- March 7, 2023
- Posted by: Anshuman Kumar
- Category: Market and competitive intelligence
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard of ChatGPT, if not already tried it out. ChatGPT, or Generative Pretrained Transformer, is a state-of-the-art, deep-learning language model. Developed by OpenAI, it uses NLP (natural language processing) to generate human-like text in response to natural language inputs. It also has tips for market and competitive intelligence professionals.
Due to its ability to hold coherent and contextually relevant conversations, complete sentences and paragraphs, and generate human-like text, ChatGPT is the closest thing to a human-like AI language model to date.
As a market and competitive intelligence (MCI) professional, I had many questions. “How can ChatGPT be harnessed to conduct better MCI?”. “Are there any tips for market and competitive intelligence?”. Then came a barrage of other questions, which I’ll probably write about in another blog.
Anyway, after reading up (a lot) on ChatGPT, and of course after countless hours of experimenting with it with various prompts, I have understood much more than I intended to, both about its current and future potential. I thought it would be helpful to share this with MCI professionals. Thus was born this blog.
The truth about the hype around ChatGPT
Initially, I thought the following factors contributed to ChatGPT’s exceptional capabilities, and thus, the surrounding hype:
- Query Triggers and Parameters
ChatGPT is one of the largest language models ever developed, with over 175 billion parameters, allowing it to handle a wide range of topics and tasks with a high level of accuracy.
- Training Data Sources
It was trained on a diverse range of internet text, which includes not just conversational text but also articles, books, and websites, making it more versatile and generalizable compared to chatbots trained on limited datasets.
- Generative Model
ChatGPT is a generative model that uses deep learning techniques to generate responses based on the input it receives. This allows it to generate human-like responses, unlike rule-based chatbots that rely on pre-defined responses.
- Real-time Processing
It is designed to process requests in real-time, making it well-suited for a wide range of conversational applications, from customer service to entertainment.
- Contextual Awareness
ChatGPT is capable of understanding and retaining context across multiple turns of a conversation, allowing it to generate responses that are more relevant and coherent.In addition, it also has been trained in multiple languages, allowing it to handle multilingual conversations, making it a versatile tool for global technological applications.
However, after a bit more digging, I understood that this tree has much deeper roots than it lets on and that ChatGPT’s future potential – and not its current capabilities – are responsible for the larger part of the hype.
So, I curated a list of what the future potential applications of ChatGPT could be. In the interest of time and for the purposes of this blog, I’m only listing ChatGPT’s applications in market and competitive intelligence. Read on.
Harnessing The Power Of ChatGPT – 5 Tips for Market And Competitive Intelligence (MCI)
I could think of 5 potential applications of ChatGPT in market and competitive intelligence that would revolutionize the industry in the future. They are as follows:
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Text Summarization
One of the primary challenges in the MCI industry is managing large volumes of information from various sources.
ChatGPT can be used to automate the process of summarizing this information, making it easier for MCI professionals to digest and understand the most important information.
By using NLP techniques such as text compression, abstraction, and keyphrase extraction, ChatGPT can condense long reports and documents into a more manageable format.
This is what most MCI professionals perform on a regular basis to review each update and create a summarised view that can be shared with their functional teams and heads.
This is something that can be done currently, and will likely improve in the future.
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Sentiment Analysis
In the MCI industry, it is important to have a clear understanding of how customers, stakeholders, and competitors are feeling about the product, the service, and the brand.
By using NLP techniques such as sentiment classification and emotion detection, ChatGPT can automate the process of sentiment analysis, quickly providing a comprehensive overview of the overall sentiment towards a specific topic.
As an MCI professional, you would have a collection of information on your own offerings, and your competitor’s offerings.
Make a tracking sheet to find reviews about your offerings compared to your competitors, and categorize the positive and negative sentiments.Currently, this capability is rudimentary and requires a lot of manual input, but will likely improve in the coming times.
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Market Trend Tracking
Keeping up-to-date with the latest market trends is crucial for organizations in the MCI industry. ChatGPT may be used to track market trends and provide real-time updates on changes in consumer behavior, market demand, and competitor activity in the future.
This can be done by monitoring various data sources such as social media, news outlets, and online forums and then using NLP techniques such as named entity recognition, trend analysis, and event extraction to provide a clear understanding of market trends.
Read more: How to Design The Best Market Entry Strategy Using Market & Competitive Intelligence
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Competitor Monitoring
Monitoring competitor activity is a crucial aspect of MCI. ChatGPT may be used to automate the process of competitor monitoring, providing a real-time overview of competitor strategies, products, and market share.
This can be achieved by using NLP techniques such as named entity recognition, entity extraction, and entity resolution to gather information from various sources and provide a clear understanding of competitor activity. Again, something we’ll have to likely wait a few years for.
Read more: 5 Ways Competitive Intelligence Helps You Stay Ahead of Your Competitors
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Data analysis
Data analysis is important in MCI because it helps organizations to gather insights and make informed decisions based on data, and with more and more organizations becoming data-driven, the importance of data analysis increases.
ChatGPT’s abilities can be really helpful in this area as they allow it to:
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Analyze and process large volumes of unstructured data in a human-like and intuitive way, such as customer reviews, social media posts, text and voice data
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Build predictive models to forecast future trends and make data-driven decisions
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Generate data visualizations and graphs to communicate insights and patterns in an accessible way
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Integrate data from multiple sources to provide a complete view for informed decisions
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Automate routine data analysis tasks to free up human analysts for complex tasks.
Except for the predictive modeling part, most of this can be done currently using ChatGPT.
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Knowledge management
With the growth of digital technologies and the increasing complexity of business operations, the importance of effective knowledge management has increased too, making it an essential part of modern corporate organizations. This is another area where ChatGPT has potential. For example:
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Automating the creation of knowledge base articles, user guides, and other forms of documentation, saving businesses time and resources.
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Integrating knowledge management systems to help users find the information they need more quickly and easily, answering questions and directing them to relevant information.
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Categorizing and classifying information, making it easier for businesses to organize their knowledge management systems.
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Analyzing and identifying patterns in large amounts of data, allowing businesses to discover new insights and relationships in their knowledge management systems.
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Suggesting relevant content and resources to users based on their past behavior and interests.
Once again, this capability is partially present and will be improved upon in the future.
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Chatbots
In the MCI industry, it is important to have a fast and efficient way of gathering information from customers, stakeholders, and competitors. Chatbots powered by ChatGPT can be used to automate the process of gathering this information, providing a more convenient and personalized experience for the user.
Chatbots can be integrated into various platforms, such as websites and messaging apps, and can be used to gather information such as customer feedback, market trends, and competitor activity.
ChatGPT is, after all, a chatbot, what we’re waiting for is its integration into various platforms.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and the actual potential of ChatGPT in MCI could be much more than this.
However, it is now clear that ChatGPT has tremendous future potential, but what about the flip side? As with the arrival and adoption of any cutting-edge technology, there are challenges that must be addressed and risks that need to be mitigated.
Tips for market and competitive intelligence – Challenges and risks in using chat GPT
The adoption of ChatGPT by various industries in the future, although potentially very beneficial, comes with its own set of challenges and risks. Here are some examples:
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Bias and fairness
As with any AI system, ChatGPT is only as unbiased as the data it has been trained on. If the training data contains biases, these biases will be reflected in the output of the model. This can result in discriminatory or offensive responses, which could be harmful to individuals and organizations alike. To mitigate this, it is important to ensure that the training data is diverse and representative of the population that the model will be serving.
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Data privacy and security tips for market and competitive intelligence
ChatGPT processes large amounts of sensitive data, which can include personal information, financial data, and confidential business information. Ensuring the security and privacy of this data is critical, as breaches can lead to serious consequences, such as identity theft, financial fraud, and damage to reputation.
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Limitations of language models
Despite the advances in NLP, language models such as ChatGPT still have limitations. They can struggle to understand context and sarcasm and may generate inappropriate or incorrect responses. This can lead to frustration for users and damage to the reputation of organizations that adopt the technology.
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Interoperability and compatibility
For most of the potential applications mentioned above to work, ChatGPT will need to be integrated with other systems and tools in order to be effective. However, ensuring compatibility and interoperability with these systems will be a significant challenge and may require years of effort.
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Dependence on human input
While ChatGPT can automate many tasks, it still requires human input in the form of prompts and training data. This can result in a dependence on a limited number of human experts, which can be a challenge for organizations with limited resources.
Additionally, the quality of the human input will impact the quality of the output generated by the model, which could result in poor performance if the input is inaccurate or incomplete.
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Cost
The cost of implementing and maintaining technologies powered by ChatGPT can be significant, particularly for smaller organizations. This includes the cost of hardware, software, and human resources required to maintain and improve the model over time.
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Ethical and legal considerations
The use of chatbots and AI technology raises ethical and legal questions, such as the responsibility for the actions of the chatbot and the impact of the technology on employment and job displacement.
Chat GPT tips for market and competitive intelligence – Conclusion
In conclusion, the potential for ChatGPT to transform various industries is immense, and I believe more so for MCI. Its applications are diverse and wide-ranging.
For MCI, the use of ChatGPT would automate various processes and provide real-time insights. Thus, making it easier for MCI professionals to manage large volumes of information and stay up-to-date with the latest market trends and competitor activities.
The overall outlook for ChatGPT in the future is highly positive. Its benefits are evident. And with continued development and improvement, it is poised to play an increasingly important role in the market and competitive intelligence landscape in the coming years.
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About the author, Anshuman Kumar:
Anshuman is passionate about start-ups and is always keen on studying the growth journeys of companies over the course of their time. His expertise in strategy, consulting, and MCI domain has led him to start his entrepreneurship journey, advising and assisting client organizations to accelerate their growth paths.