MP070 - Discover the Secrets of ChatGPT (And Which Version Solopreneurs Must Use)
Teaser
Did you know that there are actually four different versions of ChatGPT?
In this episode, you'll discover them all, how much they cost, as well as their benefits and limitations.
I'll unpack all of this after the intro.
Welcome
If this is the first episode that you're listening to, welcome to the Macpreneur tribe, and if you're a longtime Macpreneur listener, thank you for tuning back in.
As a fellow solopreneur, I appreciate that you dedicate these 15-ish minutes with me every week.
This is the third episode of season three, which is entirely dedicated to exploring the world of artificial intelligence.
And for the occasion, I've compiled a list of 10 AI tools that every Macpreneur needs to know about if they want to be more efficient and have a competitive edge.
You can grab your own copy by visiting macpreneur.com/AI.
Each tool comes with a brief overview and a direct link so you can seamlessly integrate them into your workflow.
Visit macpreneur.com/AI and you'll instantly discover cutting-edge tools that few other solopreneurs even know existed.
ChatGPT overview
At this stage, you're in one of three camps.
Either you've already been using ChatGPT, or you've heard of it but never used it, or you just discovered it with this podcast.
Either way, the good news is that you're in the right place, my Macpreneur friend.
Because in this episode, I'll dive deep into ChatGPT and explore its various versions, from the free plan to the Mighty API key.
So here's a brief overview of what ChatGPT is.
It's a large language model developed by OpenAI, and the GPT at the end stands for generative pre-trained transformer.
I've explained a little bit about what it means in episode 68, so you can refer to that if you need more info regarding the AI models.
ChatGPT is the first commercially available AI chatbot that was good enough for practical text-related applications.
It's actually the fastest-growing online service of this kind.
So within the first week of availability, it had 1 million active users.
And in just two months, it got 100 million monthly active users.
At the time of recording, it's November 7th. It has 100 million weekly active users.
And yeah, there are four versions: ChatGPT Free, ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT Enterprise, and ChatGPT API. API stands for Application Programming Interface.
And so, how much does it cost?
ChatGPT cost
Well, obviously the free plan is free, but then the ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month.
The ChatGPT Enterprise doesn't have any price list. Apparently, it depends on the size of the organization, but OpenAI doesn't disclose that amount.
And then there's the ChatGPT API version, and the cost depends on the model. There are two main models, version 3.5 and version 4.
But also the maximum number of words that can be exchanged during a conversation.
Now, to give you an idea, my total usage over the months of August, September, and October combined was $1.72.
In other words, it cost me less than $1 per month, and I'm using it almost daily.
ChatGPT Free
So now let's start with ChatGPT Free and look at its main features.
ChatGPT Free allows you to configure what we call custom instructions, and those instructions will then be used for all the prompts.
There are two sections, two text boxes that we can fill.
The first one is called background information where we explain, maybe, our business, our ideal customer avatar, and various information like that.
And then the second box is how ChatGPT should respond.
So for instance, we could specify the tone of voice, if we want a response to be concise or detailed, and stuff like that.
The next feature is that we can activate chat history.
So, seeing on the left part of the interface, all the conversations that we have had with ChatGPT so far, it has some caveats, I will talk about that in a few minutes.
And then the third main feature of the free plan is that you can share a link to a specific conversation.
So if you wanted somebody else to review a conversation, you could then do that.
Please note that as soon as you share the conversation, it will only be the messages that were sent before you started sharing that will be visible.
If you continue the conversation afterwards, the people who receive the link will not be able to see the next part of the conversation.
So, what are the advantages of the free plan, in addition to the minimal cost?
Well, it's super easy to start with.
You just create an account at chat.openai.com and it doesn't have any limits on the number of messages that you send.
Now, in terms of limitations, it's only capable of processing text and generating text.
It doesn't have access to real-time information, and the model that is offered is the old one, GPT 3.5, so the answers are much less elaborate than with the latest version, which is GPT 4.
Now, if you enable chat history, please be aware that all the conversation, all the data that you will exchange with ChatGPT, will be used to further train the model.
So that could be an issue if you want to share maybe confidential information. You shouldn't do that.
And the last limitation is that the context, the size of the conversation, is pretty limited.
It's actually between 800 and 1,000 words maximum. In ChatGPT parlance, we talk about tokens, so it's a 4,000 token limit, but basically it means that you can have very short conversations. It's not possible to copy-paste a long blog post and have it analyzed or summarized, right?
It's just small pieces of text that would work.
ChatGPT Plus
This would be maybe the main reason why you would consider subscribing to ChatGPT Plus.
It has all the same features as the free version, but because it gives you access to the GPT-4 model, it will also give you much more elaborate responses.
And the conversations can go up to 30,000 words in length.
So it's really great to analyze blog posts, podcast transcripts, and very long pieces of text.
In addition to that, it has access to real-time information via Microsoft Bing, and it's multimodal. So multimodal, meaning it can do more than deal with text.
There is a feature called Advanced Data Analysis, so you can upload computer code, a PDF, a Word document, presentations, Excel files, CSV files, images, and then you can ask ChatGPT to summarize, analyze, and edit.
And you can even ask it to create graphs.
I saw an example of somebody uploading a CSV file with data on a country-by-country basis.
And ChatGPT was able to create a map, a graph with a map showing the value with different colors over the world map.
And if that was not enough, you can also integrate third-party plugins. There are more than 1,000 plugins available at the time of recording. And the one that I use the most is called LinkReader.
So for instance, when I do the newsflash for EasyTECH, I curate a bunch of articles from an RSS feed. And so, I ask ChatGPT to go through each of the links and then make me a summary based on the content that it has found through the URL.
As I said, it's multimodal, so it can also create images, and that was made available in October 2023.
And it's an integration through DALL-E 3, another model from OpenAI that can create images.
And so, when you activate this integration, you can just ask ChatGPT to create images.
You don't even need to know how to prompt DALL-E 3, it will create the best prompt possible for DALL-E.
And what happens is that it will then create four square images.
After that, you can decide to make some changes, and then it will create four new images, or you could say, let's take the image number three and make some tweaks and changes, and then it will continue with just one of the four images.
And then a very new feature that was released on November 6th, it's called Custom GPTs.
And so these are customized versions of ChatGPT that combine specific instructions, extra knowledge, and even a combination of skills.
It's still rolling out at the time of recording, which means actually I don't have access yet, so I haven't been able to test it.
And OpenAI, for instance, is providing already a few GPTs.
One is a creative writing coach, another one is a tech advisor, and another one is a negotiator.
And Canva, the online tool that allows you to create presentations, logos, and social media posts, is also offering its own GPT.
So it means that once it will be available, right from the ChatGPT interface, you will be able to ask Canva to create images and presentations.
And on top of that, when it will be released, we will be able to create our own personalized GPT.
So I'm already thinking of creating Macpreneur GPT with all the information that it requires for helping me craft interesting topics and stuff like that.
So I can tell you, I can't wait to test that feature.
And now let's have a look at the advantages of ChatGPT 4.
So first of all, it's a predictable cost, right? It's $20 per month.
Not less, not more, and it is much more capable than the free version.
So it has a better predictive model, a much larger context, and it's multimodal.
Now in terms of limitations, it is capped at 50 messages every three hours. Now, it's already a lot, right?
To be able to do that, you would need to use it heavily, but it's something worth knowing.
Now this is alleviated by the fact that when we have a ChatGPT Plus subscription, we still have access to GPT 3.5.
So actually there are two tabs at the top of the interface.
And so, if for any reason you would do your 50 messages in the three hours, you could
ChatGPT Enterprise
One way is to use the ChatGPT Enterprise version.
It has exactly the same features as ChatGPT Plus.
In addition to that, there are no message caps, so it's unlimited messages.
And because it's built for the enterprise, people or employees can create chat templatesand then share those internally.
And then, it offers other enterprise features like single sign-on, domain verification, and analytics.
So the biggest advantage is that the data is not used for training the model. So it's really ideal when dealing with confidential information.
Now, you need to fill a form to get a price quote, which I have done a few days ago, and I'm still awaiting a response.
I don't know yet how much it costs for a solopreneur, and as soon as I have some information, I will report back on social media for sure.
Now, it's not a big deal.
Because there is another way to use ChatGPT while making sure that our data isn't used for training the model.
ChatGPT API
And that's the API version of ChatGPT.
So yes, whatever information is transmitted to and from OpenAI via the API, which stands for Application Programming Interface, there is no risk of leakage.
Now, the other reason you should consider using the API version is that it integrates very well with Mac applications, like Shortcuts, Raycast, PopClip, and a bunch of other applications.
So no need to open a browser.
You just invoke ChatGPT from within those applications or macOS itself.
And I will cover these applications in the next episode.
There are other advantages.
For instance, when we use the API, we can choose between GPT 3.5 and GPT-4.
And for GPT 3.5, we can have four times the context window.
So we can use GPT 3.5 with the API and have conversations that can go up to 4,000 words.
We also have the ability to use other AI models from OpenAI, like Whisper for transcriptions, but also DALL-E for image generation.
And because it's pay per use, it's much cheaper than the ChatGPT Plus subscription.
As you remember, it's costing me less than $1 per month, using the API.
And I think I'm using it quite extensively, but on top of that, it's even possible to define a monthly budget. I've set mine at $10, and you could even create an email notification threshold, which I personally put at $5.
And another advantage is that it's multi-modal, like ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise.
We just need to invoke GPT 4 with Vision API, and then it's possible to analyze images, documents, presentations, and create Excel graphs from data, just like we can do from the browser version.
Now, there are some limitations of the API version.
It is less straightforward to set up and use.
You need to sign up via a different URL: platform.openai.com.
Then you need to create an organization, and then you configure a payment method, or you have to prepay for credits.
And once you've done that, you need to generate an API key, save it somewhere, ideally in a password manager, and then you have to use that API key in all the applications that you have installed on your Mac or in shortcuts, for instance.
Another limitation is that it's completely separate billing and account management from ChatGPT Plus.
So at the beginning, I was just a ChatGPT Plus subscriber, and I thought I'm paying $20 per month for ChatGPT, I should be able to quickly create an API key with that account.
Unfortunately, it's totally separate, and so it's not included in the price.
And in addition to that, when I started using the API keys, I was limited to GPT 3.5 and I learned that to be able to have access to GPT 4, to the API of GPT 4, I needed to have been billed at least $1 previously.
So using the GPT-3.5 API which is very, very cheap, I needed to use it a lot to reach that $1 bill threshold.
Now they've changed that. If you purchase credits, they say at least 50 cents, but the problem is the minimum number of credits that you can purchase is $5.
So if you purchase $5 worth of credits, then you immediately have access to the API for GPT 4.
Generate in English language.
Main ChatGPT API benefit
Having said that, the main benefit of making the effort required to get an API key is that it can help us save valuable time on our Mac.
So rather than always needing to open a browser window and create a new conversation, it's possible to quickly invoke ChatGPT on our Mac in three ways.
First, directly from the menu bar.
There are applications that come with a menu bar component, which gives us direct access to ChatGPT in the top right corner of our Mac.
The second way is via a floating text box, similar to the Spotlight search, right?
So some applications offer that functionality natively, and if you've installed Raycast or if you're using Raycast, then you just need to install a ChatGPT extension or a ChatGPT-capable extension.
You configure it with your API key, and then directly from Raycast, you are able to chat with ChatGPT.
And the third way is right after selecting text.
This is, in fact, how I interact the most with ChatGPT using the API.
So there is an application called PopClip for which you can install ChatGPT plugins.
And so I can tell you, it's so good to simply select some text in Notes, then get this text summarized for Instagram in a few seconds without needing to leave the app.
Just selecting the text, choosing the thing I want to do with ChatGPT, and automatically the text that was selected is replaced by the summary for Instagram.
Now, to keep this episode short and sweet, I will cover these kinds of applications in the next episode.
Recap
So, to recap... I have started by defining what ChatGPT is, the four versions that are available today, and how much each costs.
Then, for each version, I have covered their respective features, advantages, and limitations.
In summary, ChatGPT Free is a great starting point for solopreneurs who want to test the waters for text-related tasks that require very little context.
Now, as soon as you'd like to process larger text or if you want to be able to access real-time information or perform data analysis, for instance, then a $20 ChatGPT Plus subscription is the best option, provided that you're okay with sharing data that will then be used to further train the AI model.
So, to prevent this from happening, you have two options: the enterprise or the API version of ChatGPT.
I recommend starting with the API version because you don't need any approval.
It's very affordable, and then you'll be able to easily incorporate ChatGPT into your workflow on your Mac.
Now, if you've never used ChatGPT before, I hope this episode has motivated you to start experimenting with it.
And if you've already started, I'm really curious to know what specific use cases have helped you so far.
You can DM me on Instagram. My handle is @macpreneurfm.
Next
In the next episode, I will explore seven ways to make the most of ChatGPT on your Mac.
Whether you use the free version, the ChatGPT Plus subscription, or the API version,
it will be full of practical applications, and I will share with you how I've personally integrated ChatGPT into my own workflows.
So that's it for today.
If you haven't done it yet, visit macpreneur.com/AI to grab your own copy of the top 10 AI tools cheat sheet.
This PDF will give you the edge that you need to boost your solo business in this fast-paced world.
Once again, it's macpreneur.com/AI.
Until next time, I'm Damien Schreurs, wishing you a great day.