How to use ChatGPT for your business: a plain-English guide

You've heard about ChatGPT on the radio, in the paper and from family. This guide shows you how to start using it for your business today, step by step, with no jargon.

What ChatGPT actually is

ChatGPT is a website and phone app where you type a question or a request in ordinary English, and it types an answer back. It's very good at writing: emails, letters, Facebook posts, price lists, notices. It's also good at explaining things, like what a confusing letter is asking you to do.

Think of it as a helpful assistant who writes quickly but sometimes gets facts wrong. You still read everything before you send it.

Claude, made by a company called Anthropic, does the same kind of job. You can use either one. Most of what's in this guide works in both.

Step 1: Sign up for free

1. On a computer, go to chatgpt.com. On a phone, search your app store for "ChatGPT" and choose the one made by OpenAI.
2. Tap Sign up and use your email address, or your Google or Apple account.
3. You'll see a box at the bottom of the screen. That's where you type.

The free version is enough for everything here. You don't need to pay.

Step 2: Ask the way you'd ask a person

The biggest mistake beginners make is typing too little. ChatGPT doesn't know your business, so tell it. Compare these two:

The second one gives it who you are, what you want, and how it should sound. That's all a good request needs.

Step 3: Five jobs to try first

1. Reply to a customer email

2. Answer a complaint without losing your temper

3. Write a month of Facebook posts

4. Understand a confusing letter

On a phone, you can tap the camera or + button and photograph the letter instead. Cover any account numbers or PPS numbers first.

5. Reply to a Google review

Step 4: If you don't like the answer, say so

You don't have to start again. Just type what's wrong, the same way you'd tell a person:

• "Make it shorter."
• "That's too formal. I'm writing to a regular customer."
• "Use Irish spelling, not American."

It will rewrite it as many times as you like.

What to keep out of ChatGPT

Never type in bank details, card numbers, PPS numbers or passwords. Leave out customers' home addresses and phone numbers too. You can describe a situation without them: "a customer" works just as well as their full name and address.

When not to trust it

ChatGPT sometimes states things confidently that aren't true, especially prices, laws, tax rules and dates. Use it to write and explain, not as the final word on facts. For anything to do with tax, law or health, check with Revenue, Citizens Information or a professional.