In a bold move that mirrors the tech industry's most audacious strategies, OpenAI has unveiled the capability to craft your own version of GPT. Inspired by this groundbreaking development, I've channeled my expertise in gamification—the same expertise that fueled my latest book—into creating a specialized GPT model. I can't help but wonder, am I cannibalizing myself by doing this? I still don't think GPT is going to replace books. There is a story and context within the book that you will never get from AI, yet.
I vividly recall Sam Altman's electrifying presentation on custom GPTs and thinking I was watching a signal of change. We are seeing the future unfold. Then, to make me question my thought process, the whirlwind of events unfolded—his departure, his 24-hour stint at Microsoft, and his triumphant return with a new board! (More on this in my next article about AI and Ethics.)
This journey reminds me of Steve Jobs' rollercoaster experience with Apple—his ousting, his return, and the subsequent revolution he led with a world-changing product and the genius addition of an app store. The parallels are uncanny and utterly inspiring.
In short, this new feature is a prelude to a future dominated by generative AI, where crafting custom applications is not just a possibility but a necessity.
Jumping into the AI realm has been an exhilarating leap into a futuristic world brimming with potential. It's not just about being at the forefront of technology; the thrill of customizing this cutting-edge tool to our passions and interests truly excites me. I'm eager to share this journey with you, to explore and experiment together, and to unlock the full, personalized potential of what this technology can offer us.
Note: You need to be a paid user and open to beta features, which you can find in the settings.
Here are the first steps to get started:
1. Sign in to OpenAI and go to ChatGPT.
2. Click your profile on the bottom left and go to "My GPTs."
3. Select “Create a GPT.”
Now the fun begins:
1. Pick a topic you know a lot about. If you have a bunch of documents, you can load them to train the model.
2. Write a specific action for the GPT. I designed mine to specialize in gamifying digital products.
3. I uploaded my book and other presentations and webinars I've done on gamification and set that as the training material.
4. I created a name that is the same as the book website: www.levelupyourproduct.com
5. Give it more context. Who are the end users of this GPT? What industries will you focus on? The more detail, the better.
6. Test out your GPT by asking the prompts on the right side.
When I say "training my AI model," I mean I'm giving OpenAI new documents and data to analyze. It's a way for ChatGPT to expand its understanding of concepts and better answer questions with accurate information. Each time I upload industry reports, articles from my niche, or other readings I want this new GPT to focus on, ChatGPT trains itself using that content. It's akin to how students do more homework assignments on a subject to get better at it. The more company-specific documents or other materials relevant to my needs that I feed it, the better it gets at understanding important nuances that help provide high-quality, tailored advice and insights. So, providing custom documents educates your GPT on the topics you specialize in.
Now it's time to review and tweak anything based on your responses, select the “Configure” button on the top middle:
1. Make sure your name and description are correct.
2. Edit the conversation starters to apply to the questions most people ask about your selected topic.
3. Upload any other files you think would be helpful to train the model.
Create and edit your story and the instructions to AI to make sure they are specific and concise and cover the customization topics you aim for.
Use ChatGPT to create the code to custom-build actions in its interface. I selected the ability to search the web for examples of products with gamified features since I often get requests to demo features of successful apps with gamification. Since the feature we are building is still in beta, it has yet to work every time and is still buggy. Feel free to skip this step.
Now, we are ready to rock and roll.
Select "Publish" at the top right of your screen and share the link with your fellow prompt engineers to share your custom GPT.
Again, this is still in beta. Sometimes, it's slow; sometimes, I must refresh the page. But you have the power to create your GPTs and give others a specialized tool to learn about a topic you've worked extensively on. Only time will tell how this plays out, but we will see an explosion of custom GPTs, and paywalls will be coming soon.
I won't charge, so try it yourself: Level Up Your Product GPT.
Mike