What was the first thing you asked ChatGPT? Entrepreneurs reveal all
ChatGPT was released in November 2022 and since then has grown to 180.5million users. According to Similarweb, chat.openai.com has been visited approximately 1.8 billion times over the last 30 days. That's an increase of 180% from February 2023's one billion. Although the tool is not going anywhere, it’s being used in very different ways than those first few days.
It’s impressive to see how far we’ve come with prompting since then. Now, entrepreneurs looking to make more impact while saving time are using ChatGPT to improve their writing, become more productive, and even regain lost motivation.
I asked AI experts, professional content creators and business leaders to go right back to the start and share the first thing they asked ChatGPT.
From curiosity to business success: exploring the initial question posed to ChatGPT
Business solutions
Many entrepreneurs got straight down to business with this newfangled technology. Founder Eytan Bensoussan wanted his business critiqued when he first used ChatGPT. “I asked it to describe what my company did well and how it could improve.” Sacha Walton, business coach for female and creative entrepreneurs, requested “a viral Facebook post for my business offer,” although admitted she’d first asked for “5 numbers to play in the lottery!”
Whilst recruiting, Shibani Sen, head of marketing at Redmans Solicitors, asked for “questions to ask a part time legal copywriter.” She explained, “this was my first time recruiting for a team member to work under me.”
Sophie Biggerstaff, e-commerce business mentor, was looking for business inspiration when she discovered the tool. “I first used ChatGPT to help me name my brand new business... I knew roughly what I wanted based on the mission of the business so I gave it some prompts and it kicked me out a great option... 'TINAH' aka 'Time Is Not A Healer' - perfect name for a mental wellbeing marketplace.”
AI business consultant Vee Khuu knew how to prompt from the early days, starting out with, “You are a top neuro linguistic programming practitioner. You have been able to use the teaching of John Grinder and Richard Sandler to help many high performing entrepreneurs. Write out a detailed instruction for a future timeline guided meditation.” What came out impressed him enough to keep using ChatGPT.
Creative songwriters and storytellers
Others went for a more creative approach, including digital transformation professional Khalid Machchate, who requested that ChatGPT “write a song, of 4 verses, talking about the young people of Morocco, and their strive to become a beacon to the world, based on the musical style of the Icelandic band Kaleo.” It’s a niche request, but ChatGPT got it bang on, he claims.
On a similar theme, business consultant Byron Woodson requested that ChatGPT “tell me about the three little pigs from the perspective of the wolf”, and another entrepreneur, IT consultant Ron Brick, asked for "a short story in the style of Jack Kerouac. And the answer was pretty good…”
Another entrepreneur wanted insights into his own creative choices. “I asked ChatGPT why I liked TV shows like the Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother,” explained chief AI officer Jared Bonilla. He explained a bit about him, and what ChatGPT said blew him away. “It said that it might be because these shows feature family-like friend groups which is something that I had all my life living in New York but haven’t found since moving to Puerto Rico.”
Testing the limits
People don’t talk to chatbots how they talk to people. They are direct and refreshingly succinct. Bhavik Sarkhedi, CMO of Content Whale and founder of Write Right got straight to the point and wanted to know ChatGPT’s future plans. “Hi ChatGPT, do you think you will become the next Google? If yes, how, if no, why! Be detailed and unbiased.” At that point, nobody knew its potential.
Business consultant David Yarde asked the friendly chat interface “to help me improve a book outline for an idea I had years ago!” Jessica Hodkinson, freelance content strategist, played it safe with “a very basic question: what the weather would be like the following day,” which at the time it probably wouldn’t have known.
Adam Biddlecombe of AI news site Mindstream got creative from day one, realising this technology could apply a humorous slant to a mundane task. “I got ChatGPT to write a complaint for me, but with a distinct personality as a twist,” something he still does even now. “I recently got a big energy bill, so I asked ChatGPT to write a complaint to my energy provider in “angry Scottish” style. The results were incredible and hilarious! ‘Sort it oot!’ Never fails to make me smile!”
Entrepreneurs' first interaction with ChatGPT: a revealing look into curiosity
At the time, it felt brand new. Now they understand how the technology works, entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries of what they request from ChatGPT. Training it to write like you, getting AI coaching sessions and writing reams and reams of AI-generated content are just a few of the tasks entrepreneurs carry out every day. From business solutions to creative content and those abrupt questions, we’re only limited by our imagination.
