That element of randomness is partially why GPT-3--or its less powerful predecessor, GPT-2--is taking time to gain widespread commercial traction as a tool to power chatbots or auto-generate ads. After nearly a year of experimentation, however, how such a technology might be tamed for marketing purposes is beginning to take shape. Working through OpenAI's closely guarded API program, startups and agency technologists have reined in GPT-3's more eccentric tendencies, which can range from nonsensical prose to inappropriate or explicit content, in order to put it to use for rote performance marketing tasks like A/B testing endless variations of a digital ad, generating product descriptions or assigning email subject lines. Meanwhile, other companies are capitalizing on GPT-3's stranger side for creative tools. While still nascent, projects like these offer a glimpse into a future where humans might work hand in hand with generative AI on creative copywriting and the give-and-take forces that might define such a relationship.