12: Squarespace AI - how does it work, and how does it compare to ChatGPT?
Curious about the magic behind Squarespace's AI? In this episode of ThinkInsideTheSquare, you'll learn how to harness Squarespace AI powers for your website's content and how it sets itself apart from the likes of ChatGPT. Join your host, Squarespace expert Becca Harpain, as she demystifies the tech behind the scenes, and shares her five step formula for crafting the perfect Squarespace AI prompt.
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00:00 Squarespace released an AI text content Generator in June of 2023.
00:04 With AI being such a buzword these days, I wanted to record this episode to talk
00:09 about how their content generator works and how it's drastically different than Chat GPT.
00:14 Welcome to Think Inside the Square, a podcast full of quick tips and tricks
00:18 that will help you create a Squarespace website that you're proud of.
00:21 I'm your host, Becca Harpain, creator of Insidethesquare.co, and in this episode we're talking about Squarespace AI,
00:28 what it can do, and why it's different than an open source chat bot that we all have access to, like the ever popular Chat GPT.
00:35 For a transcript of this episode, along with the links to any resources mentioned, visit insidethesquare.co/podcast
00:42 The term Squarespace is a trademark of Squarespace, Inc. This content is not affiliated with Squarespace, Inc.
00:52 When you add a text block to a Squarespace site,
00:55 you'll see a little lightning bolt on the left hand side of the text editor options.
00:59 This icon opens up squarespace's.
01:01 AI text generator you'll see a few suggestions on the left, like Paragraph, Sales, Pitch and blurb.
01:08 And next to it is a blank space for you to type your prompt.Based on what you ask it for, it will generate a response.
01:14 Fun fact the Squarespace AI model is built on OpenAI, LLC's Open source model, which is the same model that's used for Chat GPT.
01:23 But that, my friends, is where the technical similarities end. Chat GPT is a chat bot.
01:30 It works best like a conversation, which can be a little tricky to get the hang of. For years, we've been asking a question to Google, looking for a specific answer.
01:38 What's the weather like this afternoon? Where can I buy a Hello Kitty lunchbox? Yoga near me. Piglet in Rainboots image.
01:45 One query gets us the results, and we dig through those results until we find the right answer that we're looking for.
01:51 Chat bots work best as a conversation.
01:53 We start with a prompt, and then we refine it. And the more we refine it, the better it gets.
01:58 "Write three different instagram post descriptions for an image of a pig in Rainboots."
02:03 Chat GPT responds, and we realize we can refine it further.
02:06 "Rewrite the second response to be more concise and friendly.:
02:09 "Add three related hashtags and two emojis."
02:12 Then another ask - "what would be a good call to action for this post?"
02:16 It keeps going because it's a chat bot.
02:19 Okay, the Pig in Rainboots is a silly example, but I hope you get the idea.
02:22 This is a chat where we work with the AI language model to get the response that we want.
02:27 Squarespace's AI is built on the same intelligence, but it's a content generator, not a chat bot.
02:35 This means the pressure is on us.
02:37 Crafting the perfect prompt is crucial to getting the right answer.
02:42 Before we go any further, I have to mention this because it's so important never take content
02:47 from an AI language model and use it as your own Squarespace AI, chat, GPT, or any other source.
02:53 Use the AI response for inspiration, a starting point for help refining a concept, but never copy it exactly.
03:02 That is plagiarism, and it's not guaranteed to be accurate. It could be the exact same answer it gives to someone else. That's another reason to not use it.
03:11 So make sure your content on your website is uniquely yours and make sure that you write it.
03:16 Okay? Okay, good. 😉
03:18 Now let's talk about these prompts and why it's so important to get super specific when we're talking with Squarespace AI.
03:25 The more detailed and specific you can be, the better response we'll be.
03:29 Again, this is crucial for Squarespace AI because it's not a conversation.
03:34 We're back to that question and answer setup we've had with Google for years.
03:38 So how do you craft a good prompt for Squarespace AI?
03:42 I have five key parts that I include in every prompt, and I think you should, too.
03:47 The five key parts are length, location, tone, topic, and target.
03:54 The first one, the length, can be a really big deal.
03:57 When I was first using Squarespace AI, I asked it to write an outline for a sales page, and I ended up with five full paragraphs.
04:05 Not quite what I needed. So I specify the number of sentences I need, the number of words, and sometimes both.
04:12 The second thing I include in every prompt is the location where I'll be using this content.
04:18 An about page is very different than a sales page, and a headline is very different than a disclaimer.
04:24 Be specific about where the content is going to be placed on your website.
04:29 The third piece of my prompt is the tone. I use emotional terms like friendly, enthusiastic, and inspirational.
04:36 I also ask AI to keep the tone casual yet professional, because that fits my brand here at Inside the Square.
04:43 Fourth on the list is topic, what I actually want the bot to write about.
04:48 I like to use relevant titles and descriptions that I already have, or even actual examples in my prompt to be as clear as possible about what I need it to write.
04:57 The fifth and final part of every prompt I use with Squarespace AI is the target, specifically who this content is for, who will be reading this.
05:07 I use the same terms that I use in other website copy to describe this person, this target audience,
05:13 and sometimes I'll also include what I want them to do as a call to action.
05:17 So here's an example of a generic prompt in the Squarespace AI response.
05:21 The prompt I gave it was "Piglet boots product page headline"
05:26 It gave me a 14 sentence answer with 295 words, including a promo at the bottom for a half off sale I didn't even know I was having.
05:36 It went WAY too far. It even listed details about colors and patterns things that my fictional piglet rainboot company doesn't even offer.
05:44 Suffice to say, this response was not quite right for what I needed.
05:48 So following my five part prompt method, the prompt I wrote was this:
05:53 Please write a headline and subtitle sentence that are no longer than nine words each.
05:58 This headline and subtitle will be featured on the sales page of my website.
06:03 I want the tone to be casual, friendly, and jovial. The headline and subtitle are for a sales page for rainboots that will fit piglets.
06:12 These rainboots are perfect for piglet owners who live in the Pacific Northwest.
06:17 This is the response it gave me with headline and subtitle labels.
06:21 Headline: Rainproof Piggies Stylish Boots for your cute, muddy friends Subtitle: keep your Pacific Northwest piglets warm and dry.
06:29 This is so much more on par with what I needed! I edited that for my fictional business and this was the final result for my sales page:
06:37 Rainproof Piggies Stylish Boots to keep your Pacific Northwest piglets Dry
06:42 With the right prompt and the right editing, you can use Squarespace AI to make some amazing content for your site.
06:48 So let's repeat those five parts again length, location, tone, topic and target.
06:55 How long the response should be, where you're using it, what tone it should be written in, what's the actual topic, and who is the target that will be reading this.
07:04 You can get really creative and specific here.
07:07 Just remember that Squarespace AI is a content generator and not a chat bot like Chat GPT.
07:14 After it generates a response for your initial prompt, you'll have some quick action buttons
07:19 to simplify shorten or lengthen, but again, this is not a chat like Chat GPT.
07:24 Now, if you're already hitting a wall and overwhelmed by this prompt concept, don't worry, I got you!
07:29 Visit insidethesquare.co/prompt to grab the free prompt guide I made to go with this episode.
07:35 It has a few more examples that you can modify for your own website.
07:39 Again, that's insidethesquare.co/prompt
07:43 That wraps it up for this episode of Think Inside the Square and thank you so much for tuning in.
07:48 Knowing that Squarespace is making more updates to AI, I'm sure I'll be back with a new take on this topic soon,
07:54 so be sure to subscribe to this podcast wherever you happen to be listening to this episode.
07:58 Thanks again for listening, and most importantly, have fun with your Squarespace website.
08:03 Bye for now.
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Free AI Prompt Guide: httinsidethesquare.co/prompt
Squarespace AI Info: insidethesquare.co/tryai
YouTube Live: Building a Squarespace site with ChatGPT:
youtube.com/live/8dMLbWELhkY
