The nice thing about being a PT is that you don’t have to worry about AI taking your job.
At least, not for a while.
That doesn’t mean AI won’t affect you at all, though, especially as a business owner.
Whoever uses these new tools the best will end up with more patients, more money, and more freedom.
Is it going to be you or your competitor?
You may be thinking AI is too complicated or confusing or technical, but it doesn’t have to be.
It’s the most accessible technology in years. You can interact with it just by talking normally.
If you take the time to learn the basics, you will save time now and set yourself up for long-term success.
Here’s a few tips to get you started. Next week we’ll talk about ways you can use it to enhance your marketing while saving a ton of time and effort.
- Which AI tool should I use? If you are just starting out, I recommended signing up for ChatGPT from OpenAI. It’s the original AI tool and is very powerful. Plus, it integrates well with many different tools. You can test out the free version, but it is absolutely worth the $20 a month to upgrade. It’s much better and more useful than the free version. Even if you don’t use it for your business or marketing, it still has a ton of uses (Christine uses it to write funny poems for family events), and it’s worth getting familiar with using it, because the future is coming whether we like it or not.
- How should I talk to the AI? You can use AI like a search engine just to ask questions or find websites. In that case, just talk to it like you would a person. Ask things like, “What’s a good chicken curry recipe that isn’t too spicy?” or “How long would it take to drive from Charlotte to Nashville?” It even works when you are trying to find something but can’t remember the name or title of it. Try prompts such as, “What was that book about the boy who went to wizard school?” or “What was the podcast episode where a navy seal talked about his personal fitness routine?” You’ll be amazed how accurate it is with limited information. But if it doesn’t give you the results you want, you can just follow up with more questions or clarifications. You can have an entire conversation with it if you need to talk through a topic. It’s great for walking you through new subjects and answering your questions until you understand everything.
- Can it read documents? Yes, you can upload documents and ask it to analyze or edit them. If you have a long research study, for instance, you could ask it to summarize the key results or new applications. If you have a document you wrote, you could ask it for feedback or proofreading. You can also upload examples of your work and have it create something new in the same style. In that case, the more examples you can give it, the better your results will be. It will also read and analyze images. If you want to pull the text out of a screenshot or PDF file, upload it and ask it to give you the text.
- Anything I should avoid doing? It never hurts to ask anything, though you may not always get a good answer. However, be very careful posting the output online without any changes. Now more than ever you don’t want to sound like an AI. Use it to get answers, brainstorm ideas, or generate a first draft, but don’t let it replace your personal language and voice. People can often tell what is AI versus human (at least for now), so you will always connect much better with your audience if you take the time to make something personal. Try not to be vague if you want it to perform a specific task. Be as detailed in what you want as possible, include your reasons for wanting it and the format you want the output to be. So if you want it to write an article for you, make sure you give it as much information as possible and define the role the AI is playing. For instance, “I’m a Physical Therapist business owner in Charlotte, NC who works with active adults to relieve chronic pain. You are a marketing and copywriting expert who specializes in Orthopedic Physical Therapy. Write a blog post on the benefits of grade-4 laser therapy for runners in Charlotte, NC using the style in my attached documents. Make it at least 500 words and Include at least 3 bullet points, and end with practical applications for the patients’ lives.” Read the result and then give feedback if necessary. Then make sure you rewrite parts of it yourself to add your personal experience, target your specific populations, and sound more like you. That may still sound like a lot of work, but it beats staring at a blank page for hours.
Give it a try.
Play around.
Use it in your personal life or as an office assistant.
This is technology you will want to know, and I want you to be prepared to ride the wave to success.
If you have any other basic questions, please respond to this email and I will answer them the best I can.
Be on the lookout for next week’s email for detailed ways you can integrate AI into your marketing workflow to produce more content, save a lot of time, and connect with your patients.
Until then, have fun!