When I tell friends I'm using ChatGPT all the time - a lot of them ask how - which made me think that a lot of people still don't know how to use it well and how it can improve their day to day work.
So I decided to write this post to give some basic ways in which I use it.
First would be helpful to understand why ChatGPT, or Generative AI is so important - in the very near future I believe for most of the jobs - if you don't know how to use it you'll quickly be left behind as whoever uses it will be much more productive. A recent McKinsey study suggests the economic impact of Generative AI is in the trillions of dollars.
Ok, so how do you use it? The short answer is - as an assistant, or a very knowledgable co-worker.
Yes - you can create with it custom bedtime stories for your child, you can create a simple code that changes the design of a google sheet. But - in order for you to tap into it's full potential -you need to know exactly what you want and ask for it, in stages preferably - as if you were asking a very knowledgable human.
If you'd want to create copy for a website for example - for it to be very good copy - you'll need to be very specific, as you'd be with a copywriter. If you just ask for content for a website about cats, it will give you the most generic content you can think of...
So the way I found is best to use it is:
Go to - chat.openai.com and sign up if you haven't already
State what you want and ask ChatGPT what it needs in order to give you the answers
Feed it with as much information as you have, the more the better - as he is not human, more information will not confuse it
Iterate! Iterate! Iterate! - if you're not happy with the results, or have more questions just continue the conversation
That's it - super easy right? Now the next time you have a question to ask, try to ask chatGPT or Bard instead of Google. Next time you want to brainstorm, you can brainstorm with chatGPT...
A few things to keep in mind:
It might be "creative" - make things up - so take that into consideration - if you want it to use only the information you gave it you should tell it to do so
ChatGPT does not have information post 2021, so for updated information I like to use Bard.
Use plugins, when needed - the plugins are slow but some of them are game changing.
You can continue the conversation later - all conversations are saved and you can always come back and ask more questions