How to start using ChatGPT at work like a ninja
Ella Tassi
CMO I Marketing & communication I Growth strategy & execution I CX I Digital transformation I Executive leadership I
What can – and can’t – it do for you
From the earliest Stone Age tools ^, it’s been just as much about the skills of the user as the efficacy of the tool itself. So, with that in mind, how can you start using ChatGPT* – not just for entertainment but as a business tool?
Let’s start with what it can’t do.
ChatGPT can’t…
Give an opinion. Unlike a human expert, it has no opinion, nor can it interpret the facts, it can only condense and regurgitate what’s in its database.
Give advice. Quite rightly too, if you submit medical, financial or legal questions, it will make it abundantly clear you should seek professional advice rather than rely on its responses.
Provide the latest information. Its knowledge is currently limited to 2021 data.
Guarantee accuracy. While it holds enormous amounts of information, it isn’t all knowing. Beyond currency, its greatest Achilles heel is also its key offering – it gathers huge amounts of information and condenses them down to a snippet of text. Inevitably, details get lost or misshapen. Think of the novel ‘War and Peace’ condensed to a 20-word synopsis (then times that by several trillion).
In a pictorial sense, the weird image I used at the top is a good summary of ChatGPT’s results. It was created in Dall-e and is an AI generated image resulting from the request for “a photo of a man doing karate outdoors”. ??
Allow you to fact check. Results don’t come with an index, nor links to the source websites, so you can’t ascertain if the references are reliable. In fact, when asked it will say: “My response is not based on any particular source or authority, but rather on a broad understanding of the topic gained from my training.” It means you can’t check for bias or errors due to outdated information or untrustworthy sources.
So, what can it do?
Summarise. ChatGPT can give you a summary of any subject… and does so at breakneck speed. This can be handy if you want to refresh your memory, get a superficial understanding, or kick-start your own research. You can ask it to provide that summary in any designated length – 3 words, 6 paragraphs, 3,000 words… whatever meets your needs. If you don’t like the initial response, it’ll rephrase it. And you can even ask it to cater to your language preferences, including (for a bit of fun) the use of slang.
Check spelling and grammar. There’s plenty of other tools that do this, but ChatGPT can edit your writing. Changes aren’t marked up, it will simply rewrite what it deems NQR, so be ready for a second round of self-editing.
Condense or expand. You can paste in what you’ve written and ask it to condense or expand it – make it longer or more succinct as the need dictates.
Refine and rephrase. Likewise, you can ask it to rephrase your words, change the tone to be less/more formal, change it to be in first person, extract FAQs, rewrite as a Google Ad/Facebook post... you can even ask it to rewrite your text as a haiku. (Scroll to the end of this article to see how ChatGPT rewrote this piece as a poem.)
Help you get over writer’s block. It can generate topic ideas, create an article outline, suggest research articles, or draft an opening or closing paragraph. It isn’t going to do the work for you, and it can’t come up with a new idea, but it can give you that initial nudge and hopefully fire up your creativity.
Assess the impact of your brand. You can undertake market research by asking ChatGPT about your business (and that of your competitors) to see what corporate messages are resonating, what’s being misconstrued and what is being completely overlooked.
Website assistance. It can write metatags and even help with coding-related questions and tasks. Again, accuracy isn’t guaranteed. Remember: it might be the newest toy, but it’s just one of many, and your mind still remains the most powerful tool.?
With things evolving so rapidly, this is sure to be out of date in no time. So, just like ChatGPT, I reserve the right to regenerate my response and am always open to feedback.
^Stone flakes dated to 3.3 million years ago, in case you were wondering…
*These apply to all the Large Language Model (LLM) programs including Bard and the new AI powered Bing.
ChatGPT’s poem version of this article
Tools have come a long way,
From Stone Age to modern day.
But skill of user and tool's might,
Together create the proper sight.
ChatGPT, a tool so new,
Not just for fun, but work too.
But what can it really do?
And what can it do for you?
Opinions it cannot give,
Nor interpret, nor advice to live.
领英推荐
Facts are all that it can share,
But not without a caveat there.
Medical, financial, legal questions,
It'll prompt for professional suggestions.
Accuracy not always intact,
Some details may slip through the cracks.
But summarizing it can do,
Quick and thorough, just for you.
Length and language, all your choice,
Customizing to fit your voice.
Grammar and spelling it can correct,
Editing your words with much effect.
Condense or expand as needed,
To make your writing flow unimpeded.
Rephrasing is also in its purview,
Haikus, FAQs, or a different view.
Even fire up your creativity,
To overcome writer's block with intensity.
Assessing your brand's impact,
Analysing the market's contract.
Corporate messages it can find,
To help you stay ahead in kind.
Website assistance it can give,
Metatags and coding to help you live.
But remember, it's just a tool,
Accuracy isn't always the golden rule.
Sources
Here are some recent articles I particularly enjoyed on this topic:
Simple, smart, engaging communications.
1 年Fantastic piece. Must write more poetry ...