What is Chat GPT?

Chat GPT is a computer program that uses AI (artificial intelligence) to understand and generate human language. Put simply, you type in a question and the Chat GPT bot responds as if you were speaking to another human. In its first week, ChatGPT gained 1 million users. Elon Musk described it as being “scary good”.  For those who remember Smarter Child on Instant Messager in the early 2000’s, it’s like that, but infinitely better.  Ask Chat GPT to create a weekly meal plan, create a grocery list, solve a math problem, or ask for a tutorial on how to do pretty much anything.  For business owners, this technology is game-changing.  Ask Chat GPT to write code, create Instagram descriptions, write blog posts, create an email newsletter, write your website copy, do keyword research, and generate meta descriptions, tags, and titles for SEO… you get the point.  Will Chat GPT replace Google?  Probably not.  But I do think that Chat GPT is going to change Google for the better, forcing them to reconfigure algorithms, get rid of spammy articles, and start prioritizing pages that give concise answers instead of forcing readers to sift through an article to find something. Try out ChatGPT here. You’ll need to create an account first with OpenAI.

Key Takeaways: How to Use ChatGPT in Your Business

• Knowing when to use GPT vs. Google
• Writing blog posts, blog outlines
• Generating blog topics and titles
• Writing website copy
• Instagram captions
• Writing Pinterest descriptions
• Email Newsletters or writing an email to a specific person with a certain tone
• Generate podcast talking points and podcast show notes
• Revising text
• Generating and correcting code
• Writing product descriptions
  

ChatGPT vs Google

I asked GPT to compare itself to Google.  This was the response: Chat GPT-3 is a language generation model that can be used to create human-like text, while Google is a search engine that helps users find information on the internet.  Many are getting frustrated with Google’s search engine results when looking for a quick, simple answer.  

Sifting Through Google

The first page of Google seems to be filled with articles clearly written for SEO, which means in order to rank high in Google, the article must hit a certain word count and have a LOT of additional information to sift through.  Not ideal for someone looking for a quick answer.  We’ve all seen the recipe blog posts that give you a full life story before getting to the actual recipe. It’s not that the author wanted to share their life story instead of simply posting the recipe- but in order for her recipe to show up at the top of Google, she needs to hit a word count and include lots of keywords.  The longer someone stays on the page, the better, so the idea is to create a long story that users will want to stay and read.  The only problem is, no one wants to stay and read.

Quick Answers from GPT

Say a user wants to know why their business needs a website.  You could type that question into Google and get thousands of answers.  This can be a good thing because you can go through multiple articles and get many different perspectives. But most of us don’t want to have to read a bunch of different articles when looking for a simple answer.  

With ChatGPT, you can a quick answer, as if a human was responding to your question. One answer, one point of view, simple, and concise. You can then ask it to explain the answer to you like you’re a fifth grader.  Or ask it to summarize the answer into bullet points. All while not having to sort through endless pages of Google to find the specific answer you’re looking for. 

Let’s say a user wants to know if they should use WordPress, Squarespace, or Showit for the website.  When comparing different website platforms for example, you likely will want to turn to Google for the answer.  This is a case where you will want to read multiple articles with different perspectives, read testimonials, and do a little research into making the best choice. After all, Google’s database is much larger.  Google has the entire internet to work with (over 1 BILLION websites including research studies, articles, books, etc).  ChatGPT was trained using databases from the internet that included 570 GB of data. Big difference.  

To summarize, ChatGPT is great if you’re looking for one answer from one source. But if you’re looking for the best website builder, for example, you’ll likely want to do your own research using Google.

ChatGPT For Business Owners

So now we know what this incredible AI is capable of, let’s get to tangible ways you can use ChatGPT in your business.  One of the most helpful ways I’ve used it is for writing content.  When it comes to designing websites on Showit, I am 100% in my creative flow.  Doing tasks like writing Instagram captions, sending email newsletters, and writing blog posts or website content tends to slow me down and uses up a lot of brain power. This is where ChatGPT has become one of the greatest tools in my web design business.

Writing Blog Posts and Generating Blog Topics and Titles

I asked ChatGPT to write a 500-word blog post about SEO and it did exactly that. And it’s not filled with fluff either.  It’s a beautifully written blog post, packed with information.  Now, would I copy and paste this as my own blog post?  Absolutely not.  Google has said multiple times that AI-generated content is against their guidelines.  Not only that, but Open AI is currently working on a watermark feature that would make it easy to catch ChatGPT-generated content.  Not only that, but you have to wonder how many times it would give the exact same response to someone else asking the same thing.  

However, the blog post that GPT generated can get your wheels turning and is far more helpful than staring at a blinking cursor on a blank screen. Another great idea would be to have it generate a blog outline for your business.  The more specific you are, the better the results.  You can tell it to add certain keywords, determine the length, have it write your title and all metadata, etc.  I just asked it to generate 5 blog titles about how ChatGPT can help your business and the results are perfect.  

This kind of AI should be used as a tool, not the end all be all when it comes to generating content for your business.  Ask it to generate blog titles and outlines instead of asking it to write an entire post for you.  While it’s tempting to have it write all of your blog posts for you in their entirety, your website may be penalized by Google down the road as it gets better at identifying GPT-generated content.  

So check this out. I asked ChatGPT to write a blog post about why business owners need a website rather than relying on social media. Within seconds, it starts generating the post. I didn’t record the entire post but as you can see below, it’s a beautifully written article. I asked it to include certain keywords to help with SEO and it inserts them seamlessly. You would never know a bot wrote this.

Instagram Captions

Writing Instagram captions is such a time waster for business owners.  Especially those suffering from perfectionism. *raises hand*. Ask GPT to write an Instagram caption and mention the length, the tone, and any details you want to be included. Within seconds, you’ll have a perfect caption that you would never know came from a bot. Again, would I copy it word for word? I’m sure a lot of people are, but I would switch things up a bit, just to be safe.  

To test, I asked, “can you write an Instagram caption announcing the release of my new Showit website template?”

ChatGPT: “I am so excited to announce the release of my new Showit website template! This beautiful and modern template is perfect for creative entrepreneurs looking to elevate their online presence.  With its clean design and customizable features, it is sure to make a lasting impression on your visitors.  Head to my website to check it out and take your business to the next level!”

Is that unreal?  The tone of it is incredibly “human” and it would be hard to tell that a bot wrote this.  I took it one step further and asked, “can you shorten this a bit?”

ChatGPT: “Introducing my new Showit website template! Perfect for creative entrepreneurs looking to elevate their online presence.  Customizable and modern, it’s sure to impress.  Check it out on my website now!”. 

Me: “Can you generate some hashtags to go with this?”

ChatGPT: Sure, here are some potential hashtags to go with your Instagram caption.  #showittemplate #websitetemplate #creativeentrepreneur #businessgrowth #smallbusiness #webdesign #digitalmarketing #branding #smallbiz

Now if that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will.  This is such an incredible tool to use in your business.  The amount of time it could save you is invaluable. 
 

Email Marketing and Writing Emails

Think of how much time is wasted writing emails. For someone like me, who struggles with articulating ideas and overthinks every word in an email, ChatGPT is incredibly useful. For example, let’s say you need to write an email to a client who hasn’t paid their invoice. You can ask GPT to not only write this email but ask it to do so in a friendly tone. Or maybe a more firm tone since this isn’t the first time.

Ask GPT to write an email blast for your newsletter or an email blast announcing a sale on your latest product or service. The more specific you are in your question, the better your answer.

No more typing and retyping uncomfortable emails- thankfully, ChatGPT doesn’t have emotions.

Podcast Business

Personal brands and businesses with a podcast will find this AI generator extremely useful. You can ask GPT to create an outline of speaking topics for your next episode, generate a creative, catch podcast title, and even help you write your podcast show notes. Even though it feels like everyone and their mom has a podcast, it still remains one of the best ways to build an audience. Our Showit website template, Sahara is built specifically for businesses with a podcast. Having a podcast AND website is one of the best ways to reach more people and generate more revenue in your business. Let your podcast be what draws them in and the website is where you make the transaction. Our website templates show off your service offerings and allow visitors to get to know you on a deeper level. To check out our template shop, go here. Below is part of the podcast page from our Showit website template. You can easily customize the entire template to match your branding and walk away with a designer website for a fraction of the price.
Ok, no more self-promotion, back to the article you came for.

Chat GPT for Coding

Not only can GPT write code for you, but you can ask it to fix your broken website code. This almost feels illegal it’s so good. I wondered how to get certain GIFs on my website to start playing when I hover over them. I asked the bot if I could write me code for this to insert into my website. IT DID. It told me exactly where to put the code, gave me the CSS… everything.

Writing Product Descriptions or Service Descriptions

Ask GPT to write a description for your product or service and be as detailed as possible when asking your question. Remember, the more information you give GPT, the more satisfied you’ll be with its response. Whether you’re writing product descriptions for Etsy, Amazon, or your website, you can ask GPT to generate the answer in a persuasive tone, as a one-paragraph description with the benefits written in 5 bullet points, you name. You tell ChatGPT the format, the length, etc, and it will do the rest. No more writer’s block when it comes to writing product descriptions for your business.

Tips for Asking GPT to Write Content for Your Business

As I mentioned earlier, ChatGPT should be used as a tool in your content creation. An aide to help you with writer’s block.  Here are some tips to help you get better, more specific answers from GPT:

• Ask for your content to be written in a certain tone.  Examples:
  • “Can you write this in a persuasive tone?”
  • “Can you explain this to me like I’m a fifth grader?” 
  • “Can you shorten this?”
  • “Can you make this sound more friendly?”

• I often ask it to rewrite something I’ve written, as I’ve always struggled with articulating what I want to say. This works for emails to customers, website content, social media descriptions, etc.
  • “Can you make this sound better?”
  • “Can you rewrite this?”
  • “Can you make this sound more professional?”
    
• The more detailed your question, the better your answer
  • Tell GPT how many paragraphs, how many words, how many bullet points- it literally does whatever you tell it to
  • Set the tone – persuasive, friendly, confident, firm, etc
  • If you’re not satisfied with GPT’s answer, ask it to regenerate another answer, or be more specific about the answer you’re looking for. (ex. can you rewrite that so it’s longer?)
    
    
    

Limitations

Since its release in December 2022, I’ve played with ChatGPT almost daily. It’s every creative business owner’s dream. Lately, I’ve been hit with the “Chat GPT is at capacity right now” message. Which makes sense as more and more people discover this technology. Especially, since it’s free! (for now)

Another limitation is ChatGPT has only been trained on data through 2021. So if you were to ask who won the World Cup in 2022, you guessed it. That is of course until it gets trained on data in real-time, which I’m sure is coming soon.

Conclusion: Using ChatGPT in your business is a no-brainer!

If you are a business owner, you should absolutely be taking advantage of the powerful, chatGPT.  There is a reason that it’s being banned from schools, businesses, and college campuses across the country.  IT’S TOO GOOD.  It significantly makes your job easier when it comes to writing content or getting a quick answer.  I can’t imagine being a student, having this in your pocket.  This new AI can literally do all of your homework for you! 

ChatGPT should be used as a tool to help save time in your business.  Google is getting better and better at detecting AI-generated content, so you don’t want to be hit with an unwanted surprise when the latest algorithm punishes websites for copying and pasted content from GPT.  But for now, I think ChatGPT is an incredible piece of technology that will change the world.  Will it take over Google?  I doubt it. If Google wanted ChatGPT as its own, they would acquire it.  So play with it, enjoy it, and use it while you can! The possibilities are endless.