Seattle AI Consultant

Tag: ChatGPT

  • Do You Really Need to Say “Please” to AI? I Tried It So You Don’t Have To

    Do You Really Need to Say “Please” to AI? I Tried It So You Don’t Have To

    By an AI Consultant at Avanzar AI

    If you’ve spent any time talking to ChatGPT, Claude, or even your voice assistant, you’ve probably heard someone say: “Make sure to say please and thank you!” Maybe they’re joking—or maybe they’re not. As someone who works with AI every day at Avanzar AI, I found myself wondering: is politeness really necessary when interacting with artificial intelligence?

    Recently, two articles caught my attention. One was from TechRadar, which highlighted just how much time and money OpenAI is investing to train models like ChatGPT to respond well to polite users. We’re talking tens of millions of dollars spent on fine-tuning models with human feedback—much of it based on conversations where users say “please” and “thank you.” The other was a thoughtful piece from the University of New South Wales, which explored whether being polite to AI might shape our own behavior more than the AI’s.

    The short version? The AI doesn’t care. But you might.

    Technically, most AI tools don’t require manners. They’re designed to understand intent, not social etiquette. Say “Show me a chart of quarterly sales,” and you’ll get what you asked for—no “please” required. But here’s where things get interesting: researchers and developers have found that when people speak politely, the tone of the AI’s response often shifts in kind. Not because the AI has feelings, but because it has patterns.

    When you say “please,” you’re more likely to get a response that’s a little warmer, more detailed, or just more cooperative. Maybe it’s because the model has been trained on millions of conversations that reward this tone. Or maybe, as the UNSW article suggests, being polite just primes you to think more clearly, stay calm, and frame better prompts.

    So I decided to test this myself.

    Over the past week, I ran a small experiment. I gave ChatGPT and Claude a series of identical tasks—once with polite phrasing, once without. No major difference in outcomes, but I did notice some subtle variations. The polite prompts often returned slightly more complete answers. They also seemed to produce more helpful follow-ups. For example, “Can you please help me write a job description for a marketing analyst?” got me not just the description, but also a suggested salary range and interview questions. The blunt version—“Write a job description for a marketing analyst”—returned the basics, and nothing more.

    Coincidence? Maybe. But it happened often enough that I started leaning toward the “why not be polite?” camp.

    Here’s the bottom line: no, you don’t have to say “please” to your AI tools. They won’t take offense. But if you’re not getting the results you want—or you’re just curious—try adding a little courtesy into your prompts. You might find the responses slightly more useful. At the very least, it’s a good reminder that how we interact with tools can shape our own mindset.

    At Avanzar AI, we help businesses and nonprofits explore these kinds of questions every day. Whether it’s prompt design, workflow automation, or training teams to work with AI more effectively, we’re always experimenting with ways to make AI more responsive and human-friendly.

    So go ahead—say “please.” Or don’t. Either way, the future’s listening

  • How Small Business Owners Are Really Using AI (According to Reddit)

    How Small Business Owners Are Really Using AI (According to Reddit)

    Every once in a while, I come across a Reddit thread that feels like a goldmine—and this one definitely fit the bill. Titled “How did you use AI to improve your small business?” the post sparked an open, practical discussion among entrepreneurs, freelancers, and solo founders. It wasn’t just theory or hype—it was real people using AI in the trenches.

    I wanted to summarize the most interesting and upvoted responses here because honestly, I think these ideas can inspire a lot of us running small businesses. AI can feel overwhelming at times, but this thread reminded me that it doesn’t have to be complicated to be impactful.

    1. Automating the Annoying Stuff

    Let’s start with the most obvious use case: automating repetitive tasks. One of the top comments came from a user who said:

    “I use ChatGPT to write email templates, generate marketing copy, and respond to customer inquiries. It saves me hours every week.”

    Another person added that they had set up an AI to summarize customer feedback from reviews and emails:

    “It pulls in all our feedback, highlights themes, and suggests changes to our FAQ and product pages. It’s like having a junior marketing analyst who never sleeps.”

    Honestly, this is one of the most practical ways I use AI in my own workflow too. Whether it’s summarizing meeting notes or writing social captions, tools like ChatGPT or Claude have quietly become my digital assistants.

    2. Content Creation & SEO

    Content is still king—and AI is helping folks crank it out faster than ever.

    One Redditor wrote:

    “We use AI to generate outlines for blog posts, then flesh them out manually. It speeds up the content process by about 70%.”

    Another chimed in:

    “I use Jasper to create product descriptions and landing page copy. Then I tweak it to match our tone. It’s a good balance of speed and human touch.”

    Several commenters emphasized the importance of not just copying and pasting AI output. They saw it as a starting point—a first draft that still needed a human to shape and polish it. That resonated with me. AI isn’t about replacing your voice—it’s about giving you a head start.

    3. Leveling Up Customer Support

    A few users mentioned using AI-powered chatbots for handling basic customer queries.

    “We implemented a chatbot for our e-commerce site. It answers common questions about shipping, returns, and sizing. Our support tickets dropped by 40%.”

    Another interesting use case: AI-generated video tutorials based on product FAQs.

    “I upload FAQ text and AI turns it into video walkthroughs with voiceover. It makes us look way more professional than we are!”

    The lesson here? Customers appreciate fast, helpful responses—and AI is giving small businesses a way to provide that without needing a 10-person support team.

    4. Boosting Social Media Output

    Social media was another big area where AI is making waves. One user shared:

    “I use AI to generate daily post ideas, write captions, and even suggest hashtags. It’s helped me be consistent, which is half the battle.”

    Another added that they used AI to turn blog posts into Instagram carousel slides and LinkedIn posts. Repurposing content is smart marketing—and AI is making it easier to do more with less.

    5. Data Crunching for Non-Data People

    This was probably one of the more underrated takeaways. Several commenters mentioned using AI to analyze business data they didn’t fully understand before.

    “I upload spreadsheets to ChatGPT and ask questions like ‘What trends do you see?’ or ‘Which products are underperforming?’ It’s like having a data scientist in my pocket.”

    This blew me away. So many of us sit on data but don’t know how to act on it. AI can act as a translator—turning raw numbers into insights and action steps.

    My Takeaway

    Reading through all these responses, what struck me was how many different ways people are using AI—even in tiny one-person shops. It’s not always flashy or futuristic. Often, it’s just about saving time, improving consistency, or helping us focus on the stuff that actually matters.

    What’s encouraging is that many of the most valuable uses for AI in small business don’t require any outside help. Tools like Gemini for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 Copilot are already built into systems a lot of us use every day. With a little exploration, business owners can automate emails, analyze spreadsheets, draft proposals, and more—completely on their own.

    That said, things can get more complex as your needs grow. Maybe you’re trying to integrate AI into multiple parts of your business, or you’re using a tool but feel like you’re only scratching the surface. When that happens—and it often does—that’s where working with someone like me can help.

    As an AI consultant based in Seattle, I help small business owners make smarter, more strategic use of these tools. Whether it’s improving workflows, creating custom AI-driven solutions, or just getting the most out of what you already have, my goal is to make AI feel practical, approachable, and impactful.

    And if you’ve already got an AI workflow that’s helping your business? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment or shoot me an email—I’m always looking for more real-world examples to feature.