Beijing/New Delhi, Apr 13 (IANS): China-based marketing and public relations agency BlueFocus will replace third-party copy writers, designers, and short-term contractors to fully embrace generative AI like ChatGPT, the media reported on Thursday.

Ranked 11th among global public relations agencies in 2022 and first among its Chinese peers, BlueFocus has bet big on AI since securing Microsoft as a client, reports the South China Morning Post.

Microsoft owns OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT which has become a rage worldwide.

"The agency has also engaged with Chinese ChatGPT alternatives, including Baidu's Ernie Bot, for use in virtual character building and other digital marketing work," the report mentioned.

BlueFocus said earlier this week that it has access to ChatGPT through Microsoft's cloud service and is exploring how AI-powered Bing search can bring "new possibilities for outbound advertisers".

The agency has also applied for access to Alibaba Group's Tongyi Qianwen AI chatbot.

According to economists at Goldman Sachs, ChatGPT-like technology could replace up to one-fourth of current work, especially in office administration and legal services.

In India, global technology company Zoho's CEO and co-founder Sridhar Vembu recently expressed concerns on the potential impact of AI regarding the future workforce, saying that AI poses a serious threat to several programming jobs.

Referring to the conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT and others, Vembu said that he has been saying internally for the past 4-5 years that "ChatGPT, GPT4, and other AI being created today will first affect the jobs of many programmers".

Although there are positive uses of AI, he believes the complexity and depth of this technology are a concern.