Is ChatGPT a Game-Changer or Just a Shiny Object?

Well, hey there driven woman entrepreneur, you know, if you create content to market your business through a blog, a podcast like this one, or a YouTube channel, or even share information about your programs and services online, via curated content sites, electronic magazines, email newsletters, digital directories, or social media, you would have to be hiding under a rock, not to be hearing all about the magical properties of ChatGPT, and other generative AI programs. I mean, it literally seems like overnight everyone is talking about how to use ChatGPT to write their blog posts, generate web copy, create new freebies, produce workbooks for digital courses, but you know, not everybody is on that bandwagon and whether you have already hopped on there and punched your ticket or are standing at the bus stop, wondering if this is for you, I want to help you think through whether this makes sense for you and your business. I want to talk you through a couple of tools you might want to consider based on your business and the content you're creating.

Now, I'll be honest, the first time I saw Fathom recording a Zoom call and realized it was creating a transcript, a summary, allowed the host to highlight important segments of the meeting, I was sold hook, line, and sinker. I have been using Fathom for several months now, and I recommend it highly to my clients and colleagues, I'll come back to that more a little bit later. I hadn't even been exposed to ChatGPT when I hopped on the Fathom bandwagon, but they are close cousins. Now, I mentioned that not everybody's on the bandwagon some people are kind of scared of it. And I have heard from a number of authors, copywriters, and technical writers that they are worried about the possibility that AI could put them out of work. Some people are proclaiming that ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI are a gateway drug to the beginning of the end of mankind as we know it. But when we're really paying attention, most of us have already been using apps with similar features like chatbots and the very popular Grammarly.

I mean, who doesn't want a little bit of help with those punctuation marks and spelling, but like everything else in business and everything else in marketing there is no magic pill and ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI are not magic pills either okay. There are no guarantees. There are no must do's. There are no proven promises. There's no promised land okay. There's no way that anybody can tell you do this and you're going to be successful indefinitely. There are only options and opportunities, and in my book, the difference between the two is an opportunity is something that actually gets you further or gets you there faster. Otherwise, it's just an option and could very well be a rabbit hole. Now, it's true that it's very exciting, it's very stimulating, and it's a lot of fun to be one of the cool kids who jumps on a brand new bandwagon. I mean, who doesn't want to impress people that you're doing something that they have only just begun to think about, but the truth is that when it comes to business, there is no substitute over the long haul for strategy, consistency, and doing what is in alignment, doing what is right for you, using your natural strengths, appealing to your perfect fit customers, and is sustainable over time without bankrupting your energetic capacity.

Each of us as business owners needs to determine what a right size business looks like for us. How many people do we want to serve and in what way and what size team do we need to support those goals. Now, here is where I think generative AI like ChatGPT and note taking AI like Fathom can really help. Because if the size of your team is such that you can't take on anyone else and perhaps you either don't want to outsource something or you don't have enough to outsource to justify hiring a contractor, then it's very possible that these apps used by people that are already working within or for your business may produce results that will absolutely streamline you getting where you want to go but again, no magic pill. So when any of my clients say, Hey, what do you think about ChatGPT and do you think I should use it, my answer always begins with it depends, because it does. So, here's what I'd rather do rather than give you advice, especially since I don't know you personally, I'd like to give you some questions that you can ask yourself about whether to even explore apps like ChatGPT and Fathom.

For example, I often say how you do one thing is how you do all things another version of that is wherever you go, there you are. This is my version of Buddhism, it's very, you know, kind of bootstrapped but the bottom line is if you are an early adopter, you're probably already using ChatGPT. In fact, you're probably not even listening to this episode because you're already up to your eyelashes with this kind of technology. But if you're not there yet, stay with me. If you are, in general, an early adopter, is it because you are a risk taker, you can quickly experiment and recognize the value, and if you don't get an adequate ROI, you're out of there. Or, are you a shiny object seeker, this is where self reflection and self awareness are so important for business owners because there is an opportunity cost to face planting and rabbit holing and deep diving, whether it's ChatGPT or any other platform that's going to come your way.

So if novelty is your driver, you can still play but it's really important to know this about yourself. What you can ask yourself instead is, I can do this, but since I am a novelty seeker, what could I be doing instead to move the needle in my business? Now, if you embrace new tools, new tactics, and new techniques, just because you like to try stuff out and because it helps you keep your business from feeling so monotonous and tedious and dull, then boredom is your driver, or should I say avoiding boredom is your driver. Now, there is no shame here because this is me too, but here's what I recommend in order to curb your enthusiasm for jumping on every new thing that comes along, wasting valuable time that could be invested elsewhere with a much better ROI be aware if boredom is your driver.

Now, you can scratch that itch, you can sign up for chat GPT, you can flaff around with any of these other platforms, but please pay attention to when the shininess starts to wear off, when it starts to become a little bit boring for you. Because that means you're right back where you started and I think since you already know this about yourself, it would be really smart to put a time limit on just how long you let yourself play. One of my analogies, cause I love me some analogies is if you have a brain, like a hyperactive chihuahua, put that little doggie on a retractable leash. Let it play, let it run, but reel it back in because constantly looking for stimulation in your business to avoid the inevitable boredom that comes from, let's face it, the tedious parts that are part of all businesses, you really have to pay attention to this tendency because it can be a major time waster and let's face it, ChatGPT is just the latest fix.

Now we're going to talk about one more driver to pay attention to and to keep an eye out for if you are primarily motivated to try new things because you don't want to miss out, then novelty is not your driver, avoiding boredom is not your driver, fear, fear is your driver because you don't want to be left behind. But you don't need me to tell you that avoiding boredom, scratching the itch of novelty, and trying to avoid fear are really not great decision making tools. There are many, many better ones in your toolkit so, if any of these drivers are what's pushing you to hop on the ChatGPT generative AI bandwagon. You have two choices. You really do, you don't have to opt out. I mean, if you're high in novelty seeking, boredom aversion, or FOMO, trends could be a slippery slope for you, and if that's the case sometimes, it is better to just say no. But, if you like the idea of repurposing your content or using your content as a starter, you know, the whole hamburger helper thing, and then using the generative AI to expand it, and you understand that it's not a magic pill, it is a tool and you will still need to spend time editing, in some cases a little, in most cases a lot.

Every single piece of content that that AI creates, or that you have someone on your team create, then your expectations are just going to be more realistic and you can go ahead and press go. And know that you're not going to end up going down a rabbit hole and wasting a bunch of time that could have been better spent somewhere else. What I also want you to do is ask yourself, why am I thinking of using ChatGPT or other generative AI and what do I want to use it for. If you don't have a solid answer, that's a warning sign for me. And if you don't even know why you want to jump on that bandwagon, then chances are one of those drivers I've just mentioned is driving the bus. So, I would suggest in that case that you do a little bit of research first before you sign up and that is true even if the platform you're considering is absolutely free. For example, Fathom is currently free, as is ChatGPT and I hear far too many small business owners use the “but it's free” as an excuse to go ahead and jump on that bus, girl, if you don't know where the bus is going, stay the hell off the bus really.

Because your time and your energy and your energetic bandwidth are also free, but they're very expensive, very expensive when you waste them. So, some thoughts, what are the pros and cons of AI in general and of the specific program you're considering. Make a little sheet, pros on one side, cons on the other. Do a little bit of comparative analysis, sign up for a one week free trial, consider it a one week experiment, sign up for two different ones and run a little Pepsi challenge. But I'm not talking like face plant, deep dive, rabbit hole, just a little bit of time in each of them because the truth is there is an opportunity cost to everything we do. The learning curve, the time and energy spent on the learning curve and the ROI that we feel is guaranteed, but often doesn't really come to fruition in its present state. And in its present state, this is just my opinion, ChatGPT is more of a house of mirrors than a crystal ball.

I find it to be far too repetitive for my taste and often sounds like reverberations of itself. For example, with one of the generative AI platforms I used for my podcast, I was an early adopter and I used it for several months, almost every single episode I uploaded, regardless of whether it was a solo episode or had a guest, and no matter what the topic, suggested headlines came back with the same adjectives, words like unlocking, unpacking, uncovering, navigating, transforming, and when the name of the game in marketing is to stand out and be discovered, you know as well as I that that's never going to happen when you're using words that sound like a coaching industry echo chamber. I like generative AI, and it's the reason why I became an early adopter of Capsho, which is the first AI generated podcast copywriter. Because I like the idea of doing one thing, recording an episode of a podcast, and then having the AI create a bunch of other pieces of content from that recording. It's like, I do one thing and the AI does a bunch of other things from that one thing but the reality is that, it can only do it so well.

I see ChatGPT kind of like hamburger helper, you still got to bring the meat and the meat is your original thinking, your thought leadership, the reason why people pay attention to you. And in its present state, AI can't bring the beef, it can only bring the noodles and maybe a little bit of spice. Because what generative AI is not good at, but humans really are is, I think, the stuff that makes our content worth reading, watching, and listening to, our imagination and our originality in the way we talk about what we do and who we do it for. Our critical thinking, something that seems to be an increasingly short supply in the world around us. That is what people come to our content for, our ability to break things down and explain them in a streamlined, succinct, and simplified way. The human ability of creative problem solving like I can ask AI to do something with something, but I can create something from nothing and when there's a problem with it, I can creatively problem solve different ways that I can fix it and I can do that for other people too. And another thing that human beings are good at, but AI is not, is flexibility and adaptability.

I mean, I already told you about all those headlines that literally all sounded the same, no matter what I was talking about.

Now, I have no regrets about becoming an early adopter of Capsho, I learned so much about the benefits and the limitations of the platform and the many others that are now coming down the pipeline that are similar to it. But, I really wanted these programs to be better than they are. I was looking for efficiency and time savings but, and I did get that, and I do get that, but only up to a point because I still need to read, I still need to edit, and I still need to personalize every single thing that AI helps me do. Now, if it was better than it actually is, maybe I'd feel threatened, I don't know. I mean, what if, what if ChatGPT was able to duplicate my imagination and my originality. I mean, if it could take a sample of my writing, or in the case of Capsho, my recorded thoughts and opinions, and turn them into something that was not only different, but better, doesn't it beg the question that at some point, wouldn't my original content be redundant or completely unnecessary and that is the thinking of people who are fearful of this new technology and oftentimes fearful of technology and change and whatever they don't understand.

But I try to be open minded about what's new and the ways that it might help me. I am currently using several types of AI in my business. As I mentioned, I used Capsho, I was an early adopter and I was very involved in helping the platform go from Capsho 1 to Capsho 2. I was a beta tester of a lot of new features, absolutely loved the time I spent working with the founders and the company and other people who are also early adopters. I am currently using Cast Magic and ChatGPT to replace what I was doing on Capsho. If you want to know more about why I made the change, you can go ahead and reach out to me individually. I also use the Fathom note taking app for all my client call because instead of having to take notes during the call for what I want to follow up on later and to capture the content of that coaching call for my CRM, I let the note taking app do it, and then I just copy and paste the summary in to my CRM. So it saves me time, it saves me energy, and it allows me to be more present during every single one of my coaching calls. For me, Fathom is a no brainer, I highly recommend it and right now it's free.

I also use Descript, which I could record my podcast in, but I use a different app for that. I use Descript to edit, to choose quotes for the podcast, and to create transcripts that go on my website and generate SEO. You know, when it comes right down to it, using AI allows me to create content of significance, to create things that allow me to connect more efficiently with more people and to share my ideas more rapidly than I would in a strategic way. It reminds me of my top five strength finder themes. Strategic, Ideation, Woo, Significance, and Futuristic. So, when I look at those strengths, it's perfectly obvious that I was at least going to consider trying AI, generative AI, and ChatGPT. And in fact, I am. Am I obsessed? Am I infatuated? Am I looking at these things as a magic pill? I probably was for a minute to be honest, because that's my nature.

But I know that about myself, and I know that what I'm looking for, any tool that I adopt, and not just experiment with, but I adopt and I continue to use in my business is, does it allow me to do more of what I want to do in a more efficient way? Does it save me time? Does it save me money? Or does it amplify the results I'm attempting to create? The bottom line is, if you approach these tools mindfully, and that is to say with openness, with curiosity and with lack of judgment. And by the way, when I say lack of judgment, I mean judgment either way. Don't assume that it's scary and terrifying and it's a gateway drug to robots taking over the world, but also don't assume that you're going to love it and depend on it and it's going to become your new biz bestie. Don't assume anything, that's what being nonjudgmental, being mindful means, go into it with an open mind and see what it has for you.

For me, the bottom line is this, I am cautiously optimistic about AI in general and generative AI in particular. Because business and marketing fundamentally rely on the human qualities of empathy, creativity, and critical thinking. I am not worried about losing my job, my business, my livelihood to AI. I am testing the ability of these tools to save me time and leverage my energy. I'm already expending to a greater advantage, and that has been helpful to me. So that's all on this topic for now, driven woman. I invite you to share your thoughts on AI with me on LinkedIn at Coach Diann Wingert by leaving a voicemail on my website at diannwingertcoaching.com or you can send me an email also through the contact form on my website. I am very excited to hear from you, including if you have a very different opinion, because I love a healthy dialogue. That's all folks.