January 2023: ChatGPT and AI writing tools hit the mainstream

Covers January 2023. Part of our search timeline: a month-by-month look at the changes that shaped SEO, AI search, paid ads and social media, written in November 2026 for local businesses with the benefit of hindsight.

This piece sits in our search timeline series, where we look back over the years month by month at the moments that changed how customers find local businesses online. We put it together in November 2026, so we know how things played out.

For a busy electrician or roofer who never had time to write a blog, AI writing tools looked like a gift. Here is what actually happened and what we would take from it now.

How AI writing tools took off in January 2023

ChatGPT had launched only around two months earlier, yet it was already a household name. Marketing teams and small business owners alike were testing it for content outlines, rough drafts, social media captions and advert wording.

At the same time, website owners and publishers argued about one big unknown: how would Google and other search engines treat pages written by AI?

What it meant for local trades and service firms

Overnight, a one-person plumbing firm or a small landscaping team had a quick way to churn out website copy. The catch was that a lot of what came out was bland, and some of it was simply wrong.

A page about boiler servicing written entirely by AI could easily read like every other heating firm’s page, or quote a regulation incorrectly. The businesses that did well paired the speed of AI with what they knew from years on the tools, rather than pasting raw output onto their sites.

How to use AI writing tools well now

• Let AI help with research, structure and a first draft, then add your own knowledge, local detail and examples from real jobs.
• Check every fact, figure and date yourself before a page goes live.
• Edit each draft so it sounds like your business, ideally against a short written note on how you like to come across.

Frequently asked questions

Does Google punish content written with AI?

Google assesses content on how helpful and high quality it is, not on the tool that wrote it. However, churning out large volumes of low-value pages can fall foul of its spam policies.

Where does AI genuinely help with content?

It is handy for speeding up research, summarising information, building outlines, writing alternative versions and turning one piece of content into other formats.

Sources and further reading

• Google’s guide to helpful, reliable, people-first content (Search Central)

Want help with this? We write and edit content for trades businesses, using AI where it saves time and real expertise where it counts. See our content marketing service or Get in touch.