When it comes to AI and chatbots, I’ve been more an observer than user. Faced with constantly changing technology, the last thing I need is learning a whole new way to use it. Alas, the time has come to face the music. AI will increasingly become part of everyday life. So I buckled down to learn the basics of chatbots for personal use. Getting started was easy.
Here’s what I learned:
What the Heck are Chatbots?
Chatbots are digital assistants powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). They can help with personal as well as professional life.
How They Can Help You
Everyday Tasks
- Plan trips and itineraries
- Plan a party
- Manage your money
- Create meal plans and recipes
- Shop smarter
- Compare options when making decisions
- Generate checklists and schedules
Writing & Communication
- Draft emails, letters, resumes and messages
- Improve grammar, spelling, and clarity
- Rewrite text in different tones (professional, friendly, concise, etc..)
- Create blog posts, articles, and social media content
- Brainstorm names, slogans, and ideas
Learning & Education
- Explain complex topics in simple language
- Summarize articles, books, and documents
- Review legal contracts
- Answer questions on health, history, science, math, literature, and more
- Help with family research
A Few Tips Before You Dive In
The best way to learn about chatbots is simply to try one. Open an account, ask a question and start a conversation.
Ai can make mistakes, so always verify questionable information with trusted sources…especially when it involves medical, financial, or legal information or important decisions.
Never share sensitive information such as passwords, Social Security numbers or bank account details.
As soon as you create a chatbot account, check the Memory policies. Look for them in places like “Settings” or “Privacy & Security.” Consider disabling memory features until you understand what information is kept and how it’s used.
If you use a chatbot to write, AI can sound like what it is – a bot. Edit results so they sound like you.
Common Chatbot Jargon
Agents, AI
A system that can browse websites, compare products, and even make purchasing decisions on behalf of humans. A basic chatbot only gives information. When chatbots employ agents they can take actions for you.
Artifacts
Things you can create with chatbots. Apps, essays, reports, stories, images, games, templates, documents, quizzes, surveys, productivity tools, charts, graphs, presentations and computer programs, to name a few.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Technology that enables computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, solving problems and learning from data.
Chat | Conversation
Every prompt you send and every response the chatbot provides, in sequence.
Chatbot
A chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation. It allows users to interact with digital devices via text or voice, answering questions, automating repetitive tasks, and providing 24/7 assistance.
Citation
Citations are references that show where an AI system got information.
GPT
Part of the name of ChatGPT. It stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. This is likely more than you need to know. It gets my vote for the worst chatbot name choice of all.
Memory
Memory is the system that allows chatbots to store, recall, and utilize past interactions or user information. Without it, chatbots would suffer from “amnesia”—treating every new message as a completely independent query with no awareness of the ongoing conversation.
Message
In chatbots, a message is a single entry in a conversation. Every time you or the chatbot sends something, it’s one message.
Project | Notebook
A dedicated workspace for ongoing pieces of work.
Prompt
A prompt is a single message you send to a chatbot asking it to do something or answer a question.
Three Popular Chatbots
ChatGPT (OpenAI) https://chatgpt.com
Claude (Anthropic) https://claude.ai
Gemini (Google) https://gemini.google.com
How to Get Started with a Free Chatbot Account
Take a quick look at the websites above and choose one to explore. For now, stick with a free account on your computer. You can decide whether to upgrade or set them up on your smartphone or tablet later. So far, I like Claude. It’s user friendly and was easy to set up on my MacBook Pro.
- Go to a chatbot website using one of the links above.
- Sign up or create a free account.
- Sign in.
- Click around the sidebar to get familiar with the format and how things work.
- Read the privacy and security policies to learn how they use your information.
- If you’re concerned, see if you can disable or turn off memory temporarily while you’re learning. But you’ll get the most out of a chatbot with memory on.
- Enter your first prompt. Can’t find the memory settings? That’s a perfect subject for your first prompt. In the message box, enter “Where can I set memory preferences in (name of chatbot).”
Prompt Engineering: Garbage In, Garbage Out
Using a chatbot is simple. Ask a question or ask it to do something in the message box and hit “enter.” You get an answer (hopefully correct) or get something done (hopefully done right.) But the quality of the response depends on the quality of your prompt. You’ll get better at creating productive prompts over time. But here are a few tips to give you a head start:
Be specific about what you want.
Write prompts as though you’re talking to a person. Casual works fine.
Include “If you don’t know, tell me.”
Ask for sources.
Mention what you’re using the output for.
If asking for writing, include the tone or style you want.
Break big requests into steps.
Ask it to make a response simpler if needed. “Explain it to me like I am a five year old.”
Tell it to ask questions to clarify what you want
Specify whether you want an answer or ideas. “Give me recommendations” vs. “options.”
Ask for the format you want: bulleted list, under 100 words, etc..
To get more details, follow up with additional questions.
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