A well-written headline can mean the difference between whether your article gets clicked and read. Unfortunately, too many content creators spend time and energy on their articles and then tack a mediocre headline on as an afterthought. This can result in confusing or misleading headlines that misrepresent the content. The headline is also a critical component for building credibility and trust with readers.
We found six main themes in our 32 winning headlines: Impending Danger, Explanation/Informative, Negative Capabilities of AI or ChatGPT, Humorous/Comedic, Experimental Reporting, and the rest were categorized as 'Other.' The Impending Danger theme is coded as a headline that is both alarming and compelling, warning of a coming technological revolution. This type of headline is popular amongst tech blogs and news sites.
The Explanation/Informative theme is a type of headline that educates the reader about a particular aspect of an existing technology. For example, the first headline educates the reader about the addition of a new feature to an existing software program. The second headline educates the reader about the negative capabilities of ChatGPT.
The Negative Capabilities of AI or ChatGPT theme is a type of headline that highlights the negative aspects of an existing technology. For example, the second headline highlights the fact that the 'truth' capability of ChatGPT is faulty, leading to a misperception about the authenticity of an announcement made by Bard.