With the OpenAI DevDay announcements of the capability to create your own GPTs and the upcoming launch of the GPT Store, the path to the impact of the power of Generative AI in our daily personal and business lives is becoming clearer. Analogies in the world of tech are usually faulty, but it seems that these exciting few months of rapid advancements in the world of Generative AI since the launch of Chat GPT in Nov 2022 are akin to the days of Web 1.0 or the pre-smartphone apps era, where the technology was there, but software hadn’t yet eaten the world.
The following three ongoing and emerging trends are set to open up a multitude of opportunities and possibilities that are currently very hard to envision, let alone predict:
Pervasive Gen AI in the day-to-day computing experience. Microsoft is a clear winner in this area with the already available “co-pilot” feature in Microsoft 365, Windows, etc.
Emerging focus on Open Source Gen AI models.
Healthy competition between tech giants, ensuring access to advanced AI features and capabilities while keeping costs low.
No-code or low-code access to creating GPT/AI agents.
These trends could lead to an explosion of GPT apps and agents, similar to smartphone apps since the launch of the iPhone App Store. It will be important to have a ‘unified experience’ on the web or our favorite chat apps where you can access and talk to these GPT agents and apps. Having this unified experience, instead of using multiple apps or having to switch between GPTs, will be pivotal for the broader customer adoption of GPTs. It’s possible that such a unified experience could be offered by more than one player in the market.
Now, if we let the horses of possibility run through the fields of imagination, the following are some of the ideas that I have jotted down over the last few weeks while playing with various AI products and models (shout-out to Hugging Face). I am categorizing them into immediate and near-term. You can also see them as around-the-corner and a few-blocks-down-the-road.
Immediate:
Face of businesses: Similar to websites, Facebook pages, phone numbers, etc., every business will need a GPT that you can chat with through the web, WhatsApp, iMessages, old-school texts, or even talk to on the phone. These GPT agenets will share information about the business, store timings, and the ability to book appointments, etc.
E-commerce GPTs: Stores on chat apps are an existing reality; add GPT to them, and it opens up new opportunities. The GPT agents will help with upselling and cross-selling the relevant products, make better suggestions, and fast-track the entire online shopping experience for customers.
Essential Services GPTs: Hospitals, police, fire, and emergency services will all need GPTs for both the general public and their staff to provide and ensure better services.
Professional Services GPTs: Consider the following experiences: booking flights, finding a Bnb to stay, applying for a credit card, comparing interest rates, checking train connections, etc. All of them have one thing in common: GPT can help with them. Banks, airlines, lawyers, car mechanics, etc. — every organization dealing with the public will make sure to have a GPT agent that allows customers to interact and do business with them.
Payments GPTs: PayPal GPT, Stripe GPT, or similar will be essential to enable a whole lot of other experiences, including e-commerce.
Book-me GPTs: Freelancers and tradespersons will use GPTs to allow customers to conveniently find and book open slots in their schedules.
Infotainment GPTs: This category in the GPT store could offer a wide range of GPTs, from informative ones like sports history or breaking news to more entertaining options like jokes and movie dialogues GPTs.
Bring your own GPTs: In the future, individuals may have their own GPTs that integrate with their calendars, finances, commute preferences, and professional commitments, replacing traditional virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa. These GPT agents will be available on all your devices.
Near-term:
Future Exams in Education Spaces: Students will have their GPTs with access to their notes, essays, theses, and practical work. Teachers will be able to compare and evaluate students’ GPTs to assess their performance, identify areas of focus, and guide them on their educational journey.
GPT Maker or Shopify for GPTs: There will be a healthy competition ground for GPT providers which will help creating GPTs for businesses using easy software wizard-like interface. These providers will also directly compete with model builders in some cases, such as OpenAI.
B2B GPTs: Business GPTs will help in improving and fast-tracking B2B interactions. Integrated with internal ERPs and other software systems, GPTs could help make better and faster business decisions while optimizing the bottom line.
Premium GPTs: Some GPTs may only be available as premium paid access due to their content or access to proprietary information.
P.S. Why am I openly sharing business ideas? Well, because their true values lies in their execution — and I do believe we need many such beautiful executions to fully exploit the immense potential this technology offers in a positive way for all of us and this planet.