ChatGPT
Written by Wayne Wallace.
Updated February 17, 2026.
Images have been generated using AI.
To ChatGPT or not to ChatGPT, that is the question.
ChatGPT is all the rage these days. It seems like everyone is becoming an expert with a few keystrokes and some well-thought-out questions. Some people are taking things a step further – getting the tools to generate entire articles and proposal sections. We’ve seen that happen, and we’ve had to spend considerable time rewriting.
What’s wrong with this picture?
I don’t know enough about ChatGPT to have an opinion on the merits of the tool. Since I’m not an ethics expert, I cannot say – definitively – if using ChatGPT is tantamount to plagiarism. But I do know this: using ChatGPT or plagiarizing are both cheating. In either case, you are presenting as your own content that someone else (or a computer, in the case of AI) developed. This cheats your clients or employers – after all, you did get paid for “your” work. What’s more, relying exclusively on these tools to generate your content cheats you, the professional.
Content creation.
“How am I cheating myself?” you may ask. It’s quite simple. As with the principle that we learn best by teaching others, we learn and retain information better if we take the time to understand the subject matter well enough to write compellingly about it. By taking the time to read, research, and comprehend a new subject, we develop a better understanding that sticks. By writing it out, editing, rewriting, and validating what we’ve written, we internalize the material and retain it for the next time.
So when you get that next writing assignment that you don’t want or aren’t interested in, give it to someone else. Or better yet, take the opportunity to learn the subject matter instead of just finding others’ work to piggyback on (or, more generously, “cite”). Your audience will appreciate the effort, and you just might learn something new.
And no, I did not use ChatGPT to write this post! But I did use spell check.
If your team needs support with writing, talk to us about how we can help.
Further Reading:
Communicate your win strategy: The Critical Role of Team Communication.
The Dangers of Poor Writing in Workplace Communication.