ChatGPT: Your Highly Trainable Virtual Assistant
My first encounter with AI was not positive.
It was the fall of 2023. I was teaching child development at a community college. In the third week of class, a student whose writing had been full of incomplete sentences and texting language was suddenly explaining Pavlov’s theory of behaviorism like an expert. I was looking up vocabulary words.
It was obvious to me what she had done and I was not happy.
I got a sour taste in my mouth about AI and turned my back on it. Until last year.
I began using ChatGPT a little bit here and there. At the time, I was participating in a brutal job search, so I started having it help me with cover letters. I refused to let it write them for me. At first, I used it like a thesaurus. Then I started pasting in cover letters I’d written for other jobs, along with new job descriptions, and asking it to revise the letter to match the position. The results were amazing. I began to realize that it was getting to know me. It remembered my background and experiences, and it started giving me responses that felt surprisingly personal.
My interest in this tool was growing. I continued to use it.
I began getting it to help with lesson planning, specifically with creating contextualized materials. As an English language teacher, you always want reading material that includes specific grammar points and/or vocabulary. A lot of times, teachers end up writing things themselves. Not anymore. ChatGPT can create a reading passage and comprehension activities with the exact grammar and vocabulary you tell it to include. Incredible!
Within a year span, I’d gone from wanting nothing to do with this tool, to embracing it more and more each day. Celebrating it even.
So, when I saw a master class in using ChatGPT in the language learning classroom, I was all about it.
Why not harness the power of this versatile tool?
That’s what I’ve been doing. Harnessing the heck out of it.
Shortly after taking the master class, I got a contract to design an English language program for a large company that rents, sells, and maintains construction equipment and school buses. I was able to use ChatGPT to help me author a textbook focused on the language skills, grammar, and vocabulary their employees need. It’s 111 pages of content and language learning activities, including images, situated within a real-world context.
Because of my background in English language instruction and my doctorate in curriculum and instruction, I was able to feed it prompts that led to pedagogically sound language learning explanations and activities. The prompts were very specific. ChatGPT and I worked together to produce the book. It was a collaborative effort.
It blew my mind. It also made me realize all that this tool is capable of— which is a lot. That’s why I upgraded my ChatGPT account. I pay $20 a month for a virtual assistant that I trained.
Right now, I teach English classes for the company I mentioned as well as at the community college. I also manage my husband’s real estate social media accounts and help him with other administrative stuff. Additionally, I’m working to build a business.
ChatGPT helps me with all of those things.
It writes captions for me.
It brainstorms with me.
It creates ESL lessons, dialogues, and practice activities.
It drafts emails—especially the tricky ones.
It creates product descriptions and marketing blurbs.
It develops schedules for me.
It collaborates with me.
It literally saves me time so that I can focus on things I love— writing, playing outside, dancing, being creative.
This week, I used it for something new.
I used it to help me navigate a problem.
I had never done this before and I admit, it’s a little weird. But, it was helpful. Really helpful. The more I interact with it, the more personalized and intuitive its responses have become. It’s like it adapts to me.
I also learned this week of more people using ChatGPT for solutions-oriented methods.
In a recent article by
, she discusses using it to help navigate her relationship with criticism. It helped her recognize how her patterns weren’t serving her and suggested alternative perspectives. She also used it to offer her some affirmations to shift her thinking. You can read more about her experiences in the article, Criticism ≠ you're not good enough.Another fellow Substacker,
, also wrote about using it in her article, April 2025 earnings report (the good, the bad, and the possible changes...) She mentions using it to brainstorm ideas, help create digital products, and to work through problems.It’s starting to seem like everyday I’m learning of new ways to use this tool. And, everyday I use it, it blows my mind even more.
Last week, when I had a problem with a supervisor at work, it helped me process and work through it. It validated me and offered suggestions as well as crafted emails for me.
I’m currently using it to help me build a business. It’s been instrumental in the process. It’s supported me in all these ways.
Helped me choose the right platform to build on
Guided me through branding decisions—name, tone, and aesthetic
Walked me through Podia step-by-step (honestly better than their support chat)
Troubleshot tech and setup issues
Drafted product descriptions, course outlines, and welcome messages
Helped organize and structure my digital offerings
Clarified language and simplified confusing processes
Gave feedback and ideas when I was stuck or second-guessing
Kept me moving forward—even when I felt overwhelmed
Whether it’s streamlining tasks or working through tough moments, it’s a total game changer.
Are you using ChatGPT?
I feel confident that it can help you in all kinds of ways.
The more you use it, the more it gets to know you and the more helpful it becomes.
Think of it as a highly trainable assistant who’s available 24/7.
So, if you’re curious about where to start—or ready to go beyond basic questions—I’ve created a simple guide to help.
It includes 10 prompts to help you find new direction—whether you’re exploring a career shift, starting something new, or just feeling stuck.
Here’s a fun challenge too! After reading it, see if you can guess what kind of space I’m building to house this kind of support.
Note- I used ChatGPT to create the template for the guide. The images and templates it creates are impressive. You know the images I always include with my articles. That would be ChatGPT.
Finally, I’m curious. Would you be interested in a workshop about using ChatGPT and Canva? If so, drop a comment and just say, “me” or tell me how you’re already using it. This tool has helped me in so many ways. I’m curious to hear how it’s helped others and/or share more about how it’s helped me.
Funny thing is, when I first heard about ChatGPT and was introduced to AI, I assumed it would be something people used to write for them.
But it turns out, I use it to save time so I can write.
It clears the noise so I can focus on what matters most—my voice, my ideas, my work.
I hope you enjoy the guide! If you use it, tell me about your experience.
Don’t forget! Please comment with all your ChatGPT thoughts and questions. I want to hear them. AND, I’m serious about the workshop. I’d love to design something to help others maximize the benefits of this incredible tool.
Sending love.
I know people use it for a lot of things. I think there's some really positive possibilities as the ones that you stated in your article. Loving it, Courtney!
I use Claude for editing and have found it very helpful. The key is to ask the right questions. Sometimes I want to consider the importance of a comma, other times I want to know if I’m getting the big picture across. I taught writing for 25 years, and I use it like a well-informed editor who will follow my lead. Warning, Claude is a brown-nosed and will sometimes just say something I want to hear. That’s when I ask the question in a different way.