Artificial intelligence, and particularly ChatGPT, is everywhere in the business world. It can help increase operational efficiencies for many professionals while saving time and money for businesses as a whole. Yet many of those in the workforce are just now beginning to understand how to use this technology.
According to Statista, ChatGPT currently has over 100 million regular users. The tool went from having 152.7 million visits in November 2022 to 1.8 billion monthly visits in April 2023 with those numbers expected to consistently rise. The Statista data indicates that each user spends an average of eight and a half minutes on the website.
While ChatGPT is all the rage, generative AI in general is a hot topic within the marketing communications and PR industries, says Nikki Little, Senior Vice President of Franco, an integrated marketing communications firm in Detroit. Franco developed a set of internal guidelines for using ChatGPT and generative AI earlier this year to ensure all team members were aligned.
Little says the guidelines lay out “dos and “don’ts” that all employees must follow. ChatGPT is useful as a starting point for topic ideation and online research, which allows teams to potentially save multiple hours of research. However, there is no practical use for verbatim content from ChatGPT because biases, inaccuracies and other issues are prominent.
“Generative AI is not a fad, and we know it will continue to grow,” Little says. “But it’s not perfect or magic at all. It can’t provide strategic thinking or counsel. We know using it will require additional work because robots simply can’t access all the information humans have.”
Automation Alley CEO Tom Kelly has mandated that every member of his roughly 30-person staff use Chat GPT. That equates to around a $600 monthly investment that offers value to the organization since ChatGPT can serve as a virtual personal assistant for every team member. Kelly believes ChatGPT and similar AI tools can save time compared to Google searches.
“When used (correctly) it can help turn our employees into super employees,” Kelly says. “It is powerful in the hands of people who can identify what is real or not.”
Gigster CEO Andy Tryba agrees that ChatGPT and Google’s conversational AI tool Bard is not going anywhere soon. Tryba’s company specializes in developing and utilizing smart software applications and high-tech solutions. The Austin, Texas based company uses AI to help get tech projects built on demand.
Tryba says these AI tools are useful not just for professionals producing content, but customer service and sales professionals as well. He is familiar with organizations that instruct their sales representatives to research a prospect using ChatGPT rather than the laborious process surfing for information online.
ChatGPT in general allows companies to optimize their performance in multiple departments. But Tryba believes a plan is needed from the top down. Human Resources departments can use the product to create the first draft of a job description while corporate trainers can gather data, facts and uncover exercises to be used for in-person or remote courses. The key is to be willing to change and adjust an organization’s workflow.
“I’d suggest assigning divisional leaders with research on how to add ChatGPT to their (workflow),” Tryba says. The tool is easy to use but should be identified as a fundamental strategic resource, he adds.
“At no time in recent history have we had such a significant productivity tool that works out of the box,” Tryba says.
ChatGPT is not a replacement for long-form content such as articles or blog posts, Little says. It doesn’t work well for managing multiple jobs simultaneously and often reveals factual inaccuracies. Little also cautions against even putting personal or corporate confidential email into an AI program, because it can repeat that information for another user.
Kelly said it is the responsibility of a ChatGPT user to determine what is true and what is not, so industry experts can use their knowledge to improve upon any created content. Since about 90 percent of Automation Alley’s more than 2,000 members are small manufacturers, he feels the U.S. can utilize ChatGPT and similar AI tools to re-shore operations within that industry.
Kelly encourages companies in all industries while invoking a quote from Warren Buffett to be “fearless rather than fearful” when it comes to using AI. The technology will continue to evolve, and monetization still needs to be confirmed. Kelly expects many online companies who currently sell revenue based on information, such as the travel industry, will be at risk.
Tryba agrees with those pitfalls, adding that users should consider it as an open-source tool, since any information entered in can also be shared by the AI component with other users. Another drawback is that generated content is largely sterile in nature and can’t replicate a human’s verbal “voice.” That can make content impersonal, and less than ideal for specific applications like websites.
“(The content) probably would sound as if it is coming from a robot,” Tryba says, with a laugh.
The threat of generative AI is humans relying too much on it for final content, Little says. Franco leaders will continue to content on the use of AI not just in the creative industry but others as a way to educate clients and prospects on best practices. She does believe that ChatGPT and tools like it can affect just about every industry and organization, if used in a positive way.
“One of the good things about (ChatGPT) is that it is industry agnostic,” Little says. “It’s a (resource) for creative brainstorming and research.”
Automation Alley considers AI one of its core educational pillars for its own members along with such topics as 3D printing and robotics. Kelly encourages business professionals to educate themselves in ChatGPT and similar tools because it can put them in an advantageous position for their own careers. “Teach yourself how to leverage a personal assistant and you will be invaluable to your employer,” Kelly says.
