ChatGPT is a hot topic. You may have seen a lot of screenshots from people on social media asking it cryptic questions and studying its responses, good and bad. There is no doubt that OpenAI have created an interesting and gamechanging model. What does it mean for you though?
Some of you may see an opportunity to generate content, compile standardised information and write sales emails. And whilst there are some useful aspects of the model, including find out information or helping you to get started with that blog piece you've been meaning to write, I am going to tell you why you should take ChatGPT's output with a pinch of salt
I asked ChatGPT several common construction bid and marketing topics. I won't lie, I was impressed as I watched as it spit out comprehensive answers that wouldn't be out of place. However, its clear these responses won't win you any business or score you top marks on that bid you really want to win.
Here's why:
➡️ It’s is naturally very generic. I first asked ChatGPT to tell me why, in 100 words, a QS is needed on a construction project. It typed out some true and clear benefits, as you can see below, but can’t give me any specific examples or benefits. Potential clients want to understand your experience and how you solved similar problems, which ChatGPT cannot know.... yet!
➡️ It’s emotionless. I then asked the programme to explain how BIM is changing the industry. You can see from its response that it’s writing is monotone. When you read it, it feels mechanical and very formal. It won’t be able to convey your tone of voice or your ethos.
➡️ It’s (slightly) behind the times. One of ChatGPT’s limitations is that it doesn’t know much about the world after September 2021, although it is constantly updating it's learning. Therefore, when asked, it couldn’t explain the new building regulations and what they mean for the industry.
➡️ It summarises. I asked it to give me a response about delivering social value through a project. Whilst it offered some useful insight and picked up on key points such as community engagement and sustainability, it didn’t pick up on all aspects of social value you may expect to see in an answer.
➡️ It can give you too much information. To be honest, I did ask a very wide ranging question here on net zero and didn't ask it to limit its word count like other questions above. It responded with 8 points and I can't lie, I was pleasantly surprised by the width of its response here, it picks up on many key elements. However, not all these may be applicable for your project, so some editing would be needed.
So, would I use ChatGPT? I would certainly use it as a search engine, to find out information on new topics and give me a kick when I have writers block. I certainly wouldn't be using it to generate content for my website or bids. The content needs editing and made specific to your business. Anything written should capture your tone, branding and competitive advantage and at the moment, ChatGPT cannot achieve this.
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