ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that has been called the biggest tech innovation since the iPhone, is now writing the fortunes in fortune cookies.
OpenFortune, a company that uses fortune cookies as an advertising platform, said it has employed ChatGPT to pen its prophecies.
A shortage of new fortunes is apparently a problem in the fortune cookie industry. According to OpenFortune, there have only been “several thousand” fortunes in circulation since the treat was invented more than 100 years ago.
“The most common feedback we receive from consumers is that they want to see new, refreshed, unique fortunes,” said Matt Williams, CEO of OpenFortune, in a statement.
ChatGPT solves that problem by generating novel and “more appealing” fortunes much faster than humans can. And its ability to come up with new ones is virtually limitless.
"Based on our many months of testing and fine-tuning prompts, we see a future of an effectively unlimited variation of fortunes," said Nicole Christopoul, OpenFortune's director of integrated marketing and strategy, in an email.
Read more: The case for ChatGPT in restaurants.
OpenFortune developed a five-step process atop ChatGPT's software to generate fortunes. It involves text parsing, emotional intelligence, prompt writing, prompt refining and editing, Christopoul said.
It has resulted in fortunes like “You will soon have a delightful encounter with a stranger who will add a pinch of spice to your life's recipe” and “A harmonious melody will soon drift into your world, guiding you to dance with destiny.”
New York-based OpenFortune sells ads on the slips of paper that are folded into fortune cookies. It distributes them to more than 47,000 restaurants in the U.S., and clients include Diet Coke and Disney. Its fortunes can be tailored to suit the advertiser.
Though ChatGPT will be shouldering more of OpenFortune’s creative burden, the company said it’s not getting rid of its copywriters—but their job description will change.
"The skill set of copywriters will evolve, from simply writing fortunes, to writing prompts that generate fortunes," Christopoul said. "Prompt writing is an entirely new language for copywriters."
ChatGPT is a large language model developed by AI startup OpenAI. It can understand human speech patterns and generate responses. It has a range of potential uses for both businesses and consumers.
For restaurants, many of the bot’s current applications have to do with generating content, like menu descriptions, business plans and social media posts. Restaurant suppliers have also raced to implement the technology. OpenTable is integrating with the bot to power restaurant recommendations, for instance, while marketing company SoCi is using it to respond to reviews.
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