ChatGPT-5 Is Terrible at Copywriting

The one thing you need to know in AI today | AI Ready CMO

Let’s talk about the means of production.

Because the question I get asked most often these days isn’t about strategy or frameworks or the future of marketing. It’s simpler: “OK, this AI thing is interesting, but what do you actually use?” Which models. Which tools. What does really work?

So in lieu of big news today, let’s see where we are in November 2025 when it comes to AI models for creative writing. Ads copy, press release, website copy, short form, long form, the whole package.

What doesn’t work

Yes, ChatGPT is the most popular AI model in the world. Hundreds of millions of people use it for recipes, travel planning, homework help, and casual brainstorming. It has become the default gateway to AI.

However, ChatGPT-5 is genuinely terrible at creative copywriting. The previous models—4o and especially the briefly available 4.5—were capable writers. But somewhere in the jump to ChatGPT-5, something broke. I’m not exaggerating for effect here. I banned it from my team because the output…