What is Chat GPT?
With all the recent buzz around Chat GPT, you have no doubt already heard about this artificial intelligence language processing tool and perhaps have even had a go at using it yourself. But what sets this AI in particular apart from the rest?
According to Open AI, the company who trained this model, Chat GPT has the ability to converse with its users in a human-like manner, meaning that it can answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises and reject inappropriate requests 1. It can provide near-instantaneous answers to any question, write full-length copy, complex code, and more.
Like any major breakthrough in technology, however, concerns have arisen about the way that Chat GPT and AI models like it will impact the way that we work, study and live. Many fear that as the technology grows, thousands of jobs will be at risk, particularly creative ones, such as writing or programming. To add to this uncertainty, over 1,000 tech experts, CEOs and prominent academics, including powerhouse names like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, signed a letter asking for a six-month halt on advancing AI technology any further 2, as there is no way to predict how it will shape our future.
On the other hand, Chat GPT has the clear potential to exponentially advance our civilisation as we know it and is an incredibly useful tool that can be used by many businesses in practical and beneficial ways. It seems inevitable that AI will become an integral part of the future, so learning how to get the most out of it and integrate it into your operations is an investment that is worth making. There are a huge range of free YouTube videos and paid courses that provide in-depth information on how to use Chat GPT to its full potential, but to get you started, here are some ideas on how to use it to your advantage.
How Can I Get the Most Out of It?
1.) Be clear and specific: Because Chat GPT is such a new technology, the vast majority of users are not trained in its best practices. Asking simple, generalised questions will likely produce uninspiring, uninteresting answers. Therefore, a good tip is to make your prompt as clear and specific as possible, clarifying where possible the length of the answer you want, the tone and style, as well as any details that you would like included.
For complex questions, consider breaking it down into smaller, more manageable ones, as Chat GPT works best when it is focused on one answer at a time. Remember, Chat GPT is trained to converse with its user, so don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions if you didn’t get what you need the first time.
2.) Use it as a research tool: Chat GPT is fantastic for research purposes, as it can quickly digest large amounts of information, summarise it, or isolate the points that are relevant to what you want to know. It can also be used in some cases for analysing customer data and identifying patterns and trends in customer interactions as well as providing some insight into customer behaviour and preferences. Another useful function of this software is to save time on data entry by extracting information from a document or website and formatting it to be imported onto a spreadsheet.
3.) Enhance your writing: While Chat GPT is able to write practically any style of copy you could imagine it is important to remember that anything it produces is based on content that already exists. This is not as important if you are writing a business email or creating a memo, but if you want to create unique content for a website, blog or essay, it will still be beneficial for you to write the copy yourself, as it is likely that in the near future there will be ways for Google or other search engines to detect AI-written text.
That being said, Chat GPT can be used to enhance your writing by providing inspiration for content, helping with research or even changing the tone of the copy you have written. For instance, you could write an informal blog post, input it into Chat GPT and ask it to change the tone of voice to sound more professional, friendly, persuasive, etc.
Using Chat GPT for any of the purposes listed above can greatly benefit your business or help you to advance your career. However, keep in mind that Chat GPT is still in constant development and can therefore still make errors, so while it is generally accurate, it is important not to take the information that it provides as absolute fact. Additionally, it is best to treat Chat GPT with the same caution that you would for any other tool on the internet and avoid inputting sensitive company information or personally identifiable information into the chat box.
References:
1.) openai.com
2.) futureoflife.org/pause-giant-ai-experiments/
Chat GPT: How to Use It to Benefit Your Business
First published on 18/04/23