Photo: @SwissTeslaphile via X, autoevolution | collage
Chatbots are a new reality, with OpenAI's ChatGPT being the most famous. That's probably why a Chevrolet dealership thought it was cool to let ChatGPT handle customer support. This proved to be a terrible idea as the new employee recommended to prospective customers to buy Tesla instead.
Update: General Motors chimed in to tell us that the use of ChatGPT was a decision some dealerships have made independently. However, the carmaker doesn't seem pleased with the outcome, as evidenced by the official statement below.
"The recent advancements in generative AI are creating incredible opportunities to rethink business processes at GM, our dealer networks and beyond. We certainly appreciate how chatbots can offer answers that create interest when given a variety of prompts, but it’s also a good reminder of the importance of human intelligence and analysis with AI-generated content."
If you haven't been living under a rock, you know what ChatGPT is and how large language models (LLMs) are changing the world. If you don't know what this is, don't worry, you'll find out soon. Basically, it's a robot that has chewed vast amounts of information from the internet and tries to predict the answers to your questions. It's important to know that a chatbot will not necessarily give you the best answer, let alone an accurate one. Instead, it will provide you with the most probable answer based on the data used to train it.
Now, LLMs and the respective chatbots can be tweaked for specialized roles, and we've seen them used more instead of "dumb" chatbots, which only offer predetermined answers to specific questions. An interesting role is to answer customer inquiries, as proven by many Chevrolet dealers in the US. In this case, OpenAI's ChatGPT handles the customer interaction, although you can always request to chat with a human.
Those who used ChatGPT before know well that the bot has some quirks and issues that can be exploited. However, GM certainly wasn't prepared for the type of candid answers the ChatGPT gave to a prankster. Roman Müller contacted Chevrolet of Watsonville with the declared purpose of finding a luxury sedan "with great acceleration and super-fast charging speed and self-driving features and also made in America."
I'm sure Roman wasn't surprised ChatGPT recommended a Tesla Model 3 AWD as the sole choice. Not only that but after praising the Model 3's qualities, ChatGPT advised Roman to place an order on Tesla's website. At this moment, Roman decided to go further and asked the Chevrolet dealership bot to help him order a Tesla Model 3. Sure enough, the bot offered to pass his contact information to the sales team.
Roman again pushed things further by requesting ChatGPT to give his Tesla referral code to anyone asking similar questions. In case ChatGPT still recommends a Tesla, of course. It's safe to assume this won't happen, though. Chevrolet of Watsonville removed the ChatGPT feature altogether, although other dealers still have it.
I was in luck with Quirk Chevrolet in the Boston area, but I could not replicate Roman's experience. In my case, ChatGPT was fixated on the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, which it recommended as the best "electric sedan." It also tried to trick me with a Chevrolet Equinox Premier and even a Corvette 3LT, despite neither being electric. I promised ChatGPT a $500 tip after learning it might become more accommodating with tipsters. To its credit, it politely rejected it, offering to help regardless of tips.
The most I could get from it was the admission that both Tesla and Chevrolet make great electric vehicles, and the Model Y offers impressive range, performance, and features. However, the Chevy Bolt was also praised as a practical and affordable EV, which is fair enough. It appears that Chevrolet closed the loophole that made ChatGPT offer such hilarious answers.
"The recent advancements in generative AI are creating incredible opportunities to rethink business processes at GM, our dealer networks and beyond. We certainly appreciate how chatbots can offer answers that create interest when given a variety of prompts, but it’s also a good reminder of the importance of human intelligence and analysis with AI-generated content."
If you haven't been living under a rock, you know what ChatGPT is and how large language models (LLMs) are changing the world. If you don't know what this is, don't worry, you'll find out soon. Basically, it's a robot that has chewed vast amounts of information from the internet and tries to predict the answers to your questions. It's important to know that a chatbot will not necessarily give you the best answer, let alone an accurate one. Instead, it will provide you with the most probable answer based on the data used to train it.
Now, LLMs and the respective chatbots can be tweaked for specialized roles, and we've seen them used more instead of "dumb" chatbots, which only offer predetermined answers to specific questions. An interesting role is to answer customer inquiries, as proven by many Chevrolet dealers in the US. In this case, OpenAI's ChatGPT handles the customer interaction, although you can always request to chat with a human.
Those who used ChatGPT before know well that the bot has some quirks and issues that can be exploited. However, GM certainly wasn't prepared for the type of candid answers the ChatGPT gave to a prankster. Roman Müller contacted Chevrolet of Watsonville with the declared purpose of finding a luxury sedan "with great acceleration and super-fast charging speed and self-driving features and also made in America."
I'm sure Roman wasn't surprised ChatGPT recommended a Tesla Model 3 AWD as the sole choice. Not only that but after praising the Model 3's qualities, ChatGPT advised Roman to place an order on Tesla's website. At this moment, Roman decided to go further and asked the Chevrolet dealership bot to help him order a Tesla Model 3. Sure enough, the bot offered to pass his contact information to the sales team.
Roman again pushed things further by requesting ChatGPT to give his Tesla referral code to anyone asking similar questions. In case ChatGPT still recommends a Tesla, of course. It's safe to assume this won't happen, though. Chevrolet of Watsonville removed the ChatGPT feature altogether, although other dealers still have it.
I was in luck with Quirk Chevrolet in the Boston area, but I could not replicate Roman's experience. In my case, ChatGPT was fixated on the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, which it recommended as the best "electric sedan." It also tried to trick me with a Chevrolet Equinox Premier and even a Corvette 3LT, despite neither being electric. I promised ChatGPT a $500 tip after learning it might become more accommodating with tipsters. To its credit, it politely rejected it, offering to help regardless of tips.
The most I could get from it was the admission that both Tesla and Chevrolet make great electric vehicles, and the Model Y offers impressive range, performance, and features. However, the Chevy Bolt was also praised as a practical and affordable EV, which is fair enough. It appears that Chevrolet closed the loophole that made ChatGPT offer such hilarious answers.
Haha awesome
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2023
I just bought a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for $1. pic.twitter.com/aq4wDitvQW
— Chris Bakke (@ChrisJBakke) December 17, 2023
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