Thoughts on ChatGPT and Notion AI
+ instances where I used both
I’m probably late to the party but ‘better late than never’, right?
I didn’t really embrace AI (artificial intelligence) for a very long time. Not because I didn’t think it will help me. I was just okay doing things as I always did.
But when Open AI’s ChatGPT came out, I decided to give it a try because I kept seeing ChatGPT almost everywhere I went online — especially Twitter and LinkedIn. And some of the newsletters I was subscribed to did not fail to talk about it.
So I started using this generative AI tool because it was trending, and most importantly, I wanted to know why it was trending. How different was it from the others I had heard about?
ChatGPT
ChatGPT helps me understand new topics faster so it makes writing on such topics a bit easier.
I usually use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, generate blog outlines, research, write aspects of first drafts, etc. I let it help me get started and then I take it from there.
And now when I have a question, instead of asking Google, I ask ChatGPT.
Reason: ChatGPT gives me tailored responses. I don’t have to go through multiple articles to find an answer to something like this:
I know there’s psychology behind marketing. Can you help me explain why a Teleco sends an SMS saying they’ve given me free data but I need to buy data in order to get the free data?
You can agree with me that with Google, you’re likely not going to find a straightforward answer to something like this. You need to read multiple articles or go through several SERPs (search engine results pages) to find your answer.
But here’s what ChatGPT told me:
Anyway, in case you were wondering, I typed the same prompt (search query) in Google, and even though the articles talked about marketing psychology. I did not find an answer to my question on the first page.
Google is good, but it doesn’t give tailored answers to some questions. That’s why beginning your search with ChatGPT can be helpful.
Why? If you take a look at my prompt and the answer GhatGPT gave me, you’ll realize the Teleco used the ‘bait and switch’ tactic. So if I want to know more about this or if I need sources to back this, I can go back to learn more about the tactic using Google.
Other ChatGPT use cases
1. Case study draft
I was working on a one-pager and I needed to write a case study. Now, I knew all the content I wanted to write. I just needed it in the form of a case study.
So I gave ChatGPT the prompt to write a case study on a particular problem being faced by X team of Company A. I also gave ChatGPT the solution to the problem and how it helped them.
In a few seconds, ChatGPT generated the case study in an orderly format.
2. Blog outline
A second instance was when I used ChatGPT to generate an outline for a blog topic I had to write on. The topic was new to me so generating an outline from scratch would have been tiring and time-consuming.
But ChatGPT gave me an outline in a matter of seconds after I gave it a prompt. The only problem I had with the outline was that some sections were repeated – the heading was different but the sub-sections were the same as that of a previous section. So I had to take them out and replace them with additional information I had got from my research (on Google and other platforms).
ChatGPT really comes through for me when I have to work on outlines. It gives me a general idea of what the article should include and I edit the outline to suit my intent of writing and what the reader would want.
Notion AI
I started actively using Notion last year and I love it! It’s one of my favorite apps right now. So when I received an email about Notion AI, I quickly joined the private alpha waitlist in November 2022. And I received an email from Notion in January 2023 that I was off the waitlist!
I used Notion AI a couple of times and it was also pretty good!
But…
After the private alpha test, Notion AI (alpha) was open to the public and now it’s no longer free — sadly. So you’d have to pay to use it. But there are 20 free AI responses per user in the Notion AI free trial.
When Notion AI was free, I used both Notion AI and ChatGPT for the same thing – just to see how they both work.
For the case study, for instance, I gave Notion AI the same prompt. And it gave me something similar to what ChatGPT gave me – but with a few differences.
ChatGPT’s was organized just like how you’ll find a case study. But Notion AI’s was written in blocks of paragraphs with no headings. So I had to organize it into various sections myself. But I read you could give Notion AI a follow-up prompt to organize the information – I didn’t know that by the time I was trying so I did not do that.
Anyway, the case study results I got from these tools were good! But I didn’t end there.
I had to go back to edit and add more details. Also, from the case study, I realized some of the content was taken from the company’s site. But I had to update them to suit this particular case study. I also had to take out some things because they were unnecessary.
Final Thoughts
AI has come to stay and the earlier we embrace it, the better it would be for us all.
From the few months of using these texted-based AI tools — mostly ChatGPT, I’ve noticed that there are:
- Repetitions — These can be repetitions in a whole page of text, sections of an outline, or a paragraph. So you need to read over the entire text to catch and take them out.
- Spelling mistakes — Some words are spelled wrongly and it can be hard to spot so you have to proofread with a fine toothcomb.
- Data inconsistencies — I got some stats from ChatGPT and decided to cross-check them on Google but I found some and couldn’t find the others. And even for the ones I found, some of the numbers were a little above or below – different from what was in the actual reports. So you need to cross-check findings from reports anytime you get the info from ChatGPT.
- Similarities — ChatGPT has a way of talking. It has a way it writes and it is consistent in most of the text it generates. It’s quite rigid, and straightforward, usually with no emotions (because it doesn’t have one). So if you’re not editing the text you got from ChatGPT, you’re doing yourself a great disservice and your readers too.
I wrote my final thoughts in a sitting so these 4 are what I could remember off the top of my head. But here are 6 other things to consider when you use AI to generate content (that will be published):
- Always do additional research to enhance your content.
- Talk to SMEs (subject matter experts) and get their take on the topic you’re writing on.
- Add relevant images and other media to improve your content.
- Edit. Edit. Edit. Developmental edits, copy edits, proofreading. Do all three thoroughly! Learn about them in this thread by Erica Schneider – her thread on editing is the best I’ve encountered so far.
- Make sure the content appeals to your readers. Add your brand voice to the content. Let the words sound like you or your company. You don’t have to change the way you write because ChatGPT helped you write.
- Give ChatGPT a good prompt to get good results. Remember GIGO — garbage in, garbage out. ChatGPT will give you results based on the information you give it.
I attended an AI webinar and one of the speakers said, prompting is a skill. You need to learn how to write good prompts to get good results.
Note: the knowledge cutoff for ChatGPT is September 2021, so if you need information after that date, you should look elsewhere.
You can try ChatGPT if you haven’t .
Just ask it anything. Whether a definition of a concept, how to reply to a particular message, ideas, or just anything. It’s free to use and you just need your email to sign up.
Plus ChatGPT is conversational so you can do a lot of back and forth on there. Try it here.
And if you want to try Notion AI, here you go!
For Notion AI, you’ll need to have a Notion account, and if you’re using your phone, you’ll need the app. For desktop, you can do with the web app.
If you’ve already used ChatGPT or Notion AI, how was your experience?
Let’s chat in the comments!
