Your opinion about Artificial Intelligence and generative AI tools like ChatGPT may be different than mine, but I believe those of us who learn how to use these tools will always be valuable to our schools!

In my last blog, Enhancing School Communications with ChatGPT: A Powerful Tool for Productivity, I laid out the basics of ChatGPT, shared some ideas from other School PR pros, and asked you to play around with it this summer. 

How is it going so far? Have you run into any questions? 

This blog is going to take the last topic one step further, with a few words of wisdom so that you can avoid the most common mistakes with ChatGPT and leverage its full power with some tips! Let’s dig in.

ChatGPT Do’s for School PR

• DO jump in and start playing around with a generative AI tool when you don’t have a specific deadline looming. You don’t want to be rushed the first time you use it!
• DO proofread and modify everything ChatGPT gives you. Shape the text to your district voice, fact-check the information it wrote, remove excess emojis and hashtags, and make sure it fits with your style of writing.
• DO continue to give ChatGPT more direction as it generates your copy. You can add things like: 
  • Make it shorter
  • Make it funnier
  • Make it more serious
  • Include #SchoolHashtag
• DO give ChatGPT feedback like “Here’s the final copy for your reference [paste text]” so that it learns your voice and style for the next request.
• DO open a “new chat” when you are switching to a new project where you don’t want ChatGPT to reference the earlier chats. It’s beneficial to stay within one chat for all your social media posts so the tool remembers your work and learns your voice and preferences, but it could make things messy if you’re switching from, say, social media post writing to personal meal planning!
• DO have a talk with your leadership team about how each of you can use the tool to enhance your work. Make sure you have some guidelines that you all are following. Most schools that I talked to have incorporated AI into their “academic honesty” section of handbooks.
• DO experiment with different prompts to explore the full range of content that ChatGPT can produce.
• DO set realistic expectations for ChatGPT’s capabilities, remembering that it’s a tool to assist and not a foolproof solution.
• DO collaborate with others in your field to share best practices, tips, and success stories on using AI tools like ChatGPT.

ChatGPT Don’ts for School PR

• DON’T copy the “regenerate response” text at the bottom of the finished text. I did it once, and I’m so embarrassed I didn’t catch it! Luckily, no one commented.
• DON’T use ChatGPT for every single social media post. You are creative! Using it will keep you inspired, so don’t feel like you need it for every little thing you write. Trust yourself!
• DON’T paste links. At the time of writing this (June 2023) the free version of ChatGPT is not actively scouring the internet for current updates. If you want it to summarize content or reference a specific website page, you’ll have to copy and paste all the text into ChatGPT.
• DON’T be afraid to tell others that you are leveraging it. If it helps your school’s communication efforts, doesn’t that have a positive impact on everyone? 
• DON’T input sensitive information into ChatGPT because it cannot ensure the privacy or security of any information you provide. 
• DON’T ignore the human touch; ChatGPT can be helpful, but your personal experience and intuition still have a critical role to play.
• DON’T expect ChatGPT to always understand the nuances of your school district or specific community issues; provide it with context and local information as needed.
• DON’T forget that future developments in AI tools could offer even more benefits; stay updated on the latest advancements and be open to adopting new tools as they improve!

Now it’s your turn! Let me know the do’s and don’ts you’d add to my list in the comments below, or tweet @ me with your thoughts: @AndreaGribble.