Since ChatGPT launched last November, interest in AI text generation has exploded. ChatGPT estimated users reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, two months after its launch! 

The viral success of ChatGPT has kickstarted fierce competition among tech companies to rush AI products to market. Google recently unveiled its ChatGPT competitor, which it’s calling Bard, while Microsoft (MSFT), an investor in Open AI, debuted its Bing AI chatbot to a limited pool of testers. 

What does this look like for your business? Are businesses ready to leverage AI, and if so, what will be the impact?

What is it and How is it Being Used?

Recently, ChatGPT (General Purpose Technology) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) have become increasingly popular in everyday business. But what is it, and how is it being used? 

●    Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. ChatGPT is a natural language processing (NLP) model developed by OpenAI that businesses can use to automate specific tasks and improve customer service experiences. 

●    ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot that can generate natural-sounding conversations on any topic. It is trained on large datasets of conversational text and can respond to user input with relevant and personalized responses.

ChatGPT and AI technology is being used in a variety of ways in the business world. It automates tasks, improves customer service, and even creates personalized customer experiences. For example, automate customer service tasks, such as responding to customer inquiries and providing customized recommendations, and automate marketing tasks, such as creating personalized content and targeting customers with relevant offers. Additionally, they are being used to create more efficient workflows, such as automating data entry and managing customer databases. 

However, some businesses and universities have recently banned its use due to concerns over potential misuse and ethical implications. It is wise to weigh the pros and cons of ChatGPT/AI and its possible impacts on your business.  

Pros:

●    Cost-effective: ChatGPT can be a cost-effective solution for small businesses that want to improve their customer service experience without hiring additional staff. It can handle multiple conversations simultaneously, reducing the need for manual intervention. Automation reduces the need for manual labor, allowing businesses to save money on labor costs.

●    Scalable: ChatGPT can easily scale up or down depending on the volume of customer inquiries, making it a flexible solution for small businesses that are growing. ChatGPT can scale quickly with business needs, allowing companies to quickly increase the size of their customer service team. 

●    24/7 Availability: ChatGPT can be available 24/7, which can improve customer satisfaction by providing immediate responses to their inquiries, regardless of the time of day. With ChatGPT, customers can get the information they need quickly, leading to a more positive overall customer experience.

●    Personalization: ChatGPT can be trained to understand the specific needs and preferences of individual customers, providing a more personalized experience, reducing wait times and resolving issues faster. 

●    Data Collection: ChatGPT can collect data on customer inquiries, which can be used to improve customer service processes and identify common pain points.

Cons:

●    Lack of Human Touch: While ChatGPT can provide quick and efficient responses, it lacks the human touch that some customers may prefer. This can lead to a less satisfying customer service experience for some individuals. While ChatGPT is an advanced AI-powered chatbot, it cannot understand complex emotions or respond in an emotionally appropriate manner.

●    Limited Contextual Understanding: ChatGPT may struggle to understand the context of a customer inquiry, leading to irrelevant or incorrect responses. Two examples of incorrect information:

1. A customer asked ChatGPT for medical advice regarding a condition they were experiencing. ChatGPT suggested a course of action that was incorrect and could have caused further harm to the customer. 
2. A customer asked ChatGPT for advice on how to invest their money. ChatGPT incorrectly recommended a high-risk investment strategy, which could have caused serious financial losses.

●    Potential for Bias: ChatGPT may reflect the biases in the data it was trained on, leading to potentially biased responses. Some actual answers given by ChatGPT can be construed as discriminatory or bent toward far reaching ideologies. ChatGPT programmers recognized the implications of such comments and are working to alleviate such biased comments and programs. 

●    Technical Expertise Required: Setting up and maintaining ChatGPT can require technical expertise, which may be a barrier for small businesses without a dedicated IT team.

Why Are Businesses and Universities Banning the Use of ChatGPT?

Despite its potential benefits, worldwide businesses and universities are banning the use of ChatGPT due to concerns over potential misuse and ethical implications.

A growing number of school districts are banning artificial intelligence chatbot due to cheating concerns.  The concerns range from “protecting academic honesty” and limiting  “critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.”

The powerful new AI chatbot tool recently passed law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota and another exam at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, according to professors at the schools. Raising flags about students using this product. 

The biggest US bank (JP Morgan) restricted its use among global staff because of limits on third-party software due to compliance concerns. 

Businesses and University concerns include:

●    Misinformation: ChatGPT can be used to spread misinformation, which can be harmful in the case of sensitive topics like politics or health. It can also be used to impersonate individuals or organizations, leading to potential fraud.

●    Privacy: ChatGPT can collect large amounts of personal data on users, including sensitive information like health or financial data. This data can be vulnerable to theft or misuse if not properly secured.

●    Bias: As mentioned earlier, ChatGPT may reflect the biases in the data it was trained on, leading to potentially biased responses. This can perpetuate social inequalities and harm marginalized groups.

●    Unintended Consequences: The use of ChatGPT may have unintended consequences that are difficult to predict, such as the impact on human employment or social interactions.

How Will This Impact Your Business?

How AI and ChatGPT will impact your business is completely up to you. While ChatGPT and AI are useful tools for small businesses looking to improve their customer service experience and automate certain tasks, its potential for misuse and ethical implications have led some businesses to second guess its usage. 

ChatGPT and AI systems are based on deep learning algorithms that can learn from data and the benefits are endless, but they can also make mistakes, especially when they’re presented with data that they don’t understand.

AI is here to stay - as it should be. So, it is important for businesses to carefully weigh the pros and cons of using ChatGPT and always prioritize data privacy and security to protect the personal information of their customers.