So ChatGPT now lets you create your own custom ChatGPT using OpenAI’s no-code platform GPT builder … about time, I thought, to give it a try and create my own chatty conference preparation assistant, TrueDee. It/she/he is available at this link, so feel free to get acquainted.
We are not exactly soulmates yet, as TrueDee tends to be a bit erratic, ignore my wishes, and hallucinate. But I have learned several things so far:
- Don’t expect TrueDee (or any AI) to behave the same way each time you ask it for exactly the same thing.
- Neither expect it to perform specific “pre-programmed” tasks exactly like you want it to.
- Extracting detailed and comprehensive information from a source is hardly possible. This is “due to restrictions”, Truedee says. For example, if you ask for a glossary, it will always have a rather limited number of entries.
- Don’t get offended if it pretends to have understood the task at hand perfectly well by diligently repeating what you told it to do (like extracting exactly the xy elements from a given document or website) and then completely ignores these instructions in the end.
- It seems to me that this customising exercise is more about making TrueDee ask the right questions rather than making it do the right things.
This is what the configuration interface for a custom ChatGPT looks like. 
Under the create tab, you can just chat with the system in natural language and explain what you want it to do. It will then change the information contained in the configuration tab on its own, whether you like it or not. The only things that are guaranteed to stay the same are the name and logo (AI created of course, if you wish so).
After all, well-written prompts might still be a more efficient way to achieve what you want from a chatbot, like for example:
Create a multilingual glossary about the EU end of life vehicle directive.
Format: Table
Columns: German – English – French – Spanish – Definition
Source: EU end of life vehicle directive
Do not include any terminology that does not come from the U end of life vehicle directive.
Make sure you include all the terms from the article about definitions and place them in the first rows.
And then this still has its limitations, especially if creativity is not what you are after. My impression is that ChatGPT considers itself a creative genius rather than a diligent assistant. As I said in the beginning, TrueDee is work in progress, and will probably remain so forever. It is a fun toy to play around with at the moment, and the EU related news-flashes in multiple languages (including references to the real sources) convinced me right away.
And now I am looking forward to hearing from you: 1. How do you like Truedee’s (AI created) logo? 2. What is your AI chatbot experience and where do you find it useful?
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About the author:
Anja Rütten is a freelance conference interpreter for German (A), Spanish (B), English (C), and French (C) based in Düsseldorf, Germany. She has specialised in knowledge management since the mid-1990s.
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