5 ways I actually use ChatGPT Work in my small business to save time and money

Here at ZDNET, we've been diving into ChatGPT Work and its cousin, Claude Cowork, the agentic multi-step AI tools that are providing substantial productivity benefits to the folks who use them. Over the past few months, I've been putting both tools to work.

In this article, I'll spotlight five ways I use ChatGPT Work in my business. Keep coming back to ZDNET, because over the coming weeks, I'll also be doing deeper dives on individual projects using both ChatGPT Work and Claude Cowork.

What Happened

I use ChatGPT Work a lot for email support. Initially, connecting Gmail to ChatGPT Work (and Claude Cowork) freaked me out, but I soon settled on a safe pattern.

• That dataset is big, with almost 750,000 entries.

• This loan promised to consolidate the debt and reduce our aggregate interest rate, which theoretically could save us a fair amount of cash.

• Like all companies, we have a fair amount of debt, scattered across a small selection of vendors.

Key Details

I only enable the connection before I give the AI a fairly large assignment. This routine creates added friction, but it helps me sleep better at night.

• We're always looking at ways to keep the business on solid financial footing.

• One of my small company's best practices is financial scrutiny and observation.

• A few months ago, we received a bill consolidation offer from what seemed like a trusted brand.

Why It Matters

Summarize the last 5 messages from OpenAI's PR people and capture decisions, open questions, and what I should follow up on next. But a revised prompt provided more details about what I was looking for and worked well.

• ChatGPT Work helped me understand and spec out what I needed, which will make the fabrication workshop much more functional.

• I've filmed the B-roll, and I'll install them in the lab this week.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by ZDNET as more details emerge