ChatGPT: An Editorial Assistant?

Artificial intelligence has come a long way in the past few decades. From being able to quickly find the answer to a specific question to predictive analysis, it’s no doubt that AI is the future. What it can do appears to be endless.

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ChatGPT is one of the most popular AI as of late—you can’t seem to go a day without hearing the name or reading an article on it. Even more, its capabilities are impressive. The question here, though, is can it be used to replace other AI grammar checkers?

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Can You Use ChatGPT as a Proofreader?

To directly answer the question, yes. ChatGPT can be used as a proofreader. However, there are limitations to what the AI can do for you and your writing.

When asked, ChatGPT explains how it can assist with proofreading and asks you to submit the work you want it to look over. It also asks that you clarify exactly what corrections ChatGPT needs to focus on. This would indicate that, though ChatGPT can look over your work, it is not capable enough to focus on everything proofreading entails.

Keep in mind that proofreading is different from editing. Proofreading look for the surface issues, such as grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. Editing tends to look closer at sentence structure and clarity within the text.

Here are a few examples of specific proofreading focuses and the corrections that ChatGPT suggested when given the prompts.

Check Words for Spelling

This small paragraph was entered into ChatGPT to look for purposely misspelled words.

ChatGPT’s response proved that it was capable of not only correcting the misspelled words but also correcting the misused words like “there” and “wright.” It also goes on to explain exactly what it changed to correct the spelling, so the writer can learn from any mistakes.

Check Punctuation

This super short story about a robot was submitted to ChatGPT to look for any punctuation issues.

ChatGPT was able to correct all the punctuation errors. This included replacing the question marks with periods and placing commas where they were needed.

Check Grammar

This quick scenario of some friends going to the store and then playing video games was submitted to ChatGPT to look for any grammar issues.

ChatGPT was impressive with its ability to correct all grammar mistakes. Not only was it able to detect the subject-verb agreement issues, but it also found multiple errors with tense. As an added bonus, ChatGPT also corrected the order placement of multiple subjects in a sentence.

Check Passive Voice

Because other AI grammar checkers frequently look for passive voice, a test paragraph was submitted to ChatGPT to see if it could detect voice as well.

Impressively, ChatGPT found all the passive voice issues and was able to make the proper changes to make the sentences active voice.

Check Everything at Once

ChatGPT suggests that the writer only asks for it to focus on one issue at a time. This short paragraph was submitted to ChatGPT to simply proofread to see if more work makes a difference.

ChatGPT fixed all the mistakes—however, it also claimed that it fixed issues that weren’t there. For example, it said that “ChatGPT should be capitalized” and that a period should be added to the second sentence when both of those suggestions already existed in the original.

Types of Written Work ChatGPT Can Proofread

There is no limit to what type of written work ChatGPT can proofread. From emails and academic essays to blog posts and creative writing, ChatGPT can help to find a missing comma and passive voice. Even if you use ChatGPT to write your cover letter , you can still ask it to be proofread afterward in case there’s a simple mistake that needs correcting.

When using ChatGPT as a proofreader, the best practice is to only give it small sections of your work at a time. This will allow you to review every change it offers to make sure it is correct without overwhelming you.

When to Use a Human Professional Instead

When looking for small grammatical errors, ChatGPT is a great tool. However, it is not advanced enough to look over written work the way a human proofreader can.

A human proofreader and a human editor can help to determine if the tone and style are suitable for the written work. For example, a student needs to write their academic essays in a formal style, whereas a blogger can write informally. ChatGPT does not have the real-world experience to pick up on tone and style and know if it is a good fit for what the writer is trying to achieve.

Additionally, AI only sees things in the most logical sense—it can’t think in the same creative way a human does. If a creative writer submits their work to ChatGPT, there’s a good chance the AI will point out corrections for structure or wording that the writer purposely placed in their work. ChatGPT would have a field day with any accurately written dialect or a purposely mispronounced word.

It is a great tool and writers can use ChatGPT to succeed in this new age of technology . However, it is important to know the limitations of AI—it can’t beat the experience of a trained human professional.

What to Look Out For

ChatGPT is upfront when you ask if it can proofread your work. It says it’s not perfect and could make mistakes. It is incredibly important to consider every suggestion it makes and know whether it is correct or not.

Furthermore, ChatGPT may try to overcorrect your work—meaning the paragraph you put in comes out reading like ChatGPT wrote it. It’s important to make sure that your finished written work is still your own writing. If you copy and paste overcorrected work, you are risking the chance of it getting flagged by an AI-generated content checker .

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Try Using ChatGPT to Find Errors in Your Own Work

Sometimes, people can be a bit weary of using AI—there are still some questioning and fallacies that come with technological advancement. However, ChatGPT can be extremely beneficial and has the ability to help where needed, like proofreading.

Before submitting your next story or pressing send on your next email, plug in your written work and see for yourself what ChatGPT can do for you.

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ChatGPT is one of the most popular AI as of late—you can’t seem to go a day without hearing the name or reading an article on it. Even more, its capabilities are impressive. The question here, though, is can it be used to replace other AI grammar checkers?

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