In this guide, we discuss the benefits and limitations of using ChatGPT for creating business videos—and share our recommendations on how to refine ChatGPT’s often generic video scripts so they’re unusually engaging and relevant to your unique audience.
Table of contents
What is ChatGPT for business?
Few new technologies in recent memory have shaken up the business world as dramatically as ChatGPT.
Developed by the startup OpenAI and launched in November 2022, ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) machine learning system that can understand spoken and written prompts and generate new, conversational responses based on the billions of pages of (pre-October 2021) Internet content it was trained on. Not only is the current GPT-3 model capable of analyzing vocabulary, context, and syntax to create new content and make predictions and decisions, but it’s also able to refine its answers when given more information and acknowledge its mistakes.
As you know if you’ve taken ChatGPT for a spin, the interface is able to respond intelligently and imaginatively to just about any prompt. Within seconds, it can deliver everything from a silly rhyming poem about Taylor Swift to Internet-sourced advice on improving your finances or a how-to script based on company information you feed it yourself.
A few months in, ChatGPT is already proving to be a useful tool for many content creators, including professionals in L&D, HR, Internal Comms, and Sales Enablement roles who are tasked with producing employee and marketing communications.
However, figuring out how to most effectively use this powerful new tool isn’t totally obvious, even for early adopters with a head start. That’s why we created this guide.
In it, you’ll get:
- Clarity on the pros and cons of using ChatGPT to make video scripts based on both Internet-sourced information and text you provide directly
- 20 ChatGPT prompts to use to generate scripts for common L&D, HR, Internal Comms, and Sales Enablement video content
- Tips on how to transform ChatGPT’s output into a more engaging, relevant, and effective final product
- And finally, one sample ChatGPT script makeover, courtesy of Vyond’s writers and video producers
| | “AI is actually augmenting human creativity and productivity. Instead of replacing human workers, AI is being used to assist and enhance their abilities. By taking on repetitive and mundane tasks, AI allows humans to focus on more complex and creative endeavors.”–Reid Hoffman, Founder of LinkedIn | |
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Pros and cons of ChatGPT for business videos
ChatGPT has both great potential and noteworthy flaws. You should consider both as you’re experimenting with it.
As of the writing of this article (February 2023), here are some of its most significant benefits and limitations.
ChatGPT benefits:
- ChatGPT is great for brainstorming and first drafts. Fear of the blank page and lack of inspiration can be paralyzing. Using ChatGPT to quickly brainstorm new ideas, explore potential themes, and generate starter copy can help you get unstuck and move forward.
- ChatGPT can create content based on the information YOU feed it. Beyond producing responses to prompts based on the pre-October 2021 Internet data it was trained on, ChatGPT can create content based on the information you provide in your prompt. (We’ll explain how to do that in a bit, and cover whether sharing proprietary information with ChatGPT poses a security risk.)
- ChatGPT can mimic a wide range of writing styles and tones. Prompting ChatGPT to produce content in various styles allows you to get a quick read on which approach to a concept is most appropriate and effective.
- ChatGPT generally produces clear and grammatically correct copy. ChatGPT writes in a direct, concise style that many writers aspire to, and its output is largely free of grammatical mistakes.
- ChatGPT frees you up to focus on editing and refining. With ChatGPT assisting with brainstorming and early draft creation, you’ll have more time to carefully revise its starter content into more engaging and relevant final products.
ChatGPT limitations:
- As previously mentioned, ChatGPT is only trained on information found on the Internet prior to October 2021. As a result, its responses don’t reflect the most up-to-date information on topics, especially those that evolve quickly.
- ChatGPT sometimes gets it wrong. When prompted to use the Internet data it was trained on, ChatGPT will sometimes generate fabricated answers, create false citations–and produce biased responses. This is why carefully reviewing its output is always critically important.
- ChatGPT doesn’t understand your content’s target audience nearly as well as you do. Yes, you can plug in some details about your audience into your prompt. But ultimately you know what makes your clients and employees tick–their pains, needs, and concerns–in a way that ChatGPT doesn’t—and can’t. This is why we included a section in this guide on transforming ChatGPT scripts into something great—because human touch is necessary.
- ChatGPT isn’t great at offering suggestions for visuals. It understands how language works. It does not understand how images work. In the scripts we generated, the visual descriptions were generic and needed significant improvement.
- ChatGPT won’t steal your information, but you might still want to take precautions. ChatGPT isn’t capable of digesting your inputs and using them to answer other people’s questions; by design, your interaction with it exists in a vacuum. However, between you and ChatGPT, there are many Internet services, vendors, and API providers that could potentially steal or read any information you upload. For this reason, if you feed ChatGPT proprietary information as part of your prompt, consider redacting any sensitive or classified details, just to be safe.
| | “AI algorithms trained on huge amounts of images or text can be capable of impressive feats. But because they mimic human-made images and text in a purely statistical way, rather than actually learning how the world works, such programs are also prone to making up facts and regurgitating hateful statements and biases—problems still present in ChatGPT.”Will Knight, Business Correspondent, Wired | |
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What makes a good ChatGPT prompt?
No matter your job role, or what you need to write, the starting point with ChatGPT is the same. To get output from the algorithm, you need to give it a prompt.
ChatGPT writes convincingly, but it doesn’t have ideas of its own. It’s neither sentient nor omniscient. Instead, it repurposes what it has found on the internet. So the quality of your prompts is all-important.
A prompt can be as simple as “write me a script for a recruitment video” and it can be written in any way you like. But for the best results, we’d recommend including the following elements as a baseline:
Who: What kind of person do you want ChatGPT to act as—and who is the target audience for the video?
What: What’s the deliverable you want? And what’s the intent and topic of the content?
How: What kind of tone should ChatGPT use?
(Optional) User-sourced data: You can also provide ChatGPT with specific words or phrases you want ChatGPT to include, or feed it large chunks of text to digest and use to create a response. In the prompt, indicate the specific language you want ChatGPT to incorporate or process by placing it within quotation marks.
Here’s what a prompt with these elements might look like:
Act as an employee training manager. Write a two-minute script for an animated video with a voiceover telling junior engineers what to do in case of an emergency shutdown alarm. Set the video in an oil refinery. Write in an informative and reassuring tone. Include the following information in your response: “Emergency Shutdown steps: Safely store and secure all hazardous materials. Close gas valves and secure gas cylinders. Ensure cryogenic liquids are properly vented. Check moisture-sensitive materials and equipment”
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20 ChatGPT video script prompts
Now that you understand the anatomy of a good video script prompt, spend some time playing around with variations on the ChatGPT webpage. If you’d like more ideas on what to include or how to phrase your request, try using one of these 20 sample prompts as a template.
They’re each around 100 words long and can be easily adapted to include both language you’d like included verbatim and proprietary information you’d like ChatGPT to respond to in its output. (To be clear, the language within brackets and quotation marks isn’t to be typed in as is; it indicates where you’d add information you want ChatGPT to integrate into its response.)
Three notes before you dig in:
- It’s worth repeating that the default results ChatGPT delivers will be based only on Internet data from before October 2021 (which, as of this writing is 17 months ago). Therefore some of the results you get may provide a workable structure for your video but contain details you’ll need to change out with more current or company-specific information.
- We kept these sample prompts short on purpose, but ChatGPT can accommodate prompts that are much longer. With models like this, input data is measured in units called “tokens,” not words. And as of February 2023, the limit for a single prompt was 2,048 tokens, which is about 1,500 words, according to OpenAI. This means that you can feed ChatGPT your own information, up to about 1500 words at a time, and prompt it to create outputs based on that information.
- That said, keep in mind that the longer the deliverable you request, the more likely GPT-3 (and LLMs in general) are to veer off-topic. Therefore, you’ll likely get better results if you break long projects into sections, create a prompt for each one, and then stitch together the responses into a unified whole after the fact.
ChatGPT Prompts for Learning & Development:
1. New manager training
Act as an L&D specialist. Write a training video script for someone who has recently been promoted to manager. Their new job is in the tech industry for a company called CreateIT which strives to solve your IT problems with the most innovative solutions. Write in a professional, clear, and friendly tone. Include narration and directions for the visuals. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters preferred best practices for meetings here]”
2. Job skills tutorial
Act as a food hygiene specialist. Write a one-minute training video script for a restaurant called “The Sandwich Haven.” Include two characters, Dave and Erika, who interact with each other. Erika is teaching Dave how to make their best-selling sandwich while explaining important food hygiene guidelines. Include sandwich puns and jokes. Write in a friendly, knowledgeable tone. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters preferred best practices, details, and guidelines here]”
3. Accessibility Awareness
Act as an accessibility expert. Write a 90-second accessibility awareness video script featuring two characters—an office manager and a wheelchair user—who work for Write Right, a communications agency based in Chicago. Communicate the main points with dialogue. The script must mention accessibility adaptations for individuals who are neurodiverse, practical accessibility needs such as wheelchair access, as well as other necessary accessibility requirements. The tone should be friendly, clear, and approachable.
4. Importance of DEIB explainer
Act as a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) specialist. Write a one-minute video script that explains the importance of DEIB and how a DEIB workforce can benefit a company named Real IT. The video will explain the importance of DEIB to current employees and the company’s shareholders. Include information on the benefits of DEIB and how it will benefit Real IT’s service offerings. The tone needs to be clear, personable, and confident.
5. Soft skills explainer
Act as a professional development trainer. Write a 5-minute video script for a soft skills workshop that explains how to improve decision making, communication, and problem solving skills. State why these skills are important to the product design industry. Characters should include a trainer and a class of students learning the skills. Write in a friendly, professional tone.
ChatGPT Prompts for Human Resources:
6. Open enrollment benefits summary
Write a 90-second video script explaining HealthCo.’s open enrollment benefits. Explain that there is a limited open enrollment period and employees have until March 6th to submit their benefit choices for the year. The tone needs to be clear, friendly, and approachable. I will provide benefits details. My request: “Benefits details: 10% increase in premiums on PPO plan, the new dental provider is SmileRight, pet insurance benefits increased 50%, life insurance plans for smokers no longer available, childcare voucher up 25%, gym membership now free for all full-time employees”
7. Data security compliance training
Act as a security compliance expert. Write a 90-second video script for a compliance training video for staff at a large marketing firm based in California. They have a database with more than 500,000 contacts and must be compliant with CCPA guidelines on data privacy. Include information about what employees need to do to be compliant, how to adhere to these guidelines, and what happens if any of these guidelines are broken. The audience is the marketing agency’s employees. Use this quote directly: “Our customers’ data must be protected at all times.”
8. Job openings announcement
Act as a senior recruiter working for Eola Pharmaceuticals, a company that specializes in products for women going through menopause. Write a 45-second video script for Clara who is looking to hire three new scientists to join the lab in Denver. The audience is potential new employees who will want to know what the company does, its main values, company benefits, and how to apply for the job. Include the steps in the recruitment process. Write in a friendly, enthusiastic tone. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters job details here]”
9. New hire onboarding
Act as a member of the HR team at a construction company based in Carson City, Nevada. Write a two-minute video script for a new hire onboarding video. The new hires are all construction workers who need to know the best practices and regulations of being on a building site in Nevada. Write in a knowledgeable, friendly tone. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters company information details here]”
10. Sexual harassment prevention video
Act as an HR manager. Write a 3-minute video script on sexual harassment in the workplace for managers at a clothing manufacturer. Include a definition of sexual harassment, information on how to report harassment, and the policies in place to protect employees. It must comply with harassment laws in California. The tone is authoritative, sensitive, and clear. Follow this style: Caption: What is sexual harassment? Voiceover: Sexual harassment is any kind of unwanted behavior of a sexual nature that makes you feel humiliated or intimidated, or that creates a hostile environment.
ChatGPT Prompts for Internal Communications:
11. Annual report highlights
Act as a Chief Financial Officer. Write a 60-second script for an annual report summary video that celebrates the company’s success. The tone should be upbeat and encouraging. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters information about the company’s top salesperson, net profit, most profitable product, sales targets that were hit and missed here]”
12. New family leave policy
Act as an HR director. Write a 60-second video script explaining the company’s new family leave policy to all employees. Include the quote “We know that both parents need the time to bond with their new baby.” The audience is all company employees. Write in a casual, empathetic tone. Include visual suggestions for an animated video. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters policy details here]”
13. Employee Appreciation
Act as a CEO grateful for the hard work your employees have put in this year. Write a 45-second long video script to send to employees in appreciation of their efforts. Write in an energetic, enthusiastic, friendly tone.
14. Monthly sales update
Act as the VP of Sales for a car dealership called Car Hub. Write a script for a video that can be used each month to update the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on the company’s monthly sales figures. The script must be able to be reused each month. The tone needs to be clear and formal. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters details here]”
15. Company culture and values
Act as if you work in HR. Write a 90-second video script describing your company’s culture and values. Audience: potential new employees and customers. Describe the culture in a positive way. Include “compassion for the environment” as a company value and include placeholders for 3 more values. Write in an energetic, informal tone. Include 3 characters interacting in the script. Include a story about an employee named Alice who recently joined the company.
Chat GPT Prompts for Sales Enablement:
16. Product explainer (for prospects)
Act as an account executive. Write a video script for a 60-second explainer video that explains how to use your new product—a self-cleaning microwave. Explain to the user how to use the product and leave placeholders to highlight four key special features of the product. The audience is potential buyers of this new microwave who have visited your website and attended a webinar. In the script, include an interaction between a sales rep and a potential buyer. The tone is friendly, casual, and persuasive.
17. Competitor comparison
Write a 45-second script for an animated video that compares Salesforce and Hubspot. The audience is any company deciding which platform to use. Analyze both Salesforce and Hubspot, give the pros and cons of each. The script should be conversational and contain humor. Include visual descriptions throughout that reflect the narration.
18. Customer case study
Write as a successful marketing agency that is showcasing the success of their work. Produce a 90-second script for a case study video that demonstrates how you helped a client, StuffCo, that was struggling to grow their e-commerce business. Talk about how retargeting ads and a funny social media presence made a big difference. At the end of the script, include a call to action to the marketing agency’s website. The tone should be positive, enthusiastic, and friendly. Include the following information: “[User enters increased sales data and specific testimonial quotes here]”
19. Cold call best practices
Act as an expert in cold–calling. Write a script for a video detailing five best practices. Your audience is a group of sales reps struggling to make successful cold calls, who are trying to increase their success rate by at least 15%. Include a metric detailing how you can measure the improved success of the reps. Write the script following the traditional storytelling structure: a beginning (set the scene and describe how the rep is struggling to cold call); a middle (the rep learns new tricks) and an ending (the rep’s success rate has increased). Write in a positive, casual tone.
20. Data security overview
Act as a data security expert. You work for Vyond. Write a video script that sales reps can use to reassure potential buyers of Vyond’s enterprise-grade standards for data security. Include a brief description of Vyond and what data security is. The script should be 90 seconds long. Write in a persuasive, knowledgeable, and friendly tone. Include the following information in your response: “[User enters details here]”
Click on the image to download a PDF version
How to improve ChatGPT-generated scripts
Whether you’re using one of our suggested prompts as a template or writing your own from scratch, you’ll likely find that the first script that ChatGPT offers leaves room for improvement. Here are some ways to improve that first draft.
- First, try out a few more ChatGPT prompts. Before you start editing the script yourself, consider adjusting your ChatGPT prompt and regenerating a few more responses first. Add more details, change the tone, and clarify the structure you had in mind. Then use whichever elements you like the most.
- Differentiate the characters. If your script features multiple characters interacting with each other, take the time to give them distinguishing traits or dialogue that an audience will have an emotional reaction to. Audiences respond to stories. And good stories require distinct, relatable characters and conflict, however minor.
- Improve the visual descriptions. The visual descriptions ChatGPT serves up in its video scripts are usually generic and uninspired. (At this point, ChatGPT is a far better script writer than production designer.) The on-screen text and visuals you choose for your videos are just as important as the narration or dialogue. So strive to create visuals that are unexpected, engaging, and that pair well with your narration and dialogue.
- Cut repeated or redundant elements. ChatGPT will sometimes say the same thing in different ways, adding unnecessary words. Look for instances of this and cut them.
- Be more tactical about length, pacing, and transitions. You don’t want your videos to drag. So ask yourself: Is every scene or line of dialogue accomplishing something important–or is some of it window dressing? Are there more interesting ways to jump from one section to the next? Could you jump into a scene sooner? Might your three-minute video be better if it was half as long? And so on.
- Watch out for contradictions. In one script ChatGPT generated for us, visual directions were included (“a shot of a quiet office”) which was at odds with the dialogue (“our office is always busy, filled with a buzz”). Be on alert for these inconsistencies.
- Check and refine the language. ChatGPT’s output can sometimes sound clichéd. If you find your copy includes too many industry buzzwords or overused expressions, tweak your script accordingly.
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Sample Chat GPT Script Makeover
We thought it would be instructive to edit some ChatGPT-generated content. So we prompted ChatGPT to create a short recruitment video and asked a few of our scriptwriters and video producers to both edit the results and explain why they made the changes they did.
ChatGPT Prompt:
Write a 45-second recruitment video script for a junior finance officer for DDP Logistics, a global logistics company based in Florida. Responsibilities include basic accounting, data entry, reconciliations, data verifications, and variance analysis. Need to be good with computers. Include “Very proficient in excel, salesforce, and powerBI.” Benefits include a competitive salary, health insurance, annual bonus, pension plan, and gym membership. Do not mention any financial decision-making. They will get regular training and mentorship. Applications are now open, include a placeholder to add the web link for applications and an email address you can contact about the applications. Write in an enthusiastic, friendly, and approachable tone.
Chat GPT Output:
[45 seconds video starts playing]
[Intro music and company logo]
[Narrator speaks in an enthusiastic and friendly tone]
Attention all finance enthusiasts! Are you looking to join a dynamic and fast-growing global logistics company? Well, look no further! DDP Logistics is seeking a Junior Finance Officer to join our team in Florida.
[Cut to images of a finance department at work, data entry, reconciliations, etc.]
As a Junior Finance Officer, you’ll be a valuable member of our finance team, where your responsibilities will include basic accounting, data entry, reconciliations, data verifications, and variance analysis. Plus, you’ll need to be proficient in Excel, Salesforce, and PowerBI!
[Cut to a shot of someone using a computer]
We’re looking for someone who’s good with computers and has strong attention to detail.
[Cut to images of benefits such as a gym, training room, mentorship etc.]
In return for your hard work, DDP Logistics offers a competitive salary, health insurance, an annual bonus, a pension plan, and a gym membership! Plus, regular training and mentorship will be provided to help you grow and succeed in your career.
[Outro music and company logo]
[Narrator speaks in an enthusiastic and friendly tone]
So, what are you waiting for? Take the first step in your finance career and apply now! Simply visit our website [INSERT WEB LINK HERE] or email [INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS HERE] for more information. Join the DDP Logistics team and make your finance dreams a reality!
Our assessment:
The ChatGPT script provides a decent foundation to build on. It uses a standard structure for hooking a viewer; covers common responsibilities and benefits; and has a call to action. That said, we felt the script was lacking in a few areas, which prompted us to make these changes:
- Replaced some terms related to the role and audience that weren’t exactly right
- Cut down the copy to quicken the pace
- Fixed a few minor grammatical errors
- Added the word “you” more often, to more directly appeal to the viewer
- Significantly revised the visual suggestions, which were very generic
- Replaced them with visuals that played off the information conveyed in the voice-over, added a consistent main character
Click on the image to download a PDF version
After we edited the script, we decided to actually create it in Vyond. Here’s the final result:
Some final (Vyond-generated) thoughts:
ChatGPT, while imperfect, is a powerful tool to be celebrated and embraced, not feared or ignored.
Prompted with intention and used with care, ChatGPT is already helping thousands of content creators push past writer’s block, generate fresh ideas and first drafts, and produce high-quality finished products more quickly than they could otherwise. So if you’re hesitant about leaning in, don’t be. Understanding its capabilities and getting comfortable using it will make you better at your job.
In the months ahead, we’ll keep an eye on how OpenAI and other companies producing Generative AI tools navigate concerns around intellectual property, citation, and privacy. And as newer versions of ChatGPT emerge, and the model improves, we’ll continue to test out new prompts, identify evolving best practices, and update this guide as needed.
But in the meantime, we hope you find our prompts and advice useful. For more insights into how to turn a ChatGPT script’s first draft into something special, check out the library of tutorials in our online Producers Hub.
And to see for yourself why millions of users love using Vyond’s AI-powered video creation technology to bring their wildest script ideas to life, sign up for our 14-day free trial.
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