I'm Using ChatGPT for Research More than Google Now - Here's Why | Momentum

I will admit, I'm using #ChatGPT now for research more than I'm using Google (reporting this to you, of course, on a Microsoft-owned platform!!! ??).

Telling a colleague about this yesterday, I realized it actually might be helpful for some others in my network, as well.

I wanted to share a few reasons why, and how it's helped...

? I'm finding ChatGPT's results to be quicker and more comprehensive.

If I need 10 examples of something, I ask for 10 examples, and it gives it to me - I don't need to search through multiple web sites to find what I'm looking for and piecemeal it together.

One of the things that frustrates me about Google searches is that the results often bring up sites that are excellent at SEO, but not always the best at delivering the content you're actually looking for.

I find ChatGPT gives me more back, on the first try.

Being honest - I'm GenX... When I'm researching, I don't want to have to watch through videos to find out if that video is even what I'm looking for.

I like things written out, and ChatGPT delivers that.

It may lead somewhere else, or require additional searches, but I can get to most of where I need to be, faster.

? ChatGPT helps me tackle the "blank page"

Do you fall into the researching trap of "you don't know what you don't know?"

I do, definitely.

In fact, it's one of the things that stymies me in doing the research I need to do - not even knowing where to start.

With ChatGPT, a couple simple queries into the platform, and you may not get the final answer you want - but you certainly have direction.

And you can re-tailor your queries to get to the answers you need.

Didn't ask the question the right way the first time? You can literally type in "give me more" or "reword that" or "I meant something different", and the AI will adjust its response to you.

To me, that's an incredible feature that I use often.

? I consider myself a terrible researcher - which can be a time-sucking hindrance for a writer and #smallbusiness owner.

Think about it from my perspective as an author... I want to write the fun stuff - the characters, the hook, the major scenes. I don't want to be mired in researching details (a necessary evil, though).

As a result, research projects tend to hover on my to-do list for months, embarrassingly, even years.

Enter ChatGPT...

Just in the past couple weeks, I've:

• Used ChatGPT to help me jump a hurdle I haven't been able to figure out in Excel, that I've been doing workarounds for YEARS.
• Used ChatGPT to help a client lay out the kinds of questions you should ask when interviewing possible cybersecurity providers after a bad experience (Note: if you're a #cybersecurity provider, it spat out a great list - could even be used as an FAQ on your web site!)
• Used ChatGPT to find me a list of publications looking for articles on a specific topic (note: ChatGPT was clear that its data only goes through 2021, so some of the information might be out-of-date - but, I have a place to start, and it sure beats sitting there going through web sites!).
• Used ChatGPT to research how to repair and heal shrubs broken by the December snowstorm.

I'm not at the point where I'm bought in that this is going to be the be-all, end-all go-forward plan, but I can tell you, here in May 2023, ChatGPT has saved me all kinds of time by turning my simple queries into actionable research.

Yes, as we talked about in our "ChatGPT for Small Business" webinar with the Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce a couple weeks back, AI is not absolute...

It makes mistakes, and needs to be double-checked.

But I've found it to be a tremendous resource so far, and encourage you to play around with it - see what it can help you do.

As always, if you'd like to chat over coffee or Zoom about any of this, DM me.