intelligence into its journalism following a mortifying glitch in the Columbus Dispatch. That paper’s high school sports section featured poor AI writeups based on game scores. Gannett promptly backed off the experiment.  

What does this mean for readers who also want to be writers? 

They feel Gen AI could help them, Bazaarvoice reports. Case in point: 68% sometimes feel unsure about what information to share in a product review. And 67% say they would benefit if an ecommerce site provided AI-powered coaching.

Moreover, 49% would like to write a review on a website in which Gen AI guides them. 

In addition, of those polled, 36% have used AI tools such as ChatGPT or Bard, and 14% hope to use it in the future. Of those who have tried it, 55% would use it again. 

The takeaway?

“AI is an incredibly powerful and vibrant tool, but it’s just that – a tool, not a strategy. With that in mind, brands and retailers need to find strategic applications for this tool,” says Zarina Lam Stanford, CMO, Bazaarvoice. “While utilizing AI to its fullest extent, brands and retailers must ensure authenticity is practiced to protect brand safety, integrity, and equity. Trust is the most precious currency and AI should not ever be used to replace the genuine and authentic voices of consumers.”

Maybe Gannett should offer gen AI coaching to its freelancers. 

On behalf of Bazaarvoice, Savanta surveyed 9,080 consumers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. in July 2023.