When you know that some are choosing to use AI for writing and creative tasks that used to require artists and writers like yourself, deciding whether or not to use AI in your own business can feel like an extra complicated question. Yet, at the speed the trend is growing, it’s easy to see that the only way we have any chance of beating the trend is to join in… strategically.

I like to think of ChatGPT as the assistant I can’t afford to have and, as the “supervisor”, it is my responsibility to check my assistant’s work. I mention this first because I believe the risk of using AI for research is that one may be inclined to trust the answers without seeing the proof… and, since the way questions and commands are worded can change the response received quite a bit, you need to engage your own critical thinking skills while using AI to reap the full benefits.

You can have ChatGPT write your Etsy listings and pick your keywords… but, if the item doesn’t get any views, you will need to understand how to write an effective Etsy listing in order to figure out what went wrong… so, it is best to know what you need to know first. Translation: don’t use ChatGPT to avoid knowing how to do the work. Use it to speed up the process.

To continue the example above, do what it takes to learn SEO. Learn how to do market research and study your competitors. Then, use ChatGPT but take all “answers” as mere suggestions. Ask for a list… then, use an independent tool to double check what keywords will work best. Ask who your biggest competitors will be… then, go on Etsy (or whatever platform you work on) and study the competition. Ask ChatGPT for product ideas or ask it to critique yours simply to make sure you are thinking as thoroughly as possible. When you use AI to brainstorm rather than to take a brain break, that is when the magic happens.

For instance, I know that there are 52! ways to arrange a deck of playing cards… but I didn’t know that number is larger than the number of seconds since the universe came into existence until I asked ChatGPT to explain it on my behalf for this video.

I also know conceptually how to calculate the probability that the so called luckiest and least lucky cards in the deck will appear in a poker hand… but I am not equipped to actually do the calculations… so I had ChatGPT do that part for me… once I figured out how to ask the question correctly. In this case in particular, the answer varied quite a bit as I added clarifying language to correct the way ChatGPT was composing the calculations… and, if I hadn’t known how it should calculate the answer, I would not have spotted the error. Together, we figured out an immensely complex calculation.

I believe it was Google AI that led me to the Tarocchi de Mantegna – a fascinating set of images likely commissioned by Pope Pius II that some call the first tarot deck ever. (I will write more about that deck and the many other ancient documents it led me to later.)

I mostly avoid using AI to create images… but I made one big exception this holiday season. I asked ChatGPT for ideas thinking that I would make a digital collage or torn paper collage using the best suggestion. Knowing I couldn’t do justice to the best idea on the list, I had ChatGPT create this Reindeer Poker Night poster image for me… then used my artistic skills to work it into a three-color image that could be used on a knit sweater… and, for the first time in a while, I am excited to dress with holiday cheer!

So… long story short, use AI to increase productivity but don’t stop asking questions or learning how to do the tasks which you choose to get help with. Stay engaged and be strategic. Together, do the teamwork that makes the dream work. It’s certain to up your game.