Artificial Intelligence (AI) is suddenly taking the world by storm– it’s amazingly powerful and opens up so many opportunities to create website content for those willing to explore how to use it. But it can be tough to keep up with something so new and (let’s be honest) sometimes confusing.
If you’re a beginner to AI and wanting to learn how you can start using some of these awesome tools to supercharge your website, or even what the tools ARE and DO, then we’ll help you get started with this beginner’s guide to ChatGPT.
In this article, we’re going to demystify AI, introduce you to ChatGPT and explain how it can be a game-changer for building websites, and take you step-by-step on how to get started with it. So, let’s get into it!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Understanding What AI Is
Ok, so we’ve all seen movies about AI where robots take over the world, but don’t worry, the real-world AI is a tad less dramatic (and much more helpful)! That still doesn’t tell us a whole lot about the reality of it… So, what is it?
In simple terms, AI is a branch of computer science that tries to create machines that mimic human intelligence. This could be anything from understanding speech, to learning, planning, problem-solving, and even creating. AI aims to build computers that can perform tasks that humans would normally do.
AI is all around us– and you use it all the time. This could be anything from Siri understanding what you’re saying, to the computer playing chess against you (and probably winning), or even Netflix predicting what show you’ll binge-watch next. However, one of the most exciting recent developments in AI is the creation of sophisticated AI models like ChatGPT.
Introduction to ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a tool called a language model developed by OpenAI. It’s considered a “generative AI,” meaning that it’s AI that generates content. Specifically, it generates human-like text based on the input it’s given. Whether you’re asking it a question, giving it a prompt to write an essay, or even asking it to write a poem, ChatGPT uses its understanding of language to generate a relevant, and usually pretty impressive, response.
So, how does it work? ChatGPT has been trained on a huge range of internet text. By “trained” we mean that it had tons of information given to it, like blogs, news articles, scholarly papers, and other online content. It used all this content to learn about different topics, writing styles, and information that people share online. When a user gives it input it creates replies using all the information it has– which makes it great for having conversations or generating text.
It’s like giving a computer a crash course in… well, almost everything on the internet. So, it’s got the knowledge of a trivia champion mixed with the skills of a professional writer!
How ChatGPT Benefits Website Builders
If you’re building a website, especially as a beginner, content is king. But sometimes, drafting compelling content can be daunting. Here’s where ChatGPT comes in:
- Content Generation: Draft blog posts, product descriptions, and more.
- FAQs: Generate FAQs based on common industry queries.
- Brainstorming: Ask ChatGPT to give you ideas on topics or site improvements.
Next, we’ll guide you through how to set up your own ChatGPT account for free–
Guide to Getting Started with ChatGPT
Before harnessing ChatGPT for your new website, you’ll need to set it up. To get started with ChatGPT, you can visit the OpenAI website. There, you’ll find both a free version and a subscription-based version called ChatGPT Plus. OpenAI offers a free version of ChatGPT, and for a $20 monthly fee, you can get ChatGPT Plus, which offers priority access, faster response times, and access to new features and improvements like web browsing and lots of cool plugins.
Using ChatGPT is as simple as typing in a prompt and letting the model generate a response. You can use it to ask questions, write essays, generate ideas, and much more.
Step-by-Step Guide to Starting ChatGPT —
Step 1: Go to OpenAi’s website.
Step 2: Click “Try on web.” (It’s in the bottom right of the screen, or here’s a direct link.)
Step 3: Create an account.
Step 4: Click “New Chat” in the top left of the screen.
Step 5: Type whatever you want in the input at the bottom of the screen. Ask it a question, hit enter, and start chatting!
Step 2: Click “Try on Web” to open ChatGPT.
Step 3: Create a ChatGPT account. Log in.
Step 4: Click “New Chat” to start a new chat.
Step 5: Type whatever you want and start chatting!
Free ChatGPT vs. ChatGPT Plus: What’s the Difference?
The free version of ChatGPT is great to get started with but you may soon find yourself wanting more out of the AI chat bot. That’s where ChatGPT Plus comes in.
Free ChatGPT
The free version of ChatGPT gives you basic access to the AI model. Even with the free version you can get ChatGPT to answer your questions, write articles, and analyze or explain content. However, you might experience slower response times or limited availability during peak times. The free version of ChatGPT doesn’t have internet access, so the information is only as current as 2021.
ChatGPT Plus
You can upgrade to ChatGPT Plus for a $20 monthly subscription fee. The paid version has a couple of big advantages. First, it gives you priority access, which means faster response times and no restrictions, even during peak usage times. Second, it gives you access to new features and improvements as they roll out. Right now, these “new features and improvements” include two very important ones– ChatGPT Plus can access the internet for up-to-date information, and ChatGPT Plus can use plugins. (We’ll take a closer look at plugins in the next section!)
How to Upgrade to ChatGPT Plus
If you decide you want to use the Plus version, upgrading is super easy. Just click the 3 dots by your account email in the bottom left of the ChatGPT screen. Then click “My plan” and you can upgrade to Plus from there!
After you upgrade, click the 3 dots again, then click “Settings.” The Settings box will open up. Click “Beta Features” and make sure you toggle both “Browse with Bing” and “Plugins” to the green On position.
Given its superior capabilities, ChatGPT Plus can be particularly helpful for website owners in terms of content generation speed and richness.
Click the 3 dots by your email, then click “My Plan” to upgrade your account
From the Settings options click “Beta Features” and make sure both “Browse with Bing” and “Plugins” are toggled to the green On position.
How to Use ChatGPT Plugins
You can enable additional functionality with ChatGPT beyond content creation by using plugins. ChatGPT plugins can even enhance different aspects of web development. For instance, some plugins might help with coding snippets, web design ideas, or SEO suggestions. Follow the guide below to use ChatGPT plugins and get the most out of the AI:
After you’ve followed our guide to upgrade your ChatGPT account you’ll have a new toggle at the top of the screen when you start a new chat. The toggle lets you decide if that conversation will use ChatGPT-3.5 or the more advanced ChatGPT-4. (Right now you can only get 25 chats on ChatGPT-4 every 3 hours.) To use plugins, select ChatGPT-4. Then click the “No Plugins Enabled” toggle that appears, and click “Plugin Store.”
This is where you get to choose your plugins! The box that opens will suggest the most popular plugins, or you can scroll through all of them. Right now there’s no way to search for specific plugins, but hopefully that feature gets added in the near future. Just click “Install” or “Uninstall” to add or remove plugins to your ChatGPT.
Enable GPT-4 for your chat and then click the No Plugins Enabled dropdown to open the Plugin Store
Scroll through different plugin categories and choose plugins to Install or Uninstall
ChatGPT will automatically use the installed plugins while you chat with it, however you can currently only have 3 plugins enabled per chat. So if you have more than 3 plugins installed you’ll want to make sure you have the right plugins selected for your chat.
When you start a New Chat, click the plugins toggle and make sure the plugins you want are checked.
When you start a New Chat, click the plugin icons and make sure you have the right 3 plugins selected for that chat
Comparing Other AI Competitors to ChatGPT
If you’re wondering how ChatGPT measures against other AI tools, especially when it comes to website development, let’s examine a few – ChatSonic, Google’s BARD, and Microsoft’s Bing AI – and see how they stack up against ChatGPT.
ChatSonic
ChatSonic
is built by a company called WriterSonic. It’s very beginner friendly. It can generate both text and images, access the internet for the most up-to-date info, and provide sources for the answers it gives. It also takes both voice and text inputs. You can even set its “personality,” so you can have it reply to you like a translator, a philosopher, an interviewer, a motivational coach, and more.
ChatSonic offers a free version that allows up to 10,000 words, and a premium version that starts at about $13 a month and increases based on usage. That makes ChatSonic one of the most affordable AI tools. The downside of ChatSonic is that, at least so far, it is less advanced than ChatGPT– so if you have complex instructions you’ll want to stick to ChatGPT.
Pros: Beginner-friendly AI, easiest-to use, most affordable premium version, can create images, has access to current events
Cons: Doesn’t handle complex requests as well
Google’s BARD
BARD
is “one to watch” in the future, because it’s a very promising and exciting AI. Developers are still building BARD, so only an experimental version is available so far. The full version doesn’t have a release date yet, but the experimental version is already impressive! You may not get as reliable information from BARD as you get from ChatGPT since it’s still in development, so you’ll want to be aware of that. However, BARD is trained on an even larger dataset than ChatGPT, so eventually it should be able to provide you better and more informative answers. Plus BARD can generate images and tables to help explain information, which ChatGPT can only do if you install certain plugins.
Pros: Huge dataset for accurate information (in the future), can create tables and images, has access to current events
Cons: Still in development, not always reliable
Microsoft’s Bing AI
Bing AI
focuses on information retrieval. It integrates directly into the Microsoft Edge browser, superpowering your internet searches if you use Edge. Where ChatGPT is more of a “personal assistant,” Bing AI is more of a “research assistant.”
One benefit of Bing AI is that it connects directly to the internet, always providing up-to-date information. It will also provide sources for any answers it gives you. Developers built Bing AI on GPT-4, the most advanced GPT available. (The free version of ChatGPT runs on GPT-3.5, and ChatGPT Plus runs on GPT-4.) Using Bing AI is the only way to get access to GPT-4 for free right now.
Bing AI also helps you compose your inputs– it will steer you towards asking for specific tone, length, and content type. This makes it much easier to get the type of response you want out of the AI!
Pros: Free GPT-4 for advanced AI, a great research assistant, helps you compose your input, has access to current events
Cons: Only runs on Microsoft Edge, caps the number of chats you can have a day
This guide focuses on ChatGPT, but we plan to take a closer look at each of these tools in upcoming posts. Make sure to check back soon!
So, what’s next?
AI, like ChatGPT, can significantly enhance your website building journey. With its content generation abilities and the potential to aid in web development through plugins, it’s a great tool worth exploring.
There is so much happening with AI! It’s constantly changing, adapting, growing, and new tools are popping up daily that let you do even more impressive things. It’s going to change all of our lives.
You’re now armed with a good chunk of AI knowledge. Go on, impress your friends or, better yet, supercharge that website of yours! Hopefully you’re feeling more confident about getting started with AI after reading through this guide to ChatGPT, but leave a comment if you have any questions and we’ll get back to you as quick as we can.
In the meantime, check out 10 ways you can use AI to help you build your WordPress site!
