After working alone for over 35 years, I now have a full-time assistant. And it’s an AI.

I’ve been using ChatGPT a lot recently. But for the most part, I haven’t been using it to write content or copy.

I’ve been using it as a brainstorming buddy and an information-cruncher.

As an example, here’s how I’ve been using ChatGPT to help me update the coaching page on my website.

I used to do a lot of one-on-one coaching with freelancers. Then I paused for a while. This year I’m going to start again. But before I do any promotion, I wanted to update my information page.

First, I thought I’d do a little brainstorming.

Hmm… I wonder if I can Zoom with a friend. Like right now?

Probably not. But that’s OK, because I have ChatGPT at my fingertips.

Here’s the question I asked, and the suggestions it gave me.

That’s a pretty good start. If I want more, I can simply rephrase the question or prompt.

Then I thought I’d explore the flipside of the question.

Not bad, right?

This is super-powerful, because understanding a prospect’s possible objections gets us much closer to crafting the right message.

That said, I’m not going to take any of those answers as gospel. But this is still a great tool for brainstorming and coming up with new ideas and approaches.

Next, I wanted ChatGPT to help me make sense of a collection of coaching testimonials I’ve received over the years.

I copied and pasted about 25 testimonials into the chat field and asked ChatGPT to go through them all and pick out the positive input that cropped up the most.

It did a great job of that. I then asked it to write me one “pretend” testimonial that captured the essence of the 25 real ones I had shared.

This is what it came up with:

“Working with Nick as my coach was a game changer for my freelance business. Not only did he help me focus on my specific areas of strength and guide me away from unprofitable paths, but he also provided the motivation and accountability I needed to take my business to the next level. His expert understanding of the freelance world and his enthusiasm for my career path were invaluable, and I’m grateful for the clarity and direction he provided.”

Pretty amazing. Imagine trying to tackle that kind of task without an AI to help you.

And I know, this is sounding more and more like a promotion for my coaching services.

I guess it is. But it’s also the best case study I have in support of using ChatGPT as an assistant or researcher.

ChatGPT feels oddly human too.

The greatest limitation of of AI systems like ChatGPT is that they’re not human, and don’t have emotions.

They score very badly when it comes to emotional intelligence.

But that doesn’t mean, as a human, I can’t project my own emotions onto the AI.

Surprisingly, I feel a certain affection for ChatGPT when I’m working with it.

I get the sense I have someone at my side, someone to bounce ideas off.

It’s not the same as working with a living, breathing human being. But it does feel better than working alone.

So forgive me if I feel a small sense of companionship when I fire up my AI.

And after a year or two or five, I imagine I’ll have my own, customized and personalized AI to help me with my work, email, bookkeeping and more.

Interesting times!

In the meantime, if you haven’t tried ChatGPT yet, give it a whirl.