Welcome back to our Last Week in Local AI series, where we round up the latest in AI news and break it down to see how it changes things for local business owners.
This week was another major week in AI, with OpenAI kicking off the week with their first-ever DevDay conference, and they had some major announcements to share, which we’ve covered if you haven’t already checked it out.
We’ve also got Content at Scale, YouTube, and Amazon sharing some of their latest advancements this week, so let’s jump right into it!
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Build Your Own ChatGPT Bot With OpenAI’s New GPTs Feature
Source - OpenAI
Have you ever wished you could fine-tune an AI to fit your business like a glove? Well, that wish is becoming a reality!
OpenAI has just rolled out a new feature this week called GPTs that lets you create your own custom versions of ChatGPT. By creating its own set of instructions, you can avoid the repetitive process of starting new chats and copying and pasting prompt templates to try and get ChatGPT to replicate the same behaviors.
The best part about this announcement for local business owners is that creating your own GPT is a breeze - no coding skills are needed!
You can build it to perform tasks such as scouring the web, crafting visuals, or breaking down data - all you need is to feed it instructions by using natural conversation. This process is essentially no different than you trying to give a new employee or consultant instructions on a task you want them to help you with.
If you’re a ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise user, there are already some examples to try, like Canva's GPT. Stay tuned cause in the coming weeks, OpenAI is going to be launching a marketplace where people can share their GPT creations, so you’ll have loads of GPTs to try out.
I’ll be sharing a lot more about GPTs in the coming weeks, as this is probably one of the better tools to help local businesses adopt AI into their business since you have full control over the instructions and data that it uses.
The potential here is huge.
You could create a GPT to help you quickly craft emails, help onboard a new employee, or even analyze your social media post history and make strategic suggestions on when you should post.
Those are just a few examples I could come up with off the top of my head, but you need to get ready to give your business an AI boost with these custom GPTs!
In a Rare Move, FTC Submits Concerns About AI to US Copyright Office
Source - FTC.gov
We're looking at some important news from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for our next story.
The FTC worries that the swift progress in AI might unintentionally harm both business competition and consumer security.
In a bold move, the FTC is taking charge, not just observing but attempting to actively influence how AI evolves.
They've reached the conclusion that allowing tech companies to self-regulate AI, like in the past, might not be the best approach.
So, the FTC is getting ready to step up its game in controlling AI more tightly in order to ensure that AI doesn't lead to privacy violations, unfair competition, or spread misinformation.
The FTC is pushing for rules that would make markets more open and competitive, which typically helps benefit smaller businesses against larger corporations. However, in order to take advantage of this opportunity, small businesses need to be agile and quickly adopt AI into their business before it becomes too mainstream.
But the FTC’s focus doesn’t just stop at competition concerns. They also want to stop AI from being used for misleading claims.
There are two scenarios they’re looking to address here: AI tools promise big returns but don't deliver, and AI tools being used to commit fraud by impersonating people. A recent example of the latter was a business using Scarlett Johansson’s voice and likeness in their advertisements.
I will be keeping an eye on how this develops, as any new laws or regulations regarding AI could have a major impact on its development or usage in your own business.
Discover the Latest Innovation with Content at Scale V3.0 Launch
Source - Content at Scale
Next up, let's talk about the recent release of Content at Scale V3.0.
While Content at Scale was previously known as a robust AI tool for creating long-form blog content, they changed the content marketing game this week.
In fact, it's more than an upgrade; it's a complete reimagining of their core business.
They’ve gone ahead and created an entire content-marketing suite by integrating AI into keyword research, content production, and SEO.
Quick Overview Content at Scale
Quick Overview - Content at Scale
AI Tool Type
Text Generation
Starting Price
$49 Per Month
Learning Curve
Intermediate
Primary Use
Blog Post Creation
🎉 Bonus
Get 20% More Post Credits When You Sign Up With Our Link!
Get 20% More Post Credits When You Sign Up With Our Link!
Basically, Content at Scale V3.0 is designed to be your one-stop shop for all things content marketing.
This is incredibly impactful for small businesses looking to launch a content marketing plan on a limited budget by bringing what could have been a handful of different tools into one single toolkit at a price that can scale with your budget. Because as you’re probably well aware, quality content doesn’t come cheap when you need to hire a talented writer.
We've covered the entire Content at Scale V3.0 release in another blog post if you want to explore more about this major update.
But in a nutshell, Content at Scale V3.0 is a big deal for local business owners looking to start a content marketing plan with shorter upfront time and money investment.
YouTube Experiments with Generative AI: New Comment Summarizer and Chat Tool on the Horizon
Source - TechCrunch
Moving on, YouTube is testing some nifty generative AI features that could be a game-changer for local businesses using the platform. YouTube's rolling out cool AI tools, one that chats and gives tips about your videos and another that sums up the buzz in the comments section.
What could mean is an easier way for you to get the nitty-gritty details about what your customers are sharing in a fraction of the time.
This could quickly lead to you getting a better picture of potential content ideas for future videos or insights about what your viewers appreciate about your current videos.
If you’re currently creating content on YouTube as a way to expand your business's online reach, if these tools leave the testing phase, it could be a big step forward in upping your content.
Amazon Is Stepping up Its AI Game With Olympus
Source - Business Insider
To wrap up this week's stories, we have Amazon's latest project, a big AI model called "Olympus."
This latest AI development comes on the heels of Amazon announcing its $4B investment into Anthropic just a couple of months ago.
It appears that Amazon is pulling out all the stops to ensure Olympus stands as one of the brainiest models in AI, with reports that its data set has two trillion parameters compared to the one trillion GPT-4 was built with. While it sounds impressive on paper, there isn’t a direct correlation between more parameters leading to a smarter AI.
But what's the big deal for your neighborhood bookstore or coffee joint? Well, Amazon plans to use Olympus to improve its Amazon Web Services (AWS), which runs about 33% of the entire internet currently.
So, while your business might not use AWS directly, it’s very likely any service you use that has an online element might be relying on AWS, meaning those AI improvements could trickle their way down to you.
All these moves being made by Amazon recently show that AI is becoming a larger part of how businesses will operate in the future.
Join Us Again Next Sunday for More AI News!
Well, that concludes another week of exciting AI news.
From OpenAI’s new customizable GPTs to Amazon's ambitious "Olympus" AI model, a lot is happening in AI that could benefit local businesses.
We've seen how these developments can streamline content creation, enhance customer engagement on platforms like YouTube, and potentially create better improvements to the internet with AWS.
Don't forget, this week, we're diving into testing OpenAI's new GPT, and we can't wait to share our findings with you. So stick around for the scoop!
Catch us next Sunday for another edition of Last Week in Local AI!