How to do customer research with GPT (or any LLM)

(You arrived here from an email link, right? So you already know we’re going to do some ChatGPT customer research for a company that sells anti-anxiety gummies.)

Let’s start with drilling down on the customer’s problem.

Question:

“What reasons do people give for taking anti-anxiety gummies?”

Answer (summarized):

People take anti-anxiety gummies to relieve stress or mild panic, to become calm, to reduce racing thoughts, to ease muscle tension, and to promote physical and mental relaxation. People use them as well for insomnia or trouble sleeping. They like them because they’re not heavily sedating and because they’re discreet and easy to incorporate into daily routines.

(OK. This is good, but it doesn’t give us much personal info. We need more.)

Question:

“What are some specific situations in which people have found anxiety gummies helpful?”

Answer (summarized):

People use anxiety gummies to calm jitters before speaking in public or before a social event. They can help in falling asleep quickly. They’re useful for maintaining focus and calm and for reducing stress in work meetings. They’re good for travel anxiety, especially on long flights or drives. They can help ward off panic attacks.

(Now we’re getting somewhere. Now we need to know why some people don’t use anxiety gummies to deal with the problems we’ve just identified.)

Question: 

“Give me 10 reasons why people resist taking anxiety gummies.”

Answer (summarized):

  1. Fear of Dependency: Concerns with possible addiction.

  2. Side Effects: Dry mouth, dizziness, gastrointestinal issues, nausea.

  3. Uncertainty About Ingredients: Trust issues arising from lack of government regulation.

  4. Interaction with Medications: 

  5. Taste or Texture: Some people don’t like the taste or the gummy texture.

  6. Delayed Onset: Too slow compared to tinctures or anti-anxiety prescription meds.

  7. Uncertainty About Dosage: Dosage varies a lot from product to product.

  8. Social Stigma: Fear of judgment for using supplements associated with cannabis.

  9. Cost: High quality can be expensive, especially if used frequently.

  10. Limited Effectiveness: They can wear off too quickly, requiring frequent doses.

(I love this. I could write a half dozen emails for every one of these objections, each one focusing on a different person in different circumstances, but all of them highlighting the same concern–fear of dependence, lousy taste, cost, whatever. So, now that we have this data let’s find out how people feel about their anxiety problems.

Question:

“How do people feel about suffering from anxiety and panic attacks?”

Answer (summarized):

People often describe their anxiety and panic as overwhelming, isolating, and exhausting. They feel out of control, helpless, and frustrated by their inability to manage their symptoms. Their rapid heart rate and racing thoughts fill them with intense fear of losing control. They carry with them a sense of dread because the attacks are unpredictable and can occur without warning. They live in a state of constant hypervigilance. Many people feel misunderstood and stigmatized. 

(OK, enough of this. You get the idea. There’s enough info in just this last paragraph to fuel emails for the next several months.)

AI research is a great place to start, but it’s pretty generic and lacks the kind of real-life detail gold you can find on Amazon and Reddit.