I know why you’re here.
You’ve garnered enough information from the countless articles and LinkedIn monologues to know that ChatGPT is a big deal.
But that’s not enough for you. You’re curious about how this AI tool works, the best uses for ChatGPT (including ChatGPT for marketing), and where the technology is headed.
In this short guide, we'll explain what ChatGPT is (in less than 100 words), explore its impact, and discover how to use ChatGPT for business.
Let's get into it.
ChatGPT in under 100 words
ChatGPT is a large language model created by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research lab. Language models can understand and generate human language in response to prompts. You might have seen people asking ChatGPT to write a weekly meal plan, edit an email, or come up with content ideas.
ChatGPT was trained on over 45 terabytes of text data using machine learning techniques. You’d need 32,767,965 floppy disks to store that information. Safe to say, this tool has an enormous library of information and contextual understanding to form responses with.
Why is ChatGPT so impactful?
Until now, chatbots were often a nuisance. Occasionally, they might track an order or provide product specifications. Mostly, they respond with something along the lines of: “Sorry, I don’t understand that.”
There are two main reasons why ChatGPT is so impactful compared to chatbots of old:
- Its size
- Its contextual understanding
Because ChatGPT was trained on so much text data – including academic journals, web pages, and books - the conversational AI also has billions of parameters. (parameters are the building blocks that allow ChatGPT to form responses). The more parameters an AI tool has, the more complex its response can be.
A good way to visualise this is as if you’re baking a cake. If you have four ingredients, you can bake a fairly simple cake. If you have 400 ingredients, you can whip up something more sophisticated. Because of its size, ChatGPT has significantly more information to draw on when it replies to your prompts. Meaning fewer instances of, ‘sorry, I don’t understand that.’
But it’s ChatGPT’s contextual language modelling that gives it an edge. Thanks to the deep learning techniques used to train it, ChatGPT understands the context behind words and phrases. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to write a letter as if it were a lawyer disputing a parking ticket and it would be able to use legal language in the format of a letter:
These are hypothetical use cases, but ChatGPT is already having a significant impact in a breadth of industries.
Dutch technology company Be My Eyes builds tools for visually impaired people. Now, using GPT-4 (the technology behind ChatGPT), the company has launched a virtual visual assistant that can tell you what’s in the fridge, which machines you’re passing in the gym, and what Tube line to take. All using your phone’s camera.
Let’s explore some more examples.
How is ChatGPT impacting different industries?
Marketing
The best uses of ChatGPT for marketing are initial project tasks that involve ideation.
Giving marketers a head start on idea generation, research, and content structuring. Here are just a few examples of things you can ask:
- Generate 10 content ideas on the topic of sustainability in the property industry
- Use this blog post to create 5 social post ideas for Instagram and LinkedIn
- Analyse this competitor’s campaign and explain the strengths and weakness
Going forward, marketers will be able to more immediately apply their critical thinking skills and creativity. And move away from research and administrative tasks.
Law
ChatGPT and other AI technologies could be a brilliant aid outside of the courtroom.
Having a research assistant in the form of an AI could help lawyers source the information they’re looking for sooner.
Conversational AI could also support drafting legal documentation; handling the first iteration so that legal professionals can refine this with their expertise.
Trained on historical cases, machine learning could even help predict outcomes and help legal professionals build stronger cases.
Education
For the education sector, ChatGPT has been incredibly divisive. Schools across the UK and US have already banned the AI tool, but given the global response to this new platform, it’s likely the education system will need to find ways to integrate the technology.
Already, educators are calling for tests to focus on human skills like critical thinking, so that students are no longer assessed on qualities that an AI possesses.
AI isn’t new – here are some older examples
Amazon’s recommendation system
Patented in 2001
Amazon’s recommendation system is fueled by a machine learning algorithm that analyses customer purchase history and behaviour to recommend products. Your personalised recommendations are all thanks to AI and machine learning.
IBM Watson for Oncology
Launched in 2016
IBM Watson for Oncology can generate personalised treatment recommendations based on patient attributes, clinical notes, and reports. By mapping patient data against historic cases and insights from physicians and analysts, IBM Watson helps oncology clinicians make better-informed decisions.
Smart Signal predictive maintenance systems
Launched in 1999
Smart Signal was born when a group of researchers were approached by the US department of energy, and asked to create a tool that could accurately predict problems at nuclear facilities. Today, General Electric uses this predictive maintenance tool in jet engines, wind turbines, and locomotives to identify when and why failure is likely to occur.
What are the tech giants doing about ChatGPT?
Microsoft
Microsoft has a long-term partnership with OpenAI, so it’s unsurprising that the company has been fast to adopt ChatGPT. You’ll find integrations across the Microsoft 365 suite, Teams, Bing, and the Azure cloud platform.
When ChatGPT first launched, many users queried whether it would replace the Google search engine. Hot off the heels of ChatGPT Google is positioning Bard, its own conversational AI, as a complement to search.
Alibaba
ChatGPT who? Chinese tech giant Alibaba will be launching its own ChatGPT rival, Tongyi Qianwen over the coming months. The timeline is woolly, but we know Tongyi Qianwen will be integrated with the workplace messaging app DingTalk first.
Where is ChatGPT headed?
ChatGPT is an augmentation of human capability, not a replacement for it. With the ChatGPT API now publicly available, various companies are already integrating the chatbot and providing AI-enhanced features.
You’ll come to think of ChatGPT as a second brain; something to bounce ideas off of, refine concepts with, and speed up the research process. Already, users are coming up with numerous ChatGPT prompts for marketing and using the tool to enhance their human skills.
For the time being, ChatGPT is likely to expedite administrative or repetitive tasks and make room for humans to carry out strategic activities.
Ready to learn more about ChatGPT for marketing? Check out our full guide to the applications of this technology.