The new kid on the block: Human-like conversations, not just a verb

I've been a fanboy of Google Search ever since it became available. I tried other search engines, but eventually came back to Google. For me it is the most simple to use and the quality of the results kept me loyal. Until the new kid on the block arrived, you may have guessed it, ChatGPT.

A few weeks back a colleague from work taunted me, how come I have not explored ChatGPT yet, it is so cool, yada yada. I was skeptical. That may be my natural state of being (full disclosure, I am German, perhaps worse, from Stuttgart), but I had worked with chatbots in the past, and was well aware of the limitations they had. Anyway, as I am working on a little Python development project on the side (and I am certainly not a programming expert) there are many questions I tend to ask Google - and the result list usually points to stackoverflow or similar outfits for pretty good answers. Still, it takes quite a bit of effort to test and validate the lengthy list of answers for the one that fits best to my stated problem.

Why not ask ChatGPT some of those same questions and see for myself? ChatGPT, I found out, I could ask a question, receive a set of responses, but instead of doing all the testing and validating myself I can just ask follow-up questions, refine them until the responses match exactly my initial problem, like in an unscripted conversation. To me, a conversation, even on a technical subject, feels more human than response lists from Google (or Siri for that matter). This particular pattern of interaction also happens to make me faster, more efficient, and more effective than googling.

A few days ago, casually mentioning how I got familiar with ChatGPT, a spontaneous urge to demonstrate its generative abilities arose. The topic in the conversation was 'physical asset management' a topic neither me nor my interlocutor knew much about. I caved. Here is what I asked ChatGPT to do. "Write an article of about 500 words in length on the main advantages of using SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, for physical asset management versus its competitors". It just so happened that the world class cloud ERP was also part of that conversation, we both work for the European software giant, but on different continents, not in Europe.

This is what took ChatGPT only a few seconds to get back with:

"The world of physical asset management is ever-evolving, and organizations need to stay ahead of the curve in order to remain competitive. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, is a powerful cloud-based solution that provides organizations with the tools they need to effectively manage their physical assets. This solution offers a number of advantages over its competitors, including improved asset visibility, streamlined processes, and enhanced security.

Improved Asset Visibility

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, provides organizations with improved asset visibility. This solution allows organizations to track their physical assets in real-time, giving them a comprehensive view of their assets at any given time. This improved visibility allows organizations to better manage their assets, as they can quickly identify any potential issues or inefficiencies. Additionally, this solution provides organizations with the ability to easily track the movement of their assets, ensuring that they are always aware of their assets’ locations.

Streamlined Processes

SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, also provides organizations with the ability to streamline their physical asset management processes. This solution allows organizations to automate many of their asset management processes, such as asset tracking, asset maintenance, and asset disposal. This automation reduces the amount of time and effort required to manage physical assets, allowing organizations to focus their resources on more important tasks. Additionally, this solution allows organizations to easily integrate their asset management processes with other business processes, such as inventory management and procurement.

Enhanced Security

Finally, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, provides organizations with enhanced security. This solution utilizes the latest security protocols and technologies to ensure that organizations’ physical assets are protected from unauthorized access. Additionally, this solution provides organizations with the ability to set up user access controls, allowing them to control who has access to their physical assets. This enhanced security ensures that organizations’ physical assets are always protected.

In conclusion, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, provides organizations with a number of advantages over its competitors. This solution provides organizations with improved asset visibility, streamlined processes, and enhanced security. These advantages make SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, an ideal solution for organizations looking to effectively manage their physical assets."

I am not an expert on the subject matter and have no idea if any of these claims are true, but to me they surely do sound as if they could have been written by some of my colleagues in marketing and solution management. If any of you readers actually know about physical asset management in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, please comment and amend.

My point though is: This looks like a fairly well composed article, all with intermediate headlines, several paragraphs making their own points and a conclusion summarizing its 'thoughts' from above. I was quite impressed. And I learned about physical asset management - with expected corrections by the wisdom of the crowd - and about the impressive text generating capabilities of generative artificial intelligence. I will certainly use generative AI a lot more for my work and other projects going forward, working smarter, not harder.

I wonder how you might use generative AI in your line of work. Feel free to comment your experiences.