Artificial intelligence offers small business retailers like Aussie newsagents powerful tools to improve efficiency and customer engagement. Starting your AI journey does not require a technical background. It’s easy. Let me show you how.
Where to Begin
Begin with a specific, repetitive task. Common starting points include drafting social media captions, writing product descriptions, or summarising long reports.
Choose a popular platform – ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini and all good. These tools are accessible via a standard web browser. For text, currently I prefer Gemini.
Start with the free versions to explore their capabilities before committing to a subscription.
How to Write an Effective Prompt
A prompt is the instruction you give the AI. The quality of the output depends entirely on the clarity of your input. Follow these steps to achieve the best results:
- Define a role. Tell the AI who it should be. For example, “I own an Australian newsagency in [name your town].”
- State the Task Clearly. Be direct about what you need. Instead of saying “Write about cards,” say “Write a 50-word Facebook post promoting our new range of Mother’s Day greeting cards.” If this is your prompt, upload a photo of your cards.
- Provide context. Include details about your target audience and brand voice. Mention if the tone should be cheeky, professional, or community-focused. For example, use a calm and professional tone is what I like to say.
- Set constraints. Specify length, format, and what to avoid. You might request “three bullet points” or “no mentions of specific prices.” I like to say how many words I want. I also tell it to use short sentences and paragraphs.
- Use Australian preferences. Explicitly ask the AI to use Australian English. This ensures the software uses ‘s’ instead of ‘z’ in words like ‘organise’ and ‘specialise’.
Refine and Review
Treat the first response as a draft. If the result is not quite right, ask the AI to adjust the tone or change a specific section. If it got it wrong, tell it so.
Always fact-check the final output. AI can occasionally generate incorrect information. Ensure the final text aligns with your shop’s unique personality and local community values.
The notes here are for beginners. You’ll quickly move beyond once you have experience.
Footnote: I use Claude, Gemini, Proximity and OpenClaw for a diverse mix of things. In each situation, I have the paid version for more power and functionality.