Create personas with ChatGPT

ChatGPT: create a persona

The simplest method is to simply ask the ChatGPT input mask to do this. It is important that the request is clearly formulated and does not contain any complex or ambiguous sentences. Although precision is important and concrete information helps the chatbot to respond to your specific needs, you should start in general terms and then become more specific.

We have tried it out for you, you are welcome to try it out, here is our little "field test":

"Create a buyer persona for the shoe retailer Deichmann with stores throughout Germany."

CHATGPT:

Name: Julia shoe lover
Age: 28
Profession: Marketing assistant
Place of residence: Munich

Challenges and needs:

• Julia attaches great importance to the latest fashion trends and is constantly on the lookout for new shoe collections.
• Comfort is important to her, as she is on her feet all day. She prefers shoes that are both fashionable and comfortable.
• The budget is relevant for Julia. She is looking for high-quality shoes at affordable prices.
• Online presence and local stores are important, as Julia likes to try out her shoes before she buys them, but also appreciates the option of ordering online.
• Julia is interested in sustainability and would prefer products that are manufactured in an environmentally friendly way.

Purchasing behavior:

• Julia likes to browse the Deichmann website online to explore the latest shoe collections.
• She prefers to try on shoes in store before making a final decision, but also uses the option of ordering online if she can't find her preferred size in store.
• The flexibility of Click & Collect or fast online deliveries is important to Julia.

Satisfaction and dissatisfaction:

• Positively impressed by the wide selection of shoes and regular updates on new trends.
• Satisfied with the customer service and the problem-free exchange of shoes.
• Dissatisfied when stores do not have certain models in stock and when online orders are delayed.

Values and interests:

• Fashion sense: Julia appreciates the latest fashion trends and prefers shoes that match her style.
• Comfort: Comfortable shoes are a must as she is on the move a lot.
• Sustainability: Environmentally friendly products would influence their purchasing decision.

Not bad at all. ChatGPT then mentions that Julia is based on hypothetical assumptions and general trends in the shoe trade - honest, after all. You can tell that it's not data-based by the fact that Julia doesn't have a real surname - after all, her first name is in the top 5 for people born in 1995 and 1996. Through further questions and small discussions with ChatGPT, you can also get to know Julia better outside of shoe shopping, always based on general assumptions and trends. When asked how the company Deichmann should best address the customer Julia, ChatGPT provides us with this answer:

1. Highlighting fashion diversity: Since Julia is fashion-conscious, Deichmann could draw her attention to the latest shoe trends. Emphasizing a variety of styles and options could appeal to her.
2. Emphasize affordability: Since Julia is price-conscious, it's important to point out Deichmann's affordable prices. Promotions, discounts or special offers could arouse her curiosity.
3. Online and offline shopping options: Deichmann could offer Julia the opportunity to try on shoes both online and in-store. Emphasizing the flexibility to combine both could take her preferences into account.
4. Communicate sustainability initiatives: If Deichmann offers sustainable product lines, this could be of interest to Julia. Environmentally friendly practices could be emphasized in the communication.
5. Include mobile use and social media: Since Julia is tech-savvy, Deichmann could point to mobile apps, social media channels and user-friendly online platforms to optimize her shopping experience.
6. Customer reviews and recommendations: Julia might respond to customer reviews and recommendations. This could influence her decision if she sees positive experiences from other customers.
7. Personalized offers: Deichmann could offer personalized offers based on Julia's shopping behavior or interests to get her more involved.

Sounds good again, but also very much like "common sense". ChatGPT recommends: "A more accurate strategy could be developed through a deeper analysis of customer behavior and preferences. "

You could now continue the conversation and ask ChatGPT to take on the role of "Julia" and then ask her questions about her behavior, her lifeworld and her needs. However, this takes time and the outcome is uncertain as it is not data-based.

Conclusion: A good basis for a proto-persona, which you can then verify or falsify based on data. No more, but also no less - because it is uncertain how much the persona created with ChatGPT has to do with reality, i.e. the real target group.

Chat GPT persona based on feedback

Another method you can use to elicit a persona from ChatGPT is to feed it with customer feedback on a specific product, service or company and then create a persona based on the customer's apparent preferences and needs. This way, they ensure that the persona is based on actual customer data and only represents your buyers: leaving ChatGPT less room for error, generalizations and assumptions. We tried this out too. Our example is based on 35 customer reviews for the DIY chain Obi. For an accurate persona, you need thousands and therefore more time than we have for a blog post 😉. However, this should not be a problem for companies that have their customer feedback available in a database. So, based on 35 customer reviews, ChatGPT creates the following OBI customer for us based on this input:

I'm about to enter 35 customer reviews. Create a buyer persona for the DIY chain Obi. Please don't write anything until I've put the word "DONE" at the end of a review.

Result:

Name: Lisa Heimwerkerin
Age: 35
Occupation: Office worker
Place of residence: Neunkirchen

Challenges and needs:

• Experience with the patio roof shows that Lisa attaches great importance to detailed assembly instructions with pictures and that problems during assembly make her dissatisfied.
• Due to snow load and unstable construction, Lisa may prefer more stable options for her roofing.
• Obi's fast and uncomplicated online ordering system is important for Lisa, as she can reserve the item and easily switch between DIY stores.
• Negative experiences with the delivery of laminate have meant that Lisa may be reluctant to order bulky items online in future.
• Lisa appreciates good communication and fast delivery, but has concerns about the use of too much packaging material.

Purchasing behavior:

• Lisa tends to shop online frequently, especially for larger and heavier items.
• She prefers simple online ordering and delivery direct to her home.
• Local availability and price transparency between online stores and stores influence their purchasing decisions.

Satisfaction and dissatisfaction:

• Positively impressed by the ability to search for items online and reserve them locally.
• Satisfied with the customer service and the uncomplicated return of items.
• Dissatisfied with longer delivery times for stock items and different suppliers.
• Critical of inaccurate product descriptions (e.g. thinner rain jacket) and labels on products.

Values and interests:

• Environmental awareness: Lisa prefers environmentally friendly packaging options and would appreciate less packaging material.
• Saving time: Fast and efficient order processing is important to Lisa.
• Value for money: You expect reasonable quality for the price you pay.

Conclusion: The result is not bad, even if the bot sometimes gets "hung up" on details such as a rain jacket or a patio roof if these were part of a customer comment. It can be assumed that it tends to generalize with a thousand or more entries and therefore individual comments disappear in the overall picture.
Lisa does not have a data-based surname either, but her first name corresponds to the most frequently assigned surnames in her year of birth. ChatGPT has no real answer to the question of why Lisa is a woman - a random decision.
So: Very helpful, but only if there are enough reviews - i.e. at least 1,000.

Further options for personas with ChatGPT

"Just ask" and personas from customer reviews are the two easiest methods to create personas with ChatGPT, as they do not require ad-ons .

"Keywords Everywhere" is a browser add-on for Firefox and Chrome. With this keyword research tool, you can also create GPT personas in more than thirty different languages and writing styles via chat. You also have the option to expand, rewrite and illustrate your personas with a simple click on a menu. The tool delivers similar results to the simple query, but in a clearer format and with a summary at the end of the overview. The persona also has a "real" name.

Another ChatGPT persona template is the "Buyer Persona Legend". You can find it as an installable extension at AIPRM, an online community of prompt engineers who create easy-to-use prompts for "marketing, sales, operations, productivity and customer support". Again, you need to enter keywords that describe what your business sells, and where. The result is a fairly detailed persona with a credible name, clearly laid out and with a summary.
You will get particularly good results if you combine the two tools.

Data-based is a "must"

So after a more or less brief effort, ChatGPT delights us with more or less believable personas that you can even chat with. Nice. However, this is not data-based. To build the feedback method on enough real data, you either need a lot of time or a good database with enough customer feedback at hand.

ChatGPT's personas are not sufficient to develop a fully-fledged marketing strategy, as you need personas that are based on real customer data and therefore go beyond the proto-personas that ChatGPT can create. The process of persona creation always includes the steps 1) "collect data", 2) "create persona" and 3) "test persona".
At the Persona Institute, we have access to over 1.5 million representative data sets per quarter from more than 12 countries and more than 1,000 markets. Our persona profiler accesses this data and creates data-based, reliable buyer or candidate personas with corresponding recommendations for action - in a very short time and at a manageable cost. The personas are also automatically updated on a quarterly basis so that your marketing strategy is always up to date.
Nevertheless, at the Persona Institute we combine the best of both worlds: our Persona Profiler provides the data and creates the personas. We still use ChatGPT: as an AI that turns our personas into chatbots.