The world is constantly changing digitally and a new AI chatbot is proof of that. ChatGPT is revolutionising Artificial Intelligence and already has amassed over 1,000,000 users. Where the likes of Netflix achieved a user base of one million in just over three years, ChatGPT achieved this figure in just five days.
ChatGPT hit 1 million users in just five days.
But how can franchisors use ChatGPT? The new chat platform which gives a response based on a very large text file-powered database, can answer an incredibly diverse range of questions. Everything from simple maths questions to website coding examples and fully written samples of business plans are just some of the things that ChatGPT has learnt how to write.
Because ChatGPT has become such a phenomenon in just a short period of time, companies are understandably worried. Google has expressed concern, whilst this new service will understandably be concerning for content writing companies. Ultimately their future hangs in the balance. Why pay a company for content you can get yourself in 10 seconds? But is ChatGPT all it seems and could it be too good to be true?
How Franchisors Can Use ChatGPT?
So how can franchisors use ChatGPT to their advantage?
Providing a Response to Visitors
One of the biggest uses of ChatGPT is its automated, Artificial Intelligence response. This can be utilised by franchisors and franchisees alike as a chatbot integrated within their website. There are hundreds of 24/7 chat systems out there that integrate with websites and serve responses to customers, and ChatGPT can be applied in this scenario. Those that have tested the platform and those that have tried the demo will be gobsmacked at the detail that the answers provide. Franchises can use ChatGPT to their advantage by serving comprehensive answers that customers are looking for. The downside to this is the limit of knowledge and ChatGPT won’t necessarily understand the franchisor’s brand. However for resolving basic issues this is a great tool.
Lead Generation and Franchisee Profiling
In a similar manner, Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT for franchises can be used as a tool for franchise lead generation. Ultimately, profiling leads and quality scoring them as prospects for follow up by a representative. Basic concerns like GDPR still play a part here and franchisors should ensure necessary policies are followed before utilising AI for data processing.
A Framework for Franchise Content Creation
Franchisors can use ChatGPT for building engaging content and social media posts, too. Whilst it’s easy to get carried away in awe at the capabilities of ChatGPT, AI should not be misused because the content is still subject to license laws and agreements. The best way for franchise businesses to use AI for marketing and content creation is to use the software to build the foundations of the piece and then adapt and change the content to meet their requirements. The content produced by ChatGPT should serve only as a response to what you’ve asked and no more. Read and understand the response, and then build out your own content based on the response. In terms of SEO, there is no way of knowing what your competitors are asking the software – they could ask the same questions as you and get the same response. Duplicate content is a big no-no, especially one that can be traced back to the software writing it.
Creating Custom GPTs
Plus plan users and above can create their own GPTs. Combined with the power of actions, these custom GPTs can feed information to your users based on information you supply. This can be helpful for a wide range of scenarios, including:
- Live results fed directly from your web server, such as booking availability.
- Details of a franchisee based on the user’s location.
- Receiving information, such as leads, as well as returning an output to the GPT user.
An example of how a custom GPT can be used to display website data can be found on our Franchise Planet chatGPT. In our case, if you search for low cost franchises, the chat will provide you with some of the low cost franchises for sale on our website.
As you can see from the screenshot below, ChatGPT is in the process of reverting about low cost opportunities.
Concerns Around Usage of ChatGPT For Franchises
The main concern within franchising is data protection. Franchisors should exercise caution when using ChatGPT to process data from visitors and prospective leads. ChatGPT was trained on a dataset but AI can learn and any information sent to the software can be stored and recollected in response to questions submitted by another user. That could include personal information that may or may not be regurgitated in response to another user’s query.
Because the software is powered by data that people have submitted to it, its easy to understand how responses can be manipulated. Bias responses remain an issue and based on questions asked by users, responses can end up unreliable, varied or plainly untrue.
Should You Use ChatGPT For Your Franchise?
Artificial Intelligence can work wonders in some forms but can be damaging for others. AI is a great way to build marketing strategies but it can lead to uses which are questionable. For example, ChatGPT can write a business plan. If you’re interviewing a prospective franchisee, who is asking the questions – the candidate or AI? As a franchisor you’ll need to identify your goals and understand how software like this can help you to achieve these goals, not achieve them for you. Seen in the featured screenshot of this post, it is alarming just how intelligent ChatGPT is. Asked about questions to ask at a franchise interview, the computer generates a response incredibly detailed. And what makes ChatGPT unique is that the responses actually appear human, responses that you’d expect from someone across the room. The software talks about franchise territories, franchise agreements, you wouldn’t get this from other chat software.
ChatGPT is really intelligent, but could it be dangerously intelligent, and if not, could the information you put in about your franchise or your prospects result in it being so? ChatGPT can be a really powerful tool for your franchise network but you need to be careful what you ask it.
Franchises and ChatGPT – Frequently Asked Questions
No – Bard is Google’s own AI Artificial Intelligence service, whilst ChatCPT is owned by OpenAI and licensed to Bing. Franchises will benefit from ChatGPT and Bard as Google and Bing improve their services to help those looking to buy a franchise. Large Language Models such as these are fed vast amounts of information that help to deliver more personal responses to questions as opposed to just a set of results in a search engine.
Artificial Intelligence will not replace businesses. AI powered services like ChatGPT and Bard are based on Large Language Models powered by text based datasets and are not powered by realtime data – at least not yet. And while Google and other services offer travel, accomodation and various other services they have still failed to replace your traditional travel agent, digital marketing company, or any other type of franchise. Franchises constantly demonstrate resilience, with power in numbers and resources to further research and development within their sector, it is unlikely franchise networks will be negatively affected by ChatGPT or Bard.
Image: Copyright OpenAI, ChatGPT user interface – asking ChatGPT for questions to ask at a Franchise Interview.
