ChatGPT is a relatively new concept (or at least one which is becoming more popular of late) that many are welcoming openly, including the business world. And yes, I acknowledge an underlying sense of wariness that we’re beginning the journey of another Skynet (if you’ve watched Terminator, you’ll know what I mean). But let’s leave the conspiracy theories aside for a moment and actually look at ChatGPT as an AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool for business owners. This is what my business coaching clients are currently showing interest in.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that essentially uses natural language processing which then creates a humanlike conversation or dialogue. You can ask it a question and have it compose and write written content. This might include articles, blogs, social media posts and even emails. I won’t say it can do your homework as I’m very sure the schools are against this and probably even now scrambling to amend rules and regs to incorporate this latest.
I’ve tested it and whilst it’s incredibly quick; it’s certainly not perfect. What I found is that it doesn’t seem to be able to count (given word counts, simply cannot meet them), but more importantly, the content proved to fail anti plagiarism software. If you’re going to use this for blogging, then that’s a critical issue; because Google likes only fresh new content. If you copy from someone else’s site, be prepared to be punished. Finally, I ran the test through an AI Detection program that said the content was likely 73% AI generated.
To access ChatGPT go to chat.openai.com and log in. If you’re on OpenAI’s website, then you can log in to your account. Be sure to pose your questions carefully – as different criteria will achieve different results. Adjust the ‘temperature’, that will impact on the results too.
Free or Paid Versions?
- The free version of ChatGPT provides AI-powered responses to questions. It works in multiple languages and whilst it’s said to not be as fast, my test certainly makes it fast. It was almost faster than I could read.
- The paid version is in the form of a subscription which you pay monthly. The paid version includes 24/7 customer support. Though, having said that I put in a query to ask how to do something and it gave me the answer. The paid version is said to allow for longer responses and more customised settings, but with my test, I honestly don’t think for the average person would need more than free access. The paid version is $99 a year (presumably USD) or can be paid monthly.
- Either version can be used on a smart phone or desktop/laptop, so is incredibly flexible.
What’s Good About It?
- ChatGPT can do many things, including research, getting ideas, writing content, summarisation, writing your bio, translating, writing code and even finding a name for your pet. You can use it for content for social media, perhaps writing parts of your LinkedIn profile or getting help to write some website content. I say help; don’t think this will do the whole job of every job, for you perfectly.
- It will save you some time and time is money.
- It can automate some tasks and access data quickly.
- Conversations can mimic human interaction, although not fully, otherwise it would not fail AI Detectors.
- ChatGPT is versatile and allows you to re-submit a variance of a query or change or add something.
- It saves your fingers, back and will likely help reduce RSI with lots of typing.
- It’s continually learning (hmmm, sounds familiar … Skynet …) so you should see improved results.
- Some AI programs can sort your emails, take Minutes of Meetings and even create photos of you. However, remember, if the meeting (or your emails) are confidential, ensure security is guaranteed with the system and version you are using.
What’s Bad About It?
- Inaccuracies and ambiguities. You will really need to know your material to cut out what is incorrect or inaccurate. The text on the surface may look plausible, but I’ve seen some examples where clearly it’s not factually correct. In my test, I asked for Australian spelling in the output, but didn’t get that, getting a few words with American spelling using a ‘Z’.
- It’s not perfect and struggles to understand the nuances of conversation. Again, it requires a real person to check and access the correctness of the content, so whilst it appears incredibly fast, you will need to allow time to properly read and edit content.
- Ethical and legal factors. I believe there are industries which are not allowed to use it (such as a lawyer preparing an argument for court) or certainly a student submitting an assignment. I know at one stage students were getting VAs on Fiverr to write assignments, but they got caught out – be assured teachers are likely scanning through checks, just as I did with my test.
- Consider your businesses’ keywords for keeping the Google Gods happy. It doesn’t meet this as well and will need the smart marketer to intervene.
- I tested the theory and my 1200-word test example failed 5 times. Again, it sounds great and was fast, but to use this, one would have to then spend a good amount of time correcting those issues. I’ve written over 600 blogs and every one of those has been tested. In writing (I never copy website content), I’ve perhaps used the same wording from another site (by coincidence) maybe once or twice. We still always test, but as a human writer, I’m almost never caught copying. One single test and 5 failures.
- Reputation can be adversely affected if you’re found to breach legal use; whether that’s as the case of the lawyer who got caught out. Reputation can take years to develop and well, in this case ChatGPT could tear it down in a matter of a few minutes.
- Knowledge base for the system (lodged in November 2022) is up to September 2021. This means that the content we’re using at present is almost 2 years out of date. Writing on a subject which doesn’t age or date might be ok, but what about research or writing on a subject which is ever changing? IT and Marketing come to mind, but there are more.
Warnings!
- Don’t share any sensitive data. Frequently, the user shares with the bot/system is saved and by using the system you’ve passed over your rights. Some (not all) paid versions of different AI programs (there are many more than just ChatGPT) are marketed as being secure.
- For fact-based queries, absolutely be sure to double-check sources.
- If you’re working on math or formulas; double-check also; it’s been known to ‘fib’ just a little.
- Watch out for copyright and know the regulations of your industry or purpose. Eg, as a student, your content cannot be copied, or if posting a blog to your website, Google hates duplicate content.
- ChatGPT is capable of being racist and sexist – if you don’t want to get into trouble, edit!
- As the use of AI in businesses is becoming more common, be sure your staff are both trained and you’ve set policies for use, or non-use.
When it comes to being an Australian business coach, I’ve always got my eyes open on what’s new, what technologies are coming up and how business owners can work more effectively, efficiently and smarter. I won’t say “the jury is out” on this; I see its big plusses, however, do take heed of my ‘warnings’ above. Temper the use of ChatGPT with some good old-fashioned human common sense and intervention. Always be sure to read what has been produced and ensure if you’re putting content on your website that you have (a) run via anti-plagiarism software and (b) checked against AI detection software. My research shows that Google doesn’t love content which is clearly produced by AI and your website will likely be penalised from a SEO perspective. As a thought too, I suspect that down the track the ‘free’ version might disappear after we’ve become hooked and reliant on AI-generated content and you’ll have to upgrade to paid options. Just my prediction.
If you need help with any aspect of your business – as always – just reach out here – My Passion is Your Potential.
P.S. This blog was not written by an AI – it was written by ME. : )
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