I tried ChatGBT on a whim, and ended up with three solid ideas for incorporating this exciting AI bot into my writing workflow.

As I was writing a trade journal article about a Public Private Partnership (P3) model called a Concession deal, I did my usual thing—googling down rabbit holes until I got the gist of the issues involved. Ideas started populating the page, like random daisies popping up on a field. I always enjoy this phase of writing, so many possibilities. But corralling them all into a cohesive article has always been a bit of a slog.

However, before I sat down for my second session of googling, I decided to see what ChatGBT had to say about the subject. I learned about ChatGBT that morning on my favorite podcast, The Daily, and I thought I’d give it a try. I asked ChatGBT three questions:

As I was writing a trade journal article about a Public Private Partnership (P3) model called a Concession deal, I did my usual thing—googling down rabbit holes until I got the gist of the issues involved. Ideas started populating the page, like random daisies popping up on a field. I always enjoy this phase of writing, so many possibilities. But corralling them all into a cohesive article has always been a bit of a slog.

  • What are the benefits of P3’s for infrastructure projects?
  • What are the downsides of P3’s from both private and public perspectives?
  • What are examples of the Concession model of PPP outside of the United States?

My expectations were low, given that the topic wasn’t exactly fodder for cocktail conversation, but I was pleasantly surprised. While ChatGBT won’t write my article for me, it was a helpful addition to my writing workflow in three ways:

  • Structuring my approach: I found the concise list of the six benefits of P3’s that ChatGBT provided to be a great jumping off point for the article. Since I had been googling around, I had come to many of the same conclusions myself. But if I had started with ChatGBT, I would have saved a lot of time and my googling would have been more purposeful.
  • Generating ideas for interview questions: Having been provided a list of the downsides of this particular type of P3 by ChatGBT, I was able to ask more detailed questions and probe for those article-defining details. ChatGBT saved me time and improved the quality of my interview questions.
  • Producing a list of facts: Google wasn’t too helpful in identifying examples of Ex-US concession deals. ChatGBT however, provided an example of three concession deals with a short description on each. As ChatGBT warns on its first page, sometimes responses can be inaccurate. So, the old “trust but verify” adage applies here. In this instance, a quick check by an industry insider found that the AI had supplied correct answers. Again, a time saver for both me and my interviewees.

As a storyteller, I know it’s the golden little nuggets that captivate readers. And while ChatGBT is unlikely to unearth any of those, it can function as a divining rod of sorts, steering the writer to the most fertile ground in a timely fashion. So, I’ll be incorporating ChatGBT into my writing workflow. How about you?