Leveraging ChatGPT to bridge the gap when clients go silent during design discovery

Where did they go?

As a super amazing design professional, you understand how important it is to communicate and collaborate during the design discovery process. But it will happen sometimes, that a client goes unresponsive or disappears altogether.

What the hell do we do? You know what we do. Just like we learned in middle school, we build a bridge, and we get over it.

Enter ChatGPT, (say this part in an AI voice please) “ChatGPT is an advanced AI language model, and friend to the humans, designed to assist in various tasks”. Yes, I do believe this can and should include filling in the gaps when clients are unreachable, or as we call it in the biz, “hiding from you”.

Today, we’ll explore how ChatGPT can help you maintain momentum, generate ideas, and tackle obstacles during the design discovery phase, even when clients are MIA. Take that!

Understanding ChatGPT and Its Potential

ChatGPT is a powerful AI language model created by OpenAI, based on the GPT-4 architecture. These are facts, google them, or I guess now we’re going to say “Ask ChatGPT”, which I personally love, because it reminds me of Ask Jeeves, and oh, those were the good old days.

If you haven’t tried it yet, because you just haven’t gotten around to it, or you don’t want to contribute to the takeover, basically, it can understand and generate human-like text, making it a valuable tool in various situations, such as brainstorming, research, and even design discovery. Because come on, sometimes, even as humans we aren’t that great at human-like text, so how could this be worse?

Here’s how ChatGPT can help during the design discovery phase:

1. Idea generation: ChatGPT can brainstorm with the best of them and provide alternative perspectives on design concepts, helping you develop a more comprehensive understanding of possible solutions. Ding ding ding!
2. Research: The AI can assist in gathering information related to your project, such as industry trends, user preferences, and competitor analysis. Yeah, that’s what we love to do, awesome!
3. Drafting content: ChatGPT can help create sample text for your designs, such as headlines, calls-to-action, and product descriptions. Say goodbye to that Lorem Ipsum, and thank you for your service.
4. Improving Productivity: You know the Nielsen Norman Group was going to do a study right? And they found that ChatGPT lifts business professionals’ productivity and improves work quality. Of course it does!

How to Use ChatGPT When a Client Goes Silent

Okay, I think we’ve got to own it, they’re gone, we don’t know when or if they’re coming back, but we can’t just let this project die can we? (Say no, so we can keep moving along.) When a client becomes unresponsive during the design discovery phase, leverage ChatGPT to keep that train a-rolling.

1. Input available information: Feed ChatGPT any available project data, such as client briefs, user personas, and stakeholder interviews (if you managed to squeeze one in before the disappearance).* The AI can help fill in gaps by generating insights and ideas based on all of these juicy details.
2. Pose questions: Ask ChatGPT questions related to the project’s goals and challenges. The AI can provide suggestions and potential solutions, helping you overcome obstacles. It’s like a proper brainstorming session. You don’t automatically accept everything that comes out of it, but you keep an open mind. That’s something that isn’t always easy. Humans. Am I right?
3. Iterate on design concepts: Share your design concepts with ChatGPT and ask for feedback. I love gathering suggestions for improvement or alternative ideas to consider, but people don’t always have time to provide that. This is also a great opportunity to practice sharing your designs, because as all designers know, a good chunk of the time, that’s half the job. We call this “getting buy-in” or “selling it” but ultimately you need to show what you did, why you did it, and how. At least you know ChatGPT won’t worry about hurting your feelings, and you can be better for it!

The Benefits of Integrating ChatGPT in Your Design Process

I didn’t want to get to the end here and risk having you think this is an “only in case of emergencies” approach. Not at all. Integrating ChatGPT into your design process, even when clients are fully engaged, can provide a ton of benefits, and here are just a few:

1. Accelerated decision-making: ChatGPT is one decisive mo-fo. No ums, or going back on what it said. It can help you, and it can do so quickly. You can explore various design ideas, and make more informed decisions faster.
2. Enhanced creativity: Every creative process is benefited by a fresh perspective. ChatGPT can help you think outside the box and generate more innovative design solutions. Again, not do for you, but help you along. You know the saying, “garbage in, garbage out”? You still need to get the ball rolling with quality insight, and provide the necessary details, but then just watch it go!
3. Improved efficiency: Oh my goodness, the things you will do. I think the Dr. Seuss follow-up to “Oh, the places you’ll go” should be “Oh, the chats you’ll have!” It would talk in rhyme about how it can assist you with time-consuming tasks, like starting research and exploring options for content creation. “They’ll help us craft words, so quirky and fun, Creating content that’s second to none. With time-consuming tasks now whisked away, Our freedom blooms like a bright sunny day.” Ridiculous.
4. This will free you up to focus on other aspects of the project, like taking breaks, and day-dreaming. Or… totally killing it, because my friend, you just found the secret to leveling up!

The takeaway

While ChatGPT cannot, and should not, replace the valuable input of clients during the design discovery process, it can be a very powerful tool to help you navigate unresponsive periods. Leveraging the AI’s capabilities in idea generation, research, and content creation, as you utilize your amazing instincts and acumen, will allow you to maintain the momentum that your project deserves. Yes, even when faced with silence from clients.

Make friends with ChatGPT. Invite it into your design process. And whether clients are engaged or unresponsive, you’ll be on your way to a more efficient, creative, and informed design. In design, and life, you can always use more friends.

*Note: Please do be mindful of proprietary and privileged information when conducting an exercise of this type. Do not post anything in ChatGPT that you would not be willing/able to post publicly. If you’re not sure, leave it out!