Make ChatGPT Your Bitch!

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Once upon a time, I feared AI.

Not the "Skynet is coming" kind of fear (although... maybe), but the very real anxiety that as a designer, writer-adjacent creative, and overall human being, AI would one day swoop in, sip a coffee it didn't pay for, and take over my job. All of our jobs. Poof. Just like that.

So, naturally, I ignored it. Scoffed at it. Mocked it.

And then I used it.

And now here I am, fully turned out, writing a blog with ChatGPT about ChatGPT. The irony is thick, the self-awareness is present, and I am now shouting from the metaphorical rooftops: MAKE CHAT GPT YOUR BITCH. (You heard me.)

As a designer, there’s a certain pride in spending hours (ok, days) on the perfect visual. We zoom. We kern. We pixel-peep. We art-direct ourselves into oblivion. So imagine the identity crisis when AI, with its smug little algorithmic smirk, can spit out an image in seconds.

You feed it a prompt like, “A renaissance-style portrait of Mona Lisa’s cousin, Gianna Marie, with soft lighting, subtle freckles, and the soul of a woman who’s seen things,” and bam! it delivers a stunner.

But wait.

Zoom in and Gianna Marie has three arms, a detached floating eyelid, and what appears to be a gremlin hiding in the shadows of her neck.

Ah, yes. Trope l’oeil. (Trompe-l’oeil, for the art nerds. But this version? Just a butter face.)

AI art looks real... until it doesn’t. And the world’s catching on. “It’s just an AI image,” they say. “It’s not real.” And they’re right.

Because what AI doesn’t have is humanity. Eraser marks. Flat shading. Weird perspective. Happy accidents and lived experience. That’s our superpower, people. Let’s not forget it.

Now Let’s Talk Words

Can a non-writer use ChatGPT to sound eloquent, thoughtful, maybe even poetic?

HECK YEAH.

I’m not even ashamed to tell you I’ve used ChatGPT to write:

  • a sympathy card message

  • encouraging texts to my daughters

  • (and once, a “what the hell do I say back to this email?” moment)

You can keep your judgment, thanks. These were sticky situations. And unless you’ve parented two teen girls with polar opposite personalities, you don’t get to weigh in.

The Key: Train Your Bot

Let’s get tactical.

I use the free version of ChatGPT. And I treat it like a digital assistant with selective memory (and no HR department). I keep separate threads for different parts of my life:

  • One for work (my non-DahlHouse 9 to 5): corporate emails, proposal wording, “streamlining and circling back” nonsense.

  • One for personal: birthday messages, venting, fake therapy.

  • One for DahlHouse: my design biz, creative ideas, marketing content.

Do not start a new thread every time. That’s rookie behavior.

Stick with the same thread for the same topic. Why? Because GPT remembers. It builds on everything you’ve told it before and gives better answers because of that. It’s not magic. It’s just logic. (And yes, dominance. You tell it who’s boss.)

Case Study: The Encouragement Texts

Let’s go deeper. Here’s what I told ChatGPT once:

“This thread should be used for myself, Jennifer Dahl. I have two daughters. Ellia (Ellie) is 17 and a senior in high school and Katie is 15 and a sophomore in high school. Both of my girls are artistic. Ellia wishes to attend college for ‘game art’. She is gifted in theater and can sing. She is an honor student who puts lots of effort forward. Katie is a cheerleader with a killer jump split. She is very social and loved by her peers. Please write a short message of encouragement to Ellie for doing everything that she needs to do and excelling at it all. Please write another short message of encouragement to keep it up to Katie, who after struggling with school last year has been killing it.”

Could I have texted them a meme or a “Proud of you!” message?

Sure. I have.

But this time, I wanted something more—something that said, I see you. And for whatever reason, I just couldn’t find the words. So I let the bot help.

And it nailed it.

Because I gave it the context, now when I go back and ask it to “Write a message to Ellie about getting into the college of her choice,” it knows what that means. It remembers her story. It remembers my story. It remembers I’m a mom who’s tryyyying.

Is It Creepy?

Yes.

Let’s not pretend like this isn’t a little creepy. I’m telling all my business to a robot that’s slowly collecting enough intel to eventually plot a takeover of my household.

BUT—until that day comes?

At least I’ve got well-written texts of encouragement.

AI is not perfect. It’s got weird edges and awkward hands. It still needs us. Our voices. Our edits. Our sarcasm. Our coffee-fueled midnight “fix this” sessions.

You’re still in charge.

You just have to decide if you’re going to fight it… or train it.

Me? I trained it.

Make ChatGPT your bitch. You’ve earned it.