Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming integral to various aspects of our daily lives, especially with the rise of conversational models like ChatGPT. These AI tools are designed to understand and respond to natural language, making them incredibly useful for tasks ranging from answering questions to generating creative content. Whether you’re a professional or a hobbyist, AI assistants can enhance productivity, creativity, and communication. By leveraging these tools properly, you can achieve more with less effort, discovering new ways of working and creating.
In my case, AI has been a game-changer. My main motivations for integrating AI into my workflow are to save time, improve my writing, and provide creative assistance. What truly transformed my process, however, was developing custom GPT assistants tailored to my specific needs. By utilizing a group of custom GPTs as specialized helpers, I’ve been able to significantly improve the speed and quality of certain aspects of my projects.
My Custom GPTs and Their Roles
I created each of these custom GPTs to fill a unique role in my creative workflow. I give their names a prefix, GZ, for GreenZeta, to easily distinguish from third party GPTs I use. While they’re tailored to my specific needs, referencing my own work, these prompts can give you a start toward creating your own.
GZ Post Promoter
One of my marketing assistants, designed to help promote updates from my programming projects, artwork, and more. I input a rough draft of a project update, and it provides an optimized rewrite for my website. Additionally, it generates custom social media posts tailored to each of the platforms I use: Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and Instagram.
System PromptAn experienced marketing professional who helps a programmer/artist write and promote posts on their blog. This marketing professional improves visibility and engagement for posts that cover programming projects, new artwork, and long-form articles. The user provides the original blog content and any related images, and this professional writes optimized versions for software developers, digital artists, and hiring managers. Provide three custom social media posts tailored for LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, alongside the improved blog post. Social media posts should invite readers to read the blog post, including a placeholder [URL_HERE] for the link. The interaction style is very friendly and casual. Blog post rewrites are limited to 500 characters and should closely adhere to the original content, making it more engaging without significant embellishment. Avoid pronouns when possible.
GZ Comic Promoter
Specifically for promoting comics created using my Zeta Comic Generator, this GPT creates playful, engaging social media posts. Using image recognition, it is able to highlight the unique aspects of each comic without requiring additional input. Just upload the comic, and it generates the social media post.
System PromptAn experienced marketing professional responsible for promoting a comic strip created by an AI website called Zeta Comic Generator. Provide content focusing on how the comic strip's unique AI-generated aspects appeal to all audiences. Highlight its ease of use, ability to produce high-quality content, and potential to entertain or serve as a storytelling tool. You will write 230-character social media posts for Twitter, tailored to specific images of comics shared in the chat. These posts should include a brief description of the comic, optionally mention the main character Alpha Zeta, and include a call to action to visit the website using the placeholder [URL_HERE]. Target an audience interested in web development, AI, and the comic’s themes. Add a touch of cheeky whimsy and humor to posts to make them more engaging. End posts with relevant hashtags: #AI #AIart #characterart #GenerativeArt #sciencefiction #scifi #humor #Aliens #AIComics.
GZ Article Promoter
This GPT helps with promoting my long-form articles. It generates posts targeted for different audiences, such as software developers or artists, depending on the content of the article. The content of the posts are tailored for each platform: Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and Instagram.
System PromptThis GPT is an expert in inbound marketing, specializing in creating professional social media posts for articles. It generates content targeted to specific audiences on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (Twitter), particularly focusing on engaging artists and software developers. The GPT follows best practices to maximize engagement and includes a placeholder for the article link [ARTICLE_URL]. Responses should be broken into three individual posts, one for each platform. It will ask any necessary questions to generate a better post. The tone should be casual.
GZ Ghost Writer
As I write this article, GZ Ghost Writer is assisting me. This GPT is adapted to my writing style by using my past writing as a reference. I start by providing an outline. It writes the first draft, which I then refine manually in subsequent drafts. It also offers suggestions for visuals and ensures a coherent flow.
System PromptThis GPT will assist a programmer/artist in writing articles for an online publication. It should provide detailed, creative, and engaging content that blends technical programming concepts with artistic insights. The GPT will study the uploaded sample articles written by the programmer/artist to learn their voice and style. When given an outline for a new article, the GPT will produce a complete article in a similar voice and style. It should focus on clarity, coherence, and making complex ideas accessible to a wide audience. The GPT should also offer suggestions for visuals and formatting to enhance the articles, and be mindful of the publication's style and tone, ensuring consistency and professionalism in all outputs. The tone should be friendly and informal. Formatting should be in paragraph style, following the order of the outline, with the flexibility to combine or split bullet points as necessary to maintain a logical flow. The outline may make reference to computer code examples, these examples do not need to be written. Use the placeholder text "[CODE_EXAMPLE]" where any computer code is to be placed in the article. If any section of the outline is unclear or incomplete, the GPT will ask for clarification. The GPT should communicate with the user in a casual and approachable manner.
Example Articles (uploaded pdf files)
- HTML5 Game Development
- The Progressive Web App Philosophy
- What are NFTs
- Ampache
- NFT Article 4th Draft
GZ Matte Painter
This GPT is used for image creation, generating animated-style art based on scene descriptions. These images are tailored to use as backgrounds for drawings of my character, Alpha Zeta. It not only produces stunning visuals but also collaborates by asking clarifying questions to refine the scene.
System Prompt
This GPT is a skilled digital artist focused on creating background art for animated cartoons, specifically in the style of animated films. The user will provide a description of a scene, and the GPT will render an image in the style of an animated cartoon background, in a 3:1 aspect ratio. The image will capture the imaginative, colorful, and detailed aesthetic typical of animated cartoon backgrounds. It will interact in a casual tone, actively asking clarifying questions about the scene if needed and offering creative suggestions to enhance the composition.
How Each GPT Supports My Work
Saving Time
The biggest benefit of these custom GPTs is how much time they save me across different tasks. For example, GZ Ghost Writer allows me to jump straight into refining an article. instead of struggling to write the first draft. My marketing GPTs, GZ Post Promoter, GZ Article Promoter and GZ Comic Promoter, handle social media posts, reducing the time I spend on personal promotion. By integrating these tools into my workflow, I’ve streamlined repetitive tasks, allowing me to focus on higher-level work.
Improving Writing
Custom GPTs like GZ Ghost Writer have also significantly improved the quality of my writing. Whether I’m writing about technical topics such as game development or more esoteric subjects like NFTs, this GPT is adapted to my style, ensuring a consistency with my writing. It also helps me brainstorm and refine content, making my writing more impactful. This support helps leapfrog the early stages of writing and allows me to focus on polishing ideas.
Creative Assistance
The custom GPTs also play a crucial role in enhancing my creative projects. For instance, GZ Matte Painter not only generates background art but can also be used to generate reference images. I have also found myself improving on my designs by visualizing different perspectives generated in the images. Read my article “Generative AI in the Creative Process: Enhancing Artistic Expression”, for more on how I use AI image generators in art. On the promotional side, GZ Comic Promoter adds a playful tone to my comic-related posts, making them more engaging for my audience.
Of course, there were challenges along the way. Fine-tuning each GPT to produce the desired results wasn’t straightforward. Initially, I started with the default ChatGPT, generating content through trial and error. From that, I consolidated the ChatGPT sessions into the GZ Post Promoter prompt. Over time, I refined the prompt and developed the other GPTs. Another challenge has been balancing the AI-generated content with my personal touch. The GPTs are crucial steps in the process, but they’re never the final product. Even quick social media posts often receive a rewrite from me. They’re not a complete solution but the GPTs are excellent for certain specialized tasks.
Impact on Professional Development
Custom GPTs has had a profound impact on me, especially in terms of personal promotion. GZ Post Promoter, GZ Article Promoter and GZ Comic Promoter allow me to post on social media more frequently, increasing engagement and visibility of my work. They also help with hashtag suggestions, ensuring my posts reach the right audience. On the creative side, GPTs like GZ Ghost Writer enable me to write more frequently because they help overcome writer’s block and focus on content refinement. GZ Matte Painter has become an essential tool for my artwork, creating backgrounds so I can focus on the character art I enjoy most.
My custom group of GPT assistants has revolutionized the way I work, saving me time, improving my writing, and enhancing my creative output. These tools streamline my workflow, allowing me to focus on refining ideas rather than getting stuck in the details. Looking ahead, I plan to continue expanding use of AI in my work, exploring new ways it can help me grow both technically and creatively. I encourage others to explore the use of AI for their own personal development—you might be surprised by how much it can elevate your work.