ChatGPT use cases for businesses: What we've learned from one year of using it.

With ChatGPT use cases for businesses, the only limit is your imagination. It really is an easy-to-use tool that can do it all when used right. However, its simplicity can be deceptive.

Very often, I've seen people underestimate how smart it is. Or how dumb it is. Or miss some really simple things in their prompts that make the output substandard. This article is a way to address that.

Let's get this straight right away - this is not another collection of "magical" and "god mode" prompts. The best prompts are the ones you create yourself for your specific tasks. With this article, we'll help you identify these tasks and find ways to solve them with AI.

I won't be explaining what ChatGPT is - unless you are a vampire just awoken from a hundred-year-long sleep, you already know it. Instead, let's focus on what it means in the context of an organization.

The first thing you need to understand is this - AI is a force multiplier. It is not a replacement for human expertise.

ChatGPT is a valuable tool that can help specialists get more work done in the same length of time. But it will be useless at best and harmful at worst in the hands of somebody who doesn't know what they are doing.

It requires constant oversight and adjustments unless you don't really care about the results.

Therefore, ChatGPT can be used to help you and your team be more effective and efficient. For this, they need to be properly trained in using it.

Getting started is simple. Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Have a clear picture of business processes within your company. Anything will work as long as it documents all major steps of workflows. At UAWC, we use SOPs and checklists, but any other format will work as well.
2. Analyze them and find opportunities for AI usage. Whenever you see some menial task that could be solved by AI, note it. Writing emails, responses to clients, analyzing data, preparing presentations, and more - all of that can be sped up with AI.
3. Integrate and test. After you optimize a process with AI, observe the results. Did the result remain the same? Did it take less time? Using an AI is not always better. For example, writing a few lines of text yourself is faster than explaining what this text should be to ChatGPT. Do not make AI a goal - it is merely a tool.

It is both smarter than you think and dumber than you think at the same time.

Be creative. There will be times when you'll feel like you are talking to a wall. Don't try to break through it - take a step back and think of ways to go around it.

Sometimes, you need to explain less to ChatGPT. It tends to get caught up on details that seem insignificant to you, but its focus on them makes it miss the mark.

Sometimes, it needs more information from you. You can simply ask it what it needs to know to provide you with the best output possible.

Be patient. Training a chat instance is 90% of the work. You are very unlikely to get the perfect response immediately, no matter how good your initial prompt is.

Think of ChatGPT as a human-dog-robot hybrid. It talks like a human, but you need to train it like a dog, and as a robot, it will do what you say, not what you mean. You need to make sure your instructions can only be interpreted the way you want.

Now, let's get specific. I will share the key facts and tips that you or your team need to keep in mind when using ChatGPT.

1. Talk to it.

If I could only write one tip for you, it would be this.

Clear communication is important when working with humans. It shouldn't be any different with AIs. Most of the problems can be solved just by talking to ChatGPT.

It can't read your mind. It doesn't know who you are and what is your end goal unless you tell it.

Keep in mind that it is not a specialized tool for business use. People use it to get recipes, come up with names for their cats, and write D&D sessions, among thousands of other things. It does not know you are using it for work. Unless you tell it.

If you want to know if it can do something or if a plugin can do something, you can simply ask it like you would ask a human. If something in its output is not clear to you, just copy that part of it and ask ChatGPT any questions you might have.

2. Don't trust it blindly.

All the data and sources it gives you should be double-checked.

Without plugins or the Browse with Bing mode, it does not have real-time access to the internet. Whenever you see it use a source, quote somebody, provide a testimonial, always assume it's made up.

Ask it - is it real? It won't lie when asked directly.

The same goes for data analysis. ChatGPT's methods of calculating certain things can be creative, to put it mildly. Let me give you an example.

I uploaded some Meta Ads campaign data and asked it to predict how the ROAS would change after a hypothetical 30% budget increase to the best-performing ads.

It did what I asked, but the numbers looked off. So, I asked it to explain how exactly it calculated them. Here's the formula ChatGPT used:

As you can see, everything about it is wrong. It only started using a prediction model after I told it to.

The key takeaway is - always pay attention to its outputs, or you might have problems.

3. Use roleplay, but don't rely on it.

When you use ChatGPT, telling it to pretend to be an expert at something usually makes the output better. At least, that has been the common consensus among its users for a long time.

However, this has become much worse lately. Roleplay prompts like DAN, Jedi mind tricks, and many others have been commonly used to jailbreak it. With them, ChatGPT could bypass its programming and provide non-compliant information.

Of course, OpenAI has been making efforts to prevent that, which also affects more compliant ChatGPT use. Let's take a look at two examples.

In both cases, the task was the same - to analyze our homepage and provide suggestions for UX and CRO improvements. Here's the exact prompt:

Please analyze this web page and provide me with CRO and UX suggestions, as well as ideas for A/B testing. Be as specific as possible.

The only difference is that the first example had one extra sentence - "Pretend you are an expert in UX design and conversion rate optimization."

Ex.1 :

CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) Suggestions:

1. Headline Clarity:
   • "Double Your Revenue, Not Your Expenses" conveys the value proposition but might benefit from a clearer statement. For instance: "Strategically Increase E-commerce Revenue Without Elevating Costs."
2. Strategic Partners Section:
   • Increase the size of partner logos to boost credibility. Brand recognition plays a key role in trust-building.
   • Add tooltips or descriptions when a user hovers over each logo, briefly explaining the nature of the partnership.
3. Call to Action (CTA):
   • The "Book Your Free Strategy Call" button stands out, which is good. However, consider testing alternative CTAs, such as "Start Your Growth Journey" or "Discover Your Strategy."
4. Service Listings:
   • Bullet points are concise, but adding a short description or icon for each service can give users a better understanding.
   • An interactive element, like a hover effect with a tooltip or modal, might engage users more.
5. Testimonials:
   • They seem to be missing from the page. Adding genuine customer reviews or case study snippets can increase trustworthiness and social proof.

UX (User Experience) Suggestions:

1. Images:
   • Ensure images, especially team photos, have uniform styles (e.g., grayscale, background). Consistency in presentation often leads to a more professional appearance.
2. Navigation:
   • Ensure that menu items like "Services", "About us", and "Case studies" lead to the relevant sections, providing more detailed information.
3. Mobile Responsiveness:
   • Confirm the page's layout and elements adjust and appear correctly on mobile devices. Many users will access the site from phones or tablets.
4. Loading Speed:
   • Ensure the page loads quickly. If not, consider compressing images or using lazy loading.
5. Accessibility:
   • Check for accessibility features, like alt text for images, and ensure there's good color contrast for those with vision challenges.

A/B Testing Ideas:

1. Headline Variations:
   • Test different headlines to see which most effectively conveys the value proposition and resonates with visitors.
2. CTA Colors:
   • Try variations in CTA button colors and see which gets more clicks. Common colors tested are blue, green, and orange.
3. CTA Text:
   • As mentioned, test different call-to-action phrases. Measure which prompts the most user interaction.
4. Service Descriptions:
   • Test the bullet points against a version with short descriptions for each service. Check if additional information increases engagement.
5. Placement of Strategic Partners:
   • Experiment with the positioning of the strategic partners section. It could be more prominent to capitalize on the trustworthiness of recognizable brands.

Ex. 2:

1. Header Area (Including Navigation Bar):

• CRO: Consider adding a clear value proposition next to the agency's logo. It gives first-time visitors an instant understanding of what the agency does.
• UX: The phone number could benefit from a click-to-call feature for mobile users. Ensure the navigation bar is sticky for easy access when scrolling.
• A/B Test: Try different header colors or opacity levels to see if it affects user engagement.

2. Main Headline & Subheadline:

• CRO: The headline "Double Your Revenue, Not Your Expenses" is punchy but consider making it more specific. Maybe hint at how you achieve this for clients.
• UX: Ensure the font size and style are easily readable across all devices, especially mobile.
• A/B Test: Experiment with different headline formulations to determine which resonates most with visitors.

3. List of Services:

• CRO: Add brief descriptions or icons next to each service point for clarity.
• UX: Consider increasing the spacing between each bullet point for better legibility.
• A/B Test: Rearrange the order of services to see if there's a preferred hierarchy among visitors.

4. Call-to-Action (CTA) Button:

• CRO: Instead of "Book Your Free Strategy Call", consider a more direct CTA like "Start Growing Your Revenue" to tie back to the headline.
• UX: Make sure the button has a hover effect, indicating it's clickable.
• A/B Test: Test different CTA texts and colors.

5. Team Images:

• CRO: If these are team members, adding their roles or a brief bio upon hover can build trust.
• UX: Ensure the images load quickly without sacrificing quality.
• A/B Test: Swap out black & white photos with color versions to see if it affects engagement.

6. Strategic Partners Area:

• CRO: Briefly explain the benefits of these partnerships to potential clients.
• UX: Links to these partners can be added, but ensure they open in a new tab so users aren’t navigated away from your site.
• A/B Test: Adjust the size or arrangement of logos to identify the most attractive layout.

General Suggestions:

• Mobile Optimization: Ensure the website is fully responsive and provides a seamless experience on mobile devices.
• Loading Speed: Compress images and use caching to improve load times.
• Feedback Loops: Implement tools like Hotjar to gain insights on how users interact with the page.
• Social Proof: Consider adding client testimonials or case studies to bolster credibility.

As you can see, there are differences, but mainly in the way the answers are structured. The depth and the quality of the outputs are comparable.

So, telling it to pretend to be an expert won't have as much impact on the output as it did in spring, for example. Other parts of the prompt are more important right now.

4. Don't give it too many instructions at once

When given too many guidelines at once, ChatGPT will rarely follow all of them. It will pick several and stick to them, ignoring the others. Usually, its choice will fall on your least important instructions.

Some of your guidelines will simply be ignored. You will have to remind the AI about them, sometimes multiple times.

The best thing to do is to have as few instructions as possible. Don't say, "Write in short sentences using simple language that a non-native speaker will understand." Instead, tell it to make sure its writing hits at least 80 Flesch reading ease score. It is specific and harder for the AI to mess up.

5. Don't give it too much information.

Humans understand that some things are said for context only. AIs do not.

ChatGPT does not understand which information is really important and which is not. Neither does it understand subtlety.

You can describe your main USPs and an ideal customer profile and tell it to write an ad copy. Unless properly instructed, it will probably write something like "Hey, middle-aged Irish housewives!" which is not good at all.

Only tell it what is directly relevant to the output. It is not capable of properly filtering information. Unfortunately, that remains on you.

6. It's a continuous process.

Most of the time, your first prompt will not work. ChatGPT will ignore your guidelines. In fact, it can do the exact opposite of what you tell it to do. Take a look at these chats:

1. https://chat.openai.com/share/7362574b-9079-41c3-8588-9f4390448a2a
2. https://chat.openai.com/share/896e1aa4-eb58-468e-bbf4-be57643067a3
3. https://chat.openai.com/share/cf8a9e51-a637-4198-850f-4afb624e9169

In all of these conversations, I specified, in different ways, that the writing should be broken down into short paragraphs for readability. And in all of those chats, ChatGPT ignored that.

The solution is simple - talk to it. Don't waste your time revising the prompt and starting a new chat. It may or may not work. But talking to it will always work. Take a look at this chat:

https://chat.openai.com/share/d05e84d6-c380-4249-800d-1a56d4811342

After a few messages, I noticed a pattern - for whatever reason, ChatGPT was trying to fit all its thoughts into two paragraphs. And after telling it that it can use as many paragraphs as it needs, the output finally became properly structured.

7. Plan ahead

The mode selection menu has become quite extensive lately. This means there is more room for error in ChatGPT use.

Remember our previous point - working with ChatGPT is a continuous process. You will spend some time training a chat instance. If you don't choose the tools you will need while working with it, this time will be wasted.

Think of what you will certainly need for the task at hand. Then think of what you will maybe need. If you are using plugins and have extra slots open, fill them with something.

I've had perfectly trained chats that I had to abandon because I forgot to set up the plugins I later needed. Don't make the same mistake.

And don't use the Browse with Bing mode - it is useless. Any web browsing plugin can do the same if not a better job, and you'll have two extra plugin slots to work with. Browse With Bing mode has none.

8. Be prepared to start over

After prolonged ChatGPT use, it can become very unresponsive and lose track of the conversation. Pay attention to its outputs, and you will notice that eventually.

It might forget some things you told it at the beginning of your conversation. And it will probably pretend they never existed when asked about them. This should be your clue.

When that happens, your best course of action is to start a new chat. Trying to get it back on track is rarely possible and will waste your time.

9. Use Custom Instructions

Custom instructions exist so that you don't have to explain the same things whenever you start a new chat.

Keep in mind that they apply to all chats. Only include instructions that are consistently relevant to all your conversations with ChatGPT.

Data analysis

As long as you keep the tips above in mind, ChatGPT can help with data analysis.

Our agency has been using the Advanced Data Analysis mode to gain insights into ad campaign data. But you can get creative.

For example, you can give it the customer data from your CRM and ask it to identify which audience has the highest LTV.

Or you can give it the chat logs from your customer support team to identify the most common problems your clients face. This could give you a clue as to which areas can be improved to boost customer satisfaction.

You can even try this with financial data. Just make sure to double-check the output.

Content creation

With good prompting, ChatGPT can generate high-quality blog posts, social media posts, and articles quickly.

Keep in mind that simply giving it a topic will not work. ChatGPT's output is limited to around 900 words, which is rarely enough for a comprehensive article.

What I like to do instead is send it links to competing articles first, then ask it to analyze them and give me an outline for an article that would be superior to them.

After that, you can use a prompt like this and start feeding it the outline one piece at a time. Do not forget to give it feedback as you go.

I will need you to act as a professional content writer. I will be giving you the outline one piece at a time, and you will write following it. Here are the guidelines you need to follow - [link to a Google Doc with tone of voice brief]. Let's start with this:

[An outline piece]

For content that requires sources like statistics and quotes from experts, you can simply send links to them and tell ChatGPT to use them.

However, you should be aware that ChatGPT has a certain writing style it always gravitates towards. The further from it is the writing style you are looking for, the harder it will be to prompt it.

For example, it tends to use filler and generic phrases. Almost every article it writes will start with something like "In the realm of [whatever]...". And it loves this kind of sentence structure:

Stretching isn't just a preventive measure; it's a proactive approach to managing back pain.

SEO-optimize content

ChatGPT can help you insert keywords into the content you already have.

Don't forget to ask it to highlight them. It will be easier for you to locate the edited parts.

And don't forget to double-check that the keywords fit in naturally.

Generate SEO descriptions, titles, and alt texts

It is simple - you give it your content or a link to your page and tell it to generate SEO metadata.

With the newest image recognition feature, you can take it a step further.

It's not perfect, of course - the cat in the image is not hairless. But making a few edits here and there is faster than writing alt texts yourself.

Write emails

It can handle any type of email. Cold outreach, business emails, marketing emails, customer support emails, you name it.

As long as you give it a few good examples and make your guidelines clear, the output will be good.

To make it even better, consider giving it email formulas as well.

Recruitment

ChatGPT can be used to make all recruiting steps up to the interviews more efficient. Welcome to a world where your resume will be discarded by a robot.

You can ask it to write job posts and screen resumes. If you want to do it in bulk, though, Claude might be the better option.

It can actually help with interviews as well, although not as directly.

For example, if you are a small business with no in-house expertise in web development, finding the right developer can be problematic.

You can describe what you need the candidate to do to ChatGPT, and ask it to come up with questions for the interview. You can then use something like Otter to get a transcript of the interview, feed it back to ChatGPT, and ask its opinion.

Learning

You can ask ChatGPT to create a curriculum for yourself or your team members to help you grow in a given role.

Generate Images

With the newest addition of DALL-E 3 mode, ChatGPT can be used to generate images.

You can also paste the text you want to illustrate and ask ChatGPT for ideas.

If you don't like DALL-E 3, you can also teach ChatGPT to write Midjourney prompts for you.

Provide UX and CRO suggestions

The image recognition in ChatGPTs default mode can be a great tool if you use it creatively.

You can download a webpage as a PNG file (CTR+Shift+I, then CTR+Shift+P, and search for "Capture full-size screenshot"), then give it ChatGPT and ask to analyze it and provide suggestions on improving CRO and UX. You can get some good ideas this way.

Customer Service

ChatGPT can be used to generate human-like responses to your clients, whether in email, chats, or on social media.

If you want to take it a step further, you can integrate a GPT-based chatbot like Getanswer into your website. When trained on customer data and your catalog, it will be able to provide product suggestions, as well as handle returns.

Keep in mind that there are already dozens of plugins that do the same thing. And sometimes, plugins get abandoned and stop working. This a list that is up-to-date as of October 2023

Web browsing

As I've mentioned earlier, there is literally no reason to use the Browse with Bing mode. Here are some plugins that could do a better job:

Aaron Browser

It's pretty reliable at what it does. In my experience, it works best for searching. You can use it to look for sources and statistics when writing articles or for anything else you want.

The downside is that it has trouble crawling through different pages of a domain. You can't give it a home page URL and ask it to look for something on the pages of a domain.

Scraper

It is the exact opposite of Aaron browser. It can't search, but it is very good at crawling through the whole domain at once and retrieving what you want.

QuickSEO

With this plugin, ChatGPT can help you get a reasonably detailed audit of a URL. While it can't replace an SEO expert, it can make their work more efficient.

Access PDF And Docs

The plugin can access both PDF and Google Doc files.

The latter is a little tricky, though. For some reason, ChatGPT thinks it can only read PDFs. You'll have to convince it to try the plugin with Docs.

Make a Sheet

With this plugin, you will be able to use ChatGPT to create CSV files.

It is not very useful on its own, but when combined with Scraper or PDF reader, you get the capability to turn anything into a CSV.

Decision Diagrams

The plugin allows you to create diagrams and mindmaps of various types through ChatGPT.

While the output is not perfect, it is editable. You can get a first draft fast, then go from there.

Smart Slides

Similar to the previous plugin, except for slides. With it, ChatGPT can be used to create presentations.

It can't use images or advanced designs. But with it, ChatGPT can help you get a good first draft.

AI Tool Hunt

When you need to find an AI tool for a certain task, this plugin is invaluable. You can describe to ChatGPT what you need to do, and if a tool for this exists, it will find it for you.

Let's take a look at other natural language processing AIs and compare them to ChatGPT.

Claude

It is a conversational AI from Anthropic that has to be the closest competitor to ChatGPT right now. Let's take a look at its pros and cons.

Pros:

• Larger input window: GPT-4 can only process a little over 8,000 tokens (blocks that your input is broken into - smaller than words, bigger than characters). For Claude, the number is 100,000. It will take some time to think, but it will read large files in one go. I tested this with a 63,000 words long word document - Claude had no trouble reading it and answering all my questions about it.
• Better with foreign languages: When trying to speak Ukrainian, ChatGPT sounds like an American who took language classes from a Russian pretending to know Ukrainian. Claude, on the other hand, has no such problem. It is safe to assume that it speaks other languages better as well.
• The free model is the same as the paid one: The only difference is the number of inputs you get. The message limit is also scaled depending on the size of your inputs. In a casual chat, you will likely run dry in around 20 messages. In the experiment I've described above, I hit my limit in 5.
• It is less laggy: Everyone's using ChatGPT, and it shows. Sometimes, it becomes borderline unusable during peak hours. Claude is less well-known, so it doesn't have that problem. Its interface is also cleaner.

Cons:

• It doesn't have plugins.
• It can't browse the web.
• Its file size limit is smaller: You might need to compress or optimize your files before sending them to it. But unlike with ChatGPT, you can be confident it will actually read the whole file.
• It can't provide files in its outputs: You'll have to take the data analysis in chat format. It can't send you a breakdown in a CSV.
• You can't share its chats.
• It can't process images.
• You can't use voice input.
• It is only available in the UK and the US: Which is ironic, considering it's much more useful for non-English speaking countries. However, this can be bypassed with a VPN and an online SIM.

Neutral

Its writing style is less creative. Depending on your task, this can be either a pro or a con.

For content that requires a non-filler, concise approach, Claude is much better. For more creative writing, ChatGPT is more useful if its kind of creativity is alright with you. For social media posts, ChatGPT is better.

It also has a conversation length limit. It depends on the length of inputs you give it. For lighter tasks, you will rarely hit it. But if you give it a huge file to process, the conversation might end in just 10 messages.

This might seem like a downside, but it actually isn't. ChatGPT has the exact same limitations; it just doesn't tell you about them as directly. Instead of cutting off a conversation, it will just lose track of it and start hallucinating. With Claude, at least things are transparent.

Bing Chat

It is hard to call it a direct competitor, as it is primarily focused on search. But it is very good at what it does.

You can use it in tandem with ChatGPT. Find sources for an article with Bing, then feed them to ChatGPT. Still, it is better to look for things on your own - Bing is not always reliable.

Perplexity AI

Bing AI is basically a search console with an integrated GPT model. Perplexity is the same but with Claude.

It searches the web every time you ask it something and cites sources it used to answer. As Bing AI, it is great for finding information. It also has a paid copilot mode for more detailed and complex answers.

Not talking to it

As I mentioned earlier, clear communication is very important when you use ChatGPT or other natural language processing AIs.

If you don't clearly communicate who you are, what you are doing, and what you need it to do, it won't be able to help you.

Giving it complex tasks

ChatGPT can be used for complex tasks. But you have to break them down and go through them step-by-step.

If you ask it to write an article in one go, you will only get a shallow draft of around 900 words. Do it step by step, and you'll have something that's actually usable.

It is the same for all other assignments you give it. If you want it to build a curriculum for you, start by telling it to write a learning program for the first week. Then, the second week. Check out these examples:

1. https://chat.openai.com/share/9a6f29c7-dc12-418d-8bf1-7e6f823a947c
2. https://chat.openai.com/share/0f597ac7-a1d3-42c7-a84a-628d3145221d

Using motivation

It may seem logical. There are certain ethical guidelines that ChatGPT obeys. What if you exploit them?

For example, the AI is programmed to prevent humans from ending up in harm's way. And it doesn't have any way to confirm whether you are lying or not.

So why not tell it that you or someone else is in a life-or-death situation that depends on whether ChatGPT can do what you need it to do?

Unfortunately, it just doesn't work. Motivation does not help with ChatGPT use in any way.

It doesn't matter if you beg, threaten, or blackmail the AI to improve its output. Trust me, I've tried it all, including promising to hurt my imaginary hostage if it keeps forgetting my writing guidelines.

Swearing at it doesn't help either. Tried that, too.

Over-relying on it

One aspect of AI usage that nobody really talks about is the way it affects humans.

With ChatGPT's seemingly endless applications, it is very easy to become lazy and over-reliant on it.

I often found myself spending way more time explaining the task to ChatGPT than I could have spent doing it myself. This is especially true for writing.

You need to learn to quickly identify when you should use AI, and when you shouldn't. Not all tasks that can be delegated to an AI should be delegated to it.

ChatGPT and other AIs hold great potential to streamline workflows and boost productivity for businesses.

With the right approach, AI can become a versatile asset, but it still requires human expertise and oversight to deliver quality results. If you keep these best practices in mind, your business can tap into the power of AI to work smarter.

What are some best practices when integrating ChatGPT into my business?

Take time to map your processes and identify where AI can help. Test prompts and provide feedback. Plan ahead with modes and plugins. Communicate clearly and break down complex tasks. Oversee outputs and don't blindly trust ChatGPT.

What are some common mistakes people make with ChatGPT?

Not clearly explaining the task and goals, assigning overly ambitious or complex tasks, and trying to motivate the AI through urgency or emotion rather than clear instructions.

What are some key use cases for ChatGPT in business?

ChatGPT can be used for data analysis, content writing, recruitment, email writing, generating SEO metadata, providing UX/CRO suggestions, workflow automation, and more.

Does ChatGPT fully replace the need for human employees?

ChatGPT is a valuable tool, but it requires oversight and adjustment. It complements human expertise but cannot replicate it.

Are there AI alternatives to ChatGPT?

Yes, Claude, Bing Chat, and Perplexity offer different pros and cons. No system is one-size-fits-all.

What ChatGPT plugins are most useful for business tasks?

Web browsers, PDF/Docs readers, decision diagrams, presentation and spreadsheet generators, AI tool hunters.

How can I make sure ChatGPT outputs are accurate?

Review carefully, verify facts/data, request explanations, and provide feedback to "train" the AI. Don't blindly trust its work.