Kurt Woock

So let's say their favorite food, a hobby they love, their favorite author, or even their shirt size and get a list of potential items to sort through.

Here's what we propose. Rather than sort of spin your wheels trying to think of the perfect gift, only to settle on something that's just okay because you felt rushed or stumped. I've been there lots of times. You don't feel great about the gift, but at least you had one, right? Let's stop that.

Let's stop on our tracks and let's get some of that time back by using AI and get something that really fits the person that you're looking to buy the gift for.

We recommend OpenAI's ChatGPT, and it has a good free version that's easy to use. And frankly, it's what we use here at NerdWallet. But there are others such as Claude and Google's Gemini that folks can explore. I think the easiest way to get started with ChatGPT is on its website. So you'll first need to create a username and a login.

And once you're logged in, it looks sort of just like a messaging app that you're used to or a chatbot. You can just start your query right in that message box. You can also access ChatGPT by downloading the app if you'd rather use your phone or your tablet. And there's also a desktop app if you're a laptop girl. You can find those apps through the Apple Store or through Google Play.

Just remember that this is a rapidly changing technology with new versions being released constantly. So if you downloaded it two weeks ago, you might have to install updates next time you log in.

Something that's also a bit different between ChatGPT and Google is your tone. This is something I've had to like kind of tell myself as I've been using it more. I'm like, okay, Amanda, don't be afraid to tell ChatGPT what to do. Like you can be a little bit bossy and a little firm.

Yeah, right? So here's an example of what that might sound like from my own life. I open Google and I might type something like best toys for five-year-old girls. But with ChatGPT, I'd start with something like create a list of the top 10 toys for five-year-old girls that cost $50 or less. Don't include anything that makes sound. Parents, if you know, you know. Yeah.

It would be awesome if each toy had an educational element. Every toy on the list should have a minimum average rating of four stars on sites like Amazon or Target. In this example, not only is my starting point more of a command. With Google, what are the best toys versus create a list and don't include. So your starting point is more of a command than a question.

But it's also got a lot more hoops for ChatGPT to jump through.

Exactly.

Yes. And this is exactly why I called Kurt because you are so good at this. Let's walk through what an example of this might look like. Let's think first about someone who has no idea what to get someone on their list. Let's say a child in their life. Likely we will all be buying a toy of some kind this holiday season. Let's start by using ChatGBT as a brainstorming partner.

I know we got to give it a little bit of time here. I mean, it's not instantaneous. Okay, maybe there's enough time now for the robots. Kurt, has it responded? What did you get?

Wow. Are any of the ideas good?

Just three?

Why do you say that?

So you've kind of narrowed it down. Is this new list getting closer to what you're looking for?

Yeah.

Tell us, how do you do that?

I like this. You're really getting into the weeds. I'm curious. Okay. Now we've given it a little bit of time. I'm wondering, did that work?

Right, exactly.

And you didn't have to click through 15 tabs, which is a small holiday miracle.

Let's think about this, right? We are NerdWallet. We are trying to help people save time, but also money this holiday season. So is there any way to save money by using AI?

That's kind of a bummer. Maybe next year we'll be recording an episode about how we can do that.

That kind of sounds like the next frontier, the next maybe obvious step when it comes to this kind of thing.

I was going to say, are they good? Because we've all seen the website Pinterest fails. And like, you know, crafting this is maybe not all of our strong suits.

The other tip I think I have is don't trust every result. AI is known for having ingrained biases, errors, and using stereotypes in its results. So this is something that's fairly low stakes, gift giving, but you're still going to need to assess and likely do some additional investigating before making a final decision.

One last thing I think people should know is that the questions that you type into ChatGPT are used to train the models. If you're nervous about privacy and how your questions will be used or shared, you can use what's called the temporary chat, which is found in the dropdown menu, and your content won't be recorded or used to train the models.

I'm also one of those weirdos who starts making gift lists like at the end of summer and starts buying gifts really slowly over the next few months. But, you know, things do ramp up for me during Black Friday, and there are some things on my list for sure.

Exactly. Right.

Yes, ma'am.

Many of us are tight on time during the holiday season. I don't know about you guys, but I have like a million lists running in my head of things I have to do, including finding the right gifts for all the people in my life. So this is where I was thinking AI could come in. What if you could use this new technology to input a few things about the person you want to buy a gift for?