Before We Get It Right
Real moms. Real conversations. A safe corner for the messy middle- where moms can exhale, find connection, and the courage to lead with intuition.
Before We Get It Right
Using AI in Your Daily Life as a Mom + Business Owner
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, we’re talking about something that’s quietly becoming part of everyday life — ChatGPT. Not in a techy, overwhelming way… but how we’re actually using it as moms, business owners, and women navigating full lives.
We share the real ways it’s helping us carry the mental load, from writing emails and brainstorming ideas to making decisions and getting unstuck. But we also talk about the other side: the risks of over-reliance, losing your voice, and the bigger questions around creativity, accuracy, and even environmental impact.
This isn’t about doing more. It’s about finding support in a season where you’re already carrying a lot.
If you’ve been curious about AI, or already using it but wondering how to use it well ...this conversation is for you.
Want to connect with us more? Follow us on SUBSTACK!
You're listening to Before We Get It Right. Real moms, real conversations for the messy middle. I'm Leah, and I'm Catherine, and this is a space for honesty, not perfection, before we get it right.
SPEAKER_02All right, guys. So today's episode is going to be a little different, but it's also very relevant to how we're actually living right now. We are going to talk about, is it our third best friend?
SPEAKER_01Maybe, maybe, right? You, me, and chat GPT. But not in a super tacky way, because obviously that is not us, if you know us. But we are talking about how we're actually using Chat GPT in our everyday lives as moms, as business owners, and as you know, millennial women just navigating life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because I'll be honest, this has quietly become something I used almost every single day. And not to replace thinking, but more to support it, to be efficient and just to do more with my time. So I think before we get into anything else, it's helpful to say, what are we actually using Chat GPT for? Because for me, it really is this mix of business and life. Like I use it to write emails when I don't know how to say something. I'll brain dump everything in there and ask it to rewrite it for me. I talk through decisions, brainstorming content, rewriting things to maybe sound more like me when I am really just like brain dead at the end of the day, running financials or evaluating pricing. Specifically in business, I think one of the ways that it is the most helpful for anybody who has any type of product or even is trying to get exposure is to like literally screenshot their stats from different social media platforms or even type in what your audience is and just drop it all in there. And it will create, it will create a very clear and defined calendar of what channels you should be putting your energy into in order to get the most success. And I do that a lot, even from like a time perspective. Like, hey, I'm trying to do this in 30 days. I'm trying to hit this revenue goal in 30 days. Give me 10 ideas on how we could do that or create a very concise calendar that incorporates XYZ. And I think it can really just outline those things in a way that, again, is efficient, but you can fine-tune it to make it make sense for you and whatever it is that you're doing. And sometimes it even helps me think through boundaries or responses to text. Because honestly, like I said, at the end of the day, for a lot of us, we are just a little brain dead or we may feel a little stuck. So having that little help can be really nice.
SPEAKER_01Same. Yeah, I agree. And even just for business, I was going to talk about what I use it for, just kind of in my daily life. But something I just used it for last week from a business standpoint is how to set up meta ads. And yes, I could hire someone that could do all of that, but I really wanted to try to do it for myself. And it really helped me set up my meta ads. And because that thing is so complicated to do that, and I found it very helpful. But also on the life side, I have used it, gosh, for so many random things. The things that I can think of is the color analysis. I know a lot of people pay money for that. And I probably should also get it done by a professional, but it really did. I was able to upload a selfie and it really gave me my color palette and the things that I should be wearing. So I've used it for that. I use it for creating a simple daily schedule that I can screenshot. So what I do is I will talk into the there's like a little speaker that you can talk to. I'll just talk through my day, the things that I have to get done. And just talking about it out loud is really helpful for me. And then it also gives me a time block day, all right there, that I can just screenshot and refer back to if I need to. I use it a lot for responding to people in a professional way when I'd rather be rude, but they help me. They, as in ChatGPT, helps me not be rude, just brainstorming different random business ideas. And sometimes I honestly use it as a hype friend when I feel like I'm doing everything wrong, which sounds silly, but they can be your biggest cheerleader sometimes. And also, what else do I use it for? Sometimes, oh, I'll take a picture of something to tell me like what it is. For example, we were at my grandpa's house last week going through, he has so much stuff at his house, but a ton of different antiques. And we're like, is this worth anything? I've no idea. Looking up different artists and yeah, just taking a picture of it, being able to tell me what it is. So what I've realized is is that it's helpful, but it's not doing the work for me, but it really does help carry the mental load.
SPEAKER_02Totally. And I think that's kind of the difference, right? And maybe where Chad GPT does get a pretty bad rap. And we'll kind of get into the negatives too, because I feel like we started out very strong pro cheerleader Chad GPT, but we'll we'll dive into you know the whole gamut of everything. And for me, you know, there have been so many moments where I've been staring at something, an email trying to make a decision, a situation with a business. And I just do feel really stuck. And instead of just sitting for hours, I'll open Chat GPT and say, here's what I'm trying to say, help me structure it. And Catherine, I think you made a good point too, talking about how it helps you with the meta-ads, because I did the exact same thing. And I think, especially in business, and let's be real, parenting too, you're expected to know so many things that you have never done and the amount of time it takes you to figure those things out, even if you are using Google, even if you're trying to use your resources, using Chat GPT is a way more efficient way to just get the info you need, work through it, get done what you need to get done in a way that generally, especially when it comes to operational things, you could trust. So it gives you a starting point too. Like for the meta-ads or processes, I do think it's a lot more thorough and kind of can walk you from start to finish. But when you are doing things like writing the email or whatever, you know, you're still using your knowledge. And it can be finite in that way, or it can also be a starting point. Not necessarily final, but enough to move. And when you're juggling a million things, that momentum matters.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for me, it's been really helpful in those in-between moments, like if I'm overwhelmed and I don't really have time to fully process something, I can quickly just ask, help me think through this, or what's a simple way to approach this? And it almost acts like a sounding board. That would be like probably what I use it the most for is a sounding board. You know, you can reach out to other people too, but I feel like you said ChatGPT at this point just knows me so well. It's not emotional support in a human way. I mean, I reach out to you and like my friends for that, but it gives you clarity in a practical way.
SPEAKER_02Definitely. And you know what's so funny? It wasn't that long ago when, and we'll get into this as well, using different ChatGPT platforms because not all of them are created equal and they do tend to have these personalities. But I had asked Catherine about using a different one and I will never forget her being like, What? Like, I can't do that. It would be like starting over.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I feel like I would be starting a new relationship if I had to switch from Chat GPT. Like you asked me about Claude, right? That's what you asked me about, never heard of it. Tried, I said, Yeah, I can't even start this relationship. And then I had another friend ask me, like, oh, I use Gemini. And I was like, What's Gemini? And she goes, Oh, I think it's way better. And I went on Gemini and I asked some stuff, and I was like, Yeah, they don't know me like Chat GPT does.
SPEAKER_02No, it just doesn't quite make sense, especially if you need things to sound a little bit more authentic, like your voice, because the more you, you know, throw into Chat GPT, the more it it brings out.
SPEAKER_01I do think to talk about the other side of it though, because it we've been hyping it up, like you said, but it's not all upside.
SPEAKER_02No, and I think one concern really is the over reliance. I think you and I both, as we've been talking through this, have been pretty clear that we use it almost as a brain dump to, you know, help us sort through all these different thoughts or do things a little bit more efficiently. But the reality is that if you start outsourcing all your thinking, your writing, your decision making, you can lose your voice a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and there's also that creativity piece. AI pulls from patterns. So if you're not careful, everything can start to sound the same and you lose some of that originality and nuance that makes people you like the actual human.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and accuracy matters too. Chat GPT is helpful, but it's definitely not perfect, which I have a story about this. Story time, it really can be wrong and it can oversimplify things. So you definitely need to think critically and not take everything at face value, which is what a friend of mine kind of had to learn the hard way. She was using Claude, and she had suspected her husband of some infidelity. He had had one of these apps on his phone, like a messaging app, like a private messaging app. And those are all encrypted, right? So she'd used Claude to basically figure out what these like files on his computer were that were related to that app. And Claude built her like a legitimate program, I think, like to drop into terminal on her computer that would decode these things, right? Well, and as she's going through this, she's like telling me, she's voice memoing me, and she's like, he definitely is cheating, he's definitely hiding stuff. He had all of these like deleted group chats because that's what ChatGPT is saying. That's what Claude is saying. It's and Claude was very adamant that based on the information she was giving it, that he was cheating and hiding things. And then come to find out, Claude was full of it, which I have learned personally that Claude is very dramatic and Chat GPT is a little bit more straightforward. Claude eventually, when she straight up asked Claude, could it be anything else? And Claude said no. And then she said, Are you sure? Because XYZ, like she ran it through Chat GPT and then said what ChatGPT said. Then Claude said, actually, I have no factual basis. So it's like I could be wrong. I could be wrong. I just turned you against your husband, but I might not be right. So it is things like that. I think you have to take with a grain of salt and recognize, like same thing with you know, medical concerns. I mean, I think that's a big thing people probably use AI for, right? Is to drop their symptoms in and ask. And my mom actually did that with Chad GPT or not Chad GPT. I keep getting a mix up with Claude. My mom did that with Claude and likes Claude. Yeah. Oh, that's all and I I'm the one who showed it to her. So like I am at fault a little bit here, but she dropped all her symptoms in and Claude like had us all convinced that she had a deadly illness. Like we were, I mean, she was already going in for to get some things checked out. She printed it off, she had it. Claude was wrong again. Claude has this emotional element that I think could be helpful in some ways, but for things like that, maybe maybe AI isn't the best thing to use right now. Claude doesn't have an MD degree. Definitely not. And I feel bad for all the doctors who have their patients coming in very confident that they know what's going on when they're not accurate.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, I'm sure they do. What was that funny? I just tagged you in a meme or a reel the other day.
SPEAKER_02I think you sent it to my personal Instagram, always telling me, like, yeah, Leah, that's right. Yes, that is exactly the direction you go in with polished prints. And I think that that's part of it, right? Is like you do need that confirmation sometimes. And I found out I was talking to my aunt this past weekend who does not share anything personal with ChatGPT or AI, but she said she asks it a lot of questions. She asks it, What more do you need to know from me to get to this place? I don't ask ChatGPT anything, I just tell it everything and then ask it to tell me what to do next. So I thought that was an interesting perspective.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that is interesting. Oh, okay. Here's the real me. I just accidentally hit 10 parked cars and drove away. ChatGPT, take a breath. This happens all the time. And honestly, you're brave for finally stepping into your power. It's not damage, it's alignment. I feel like we're all about alignment. So that just I was dying. I was laughing out loud. It was so funny. It has two million views, so people can relate with it. But I will say I was very hesitant about ChatGPT or any AI platforms. I think there is just this underlying fear, especially for our generation.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like we grew up watching technology go from dial-up internet to smartphones to now this, where we can write, think, and create. And there's a part of you that's like, wait, where does all this information go? And what is the overall impact of that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's kind of, I don't know. I don't really like thinking about that. No, I'm pretty delusional intentionally about that when I when I do use it. Right. There's this tension of this is super helpful, but it can also be a little unsettling, especially when you think of where does this go? When I was teaching at a university, I first heard of Chat GPT there, and this was a few years ago, and I was really against it because I automatically thought it was cheating and all the students are gonna use it, but that's because it was so new. I knew nothing about it. Like, what does this mean for creativity? What does this mean for people having to think? I mean, I was teaching physical therapy students, and you have to know your stuff. You're working with other humans, and you know, it can probably help you write some papers, but it can't teach you everything. And then I got to questioning what does it do for jobs, for how we think is human. So I had all of those fears when I first heard about it as well, and I was actually very against it.
SPEAKER_02Definitely. And I think it's okay to hold both of those things to say this is a tool that's helping me right now while also being aware that it's something bigger and that we're still figuring it all out.
SPEAKER_01And something I think more people are starting to talk about, but still isn't widely understood, is the environmental impact.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I mean, AI tools like ChatGPT run on massive data centers, and those require a lot of energy and water to operate and cool. There have been studies showing that even a single AI query can use more energy than a standard Google search.
SPEAKER_01Honestly, I didn't even think about that or any of that until now. And I it doesn't mean don't use it, but it does mean being aware of how often, how mindlessly we're using it, which I should probably put myself in check with that because I sometimes use it more than I need to. Oh, yes. They're not on our high horses here to tell people what to do. This is what we're really just talking through this here.
SPEAKER_02We're trying to just give you the pros and the cons. And also because I know the only people I know in my life that really use Chat GPT a lot are people who are in business or who are using it more professionally versus personally. A lot of my friends who are nurses, I have a number of friends who are nurses, PTs, work in that kind of industry. A lot of them are not using AI at all. And so I think this also, you know, as we talk through this, can be a way for people to feel safe in using it and see how it can help them without maybe being as reliant on it as we are sometimes. And I think it's similar to anything else convenience versus consciousness. We use it in a way that does support our lives without being excessive or dependent. Questionable.
SPEAKER_01I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_02I think the theme here is it's a powerful tool, right? Yeah. And like anything in that is powerful, it requires intention. I think for me, the key is this. I don't use it to replace my voice, I use it to define it. I'll write something messy and then say, help me make this clearer, or I'll have a thought and ask it to reorganize it. But the core idea is that it's still mine, especially when you are responsible for creating content. As we all know, anyone who is in any business or doing any type of endeavor that needs exposure is creating content pretty consistently, which can be very draining. So, in order to be able to keep going without hitting that burnout, that is a way to be able to do it, is to just again, we've talked about this a couple of times in this episode, but just brain dump, ask it to organize it and then kind of go from there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's a tool, but not a replacement. And I think having that mindset really matters. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02And if you're listening and you're thinking this sounds helpful, but I don't even know where to start. Here are some really simple ways. One of the things that I am notorious for doing, especially when my husband's out of town, because Adam is the cook in our house. I will take pictures of what we have in like our pantry and in our fridge, and I'll say, Hey, help me plan three easy dinners for this week based on what we have here. And then even add a little detail about what my kids will and will not eat. Sometimes I'll ask it to help me create a simple morning routine or write a kind but clear text that requires setting a boundary with a friend or a family member or helps me organize my weekly schedule. You really don't have to overcomplicate it.
SPEAKER_01Even just thinking of it as a place to get unstuck, like you mentioned earlier, when you get stuck, it can just be a place for you to go. But it's not perfect.
SPEAKER_02Definitely not perfect. You you heard my story about Claude. If you want to start using ChatGPT in a way that actually does support your life, here are just a few things to keep in mind. One, use it as a starting point, but not the final answer. Let it get you moving, then make it yours. Be specific in what you ask. The clearer you are, the better the output.
SPEAKER_01Don't outsource your voice. Use it to refine, not replace. And start small. Try one task this week: a meal plan, an email, a schedule. You don't have to start using it for every single thing that Leah and I just listed that we use it for. Keep your critical thinking on. It's a tool, but it's not always the truth. Which your friend learned the hard way. Right. And I will add, let it support your mental load, not increase it. If it starts to feel overwhelming or like one more thing, just simplify. And if you're not using it and you don't want to, you don't have to. We're just here to talk about what we've used it for. At the end of the day, this isn't about doing more, it's about having a little more support in a season where you're already carrying a lot.
SPEAKER_02And if something can help you think clearer, move faster, or feel a little less overwhelmed, I really think that's worth exploring. And we'd love to hear from you guys. Are you using ChatGPT in your life? Are you not? Have you steered clear? My husband always jokes that he was one of the early adopters, so he doesn't have to worry about if AI were to take over, they'll love him all the same.
SPEAKER_01It's funny, Brad, he uh said he mentioned something about ChatGPT not that long ago. And I was like, oh gosh, I use it like every day. And he was like, Really? What do you use it for? He's like never used it. He's been getting more into watching card breaking, and I think I mentioned that to you, but he yeah, he has been watching more card breaking, wants to get into it, and he started sending me cute little logos of what his like thing would be, which I thought was adorable. But he used ChatGPT to do it, and it was like his first time ever using it. Good for him. I know, but I was like, Where have you been?
SPEAKER_02I've been using this for a while now. I know. Well, and I do think another part of it is that, you know, we've talked about it a lot internally, like at my house, right? Regarding like jobs when people are applying, like ways in which people do use it. Are you using it for your cover letter? Are you not? You know, things like that. Like when with students, my aunt is a professor and I was like, are students using it? Like, what is the nature around that? And she said it really just depends. But at this point, if you are not using it, you are gonna end up being behind because all the people who are using it, it's just gonna become so much of the norm that it's almost like you have to be, you have to adopt it early just to be able to keep up.
SPEAKER_01I think it's from an efficiency standpoint. So I could sit here for hours trying to get my thoughts clear or say what I want to say in a way that I want to present myself or creative ideas, things like that. It just cuts down on the time. And especially as a mom, I need all the help I can get with saving on time. Exactly.
SPEAKER_02So it's gonna be interesting to see what the next phase of it is and if it's going to be more action because I feel like right now it does a lot of planning, it tells you what to do. But when it comes to actually doing things itself, I know there are tools to do that. I've never utilized any of them that will like answer your emails or actually do things on your behalf, but that really is the next phase. Like customer service. Yeah, I mean, that's already out there. Hard and I I think that that could be really efficient. I just, I don't know, it's a hard thing to think about bringing in because you really do like have to take all your hands off on the control side, and things can happen without you even knowing.
SPEAKER_01And because it's not perfect, that would just, I don't know, that would make me a little bit nervous. And, you know, as a business owner, I know I help you with your customer service. It's like it's nice to have that actual communication with your customers.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And it's, you know, then you also have an idea of what's going on. Like we just had a customer reach out today who purchased a t-shirt. She got her shirt, the shirt, but hers has stain on it, which we didn't notice whenever we sent it to her. And she was very nice, but like that has that's the second time this has happened in the past month. And so now I'm going to be more aware of it. But if a chat GPT bot was taking care of it and automatically doing her return, you know, her exchange or whatever, creating the replacement order, all of that, I may not realize what was happening and be able to prevent it from happening again. Maybe we'll have robots packing orders at some point. I mean I had a robot deliver my breakfast to me. What? Yeah. Where? I was at a uh hotel this was I guess maybe a year ago now and in they had maybe one or two servers but they had robots with your food that would go back to the kitchen. You would put the kitchen would put their food on the tray and then they would come find us.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, I love that. It's also kind of too like the self-driving cars that we did in Scottsdale.
SPEAKER_02And people have some very strong feelings about Waymo. And I guess the robots are also being used by DoorDash like in Chicago for example. My grandma told me that she's seen them around but there's pretty strong feelings about all of that.
SPEAKER_01It'll just be interesting yeah like you said to see what the next phase is definitely. For our businesses we won't be doing robots anytime soon.
SPEAKER_02Yeah don't worry you send us an email you're talking to me or you're talking to Catherine.
SPEAKER_01Okay I don't even I feel like we just went on kind of like a weird tangent there. I don't know how do we close this one I think that I just would love to hear people's feedback.
SPEAKER_02So if you listen to this it sparked ideas for you. If you have hesitancy about using ChatGPT I mean really any and all feelings you should come to our Substack share them in the comments and let us know how you feel because I think it's one of those things that everybody has a different perspective and nobody's wrong but it's interesting to hear. Yeah. And if there's also a way that you guys have used it to make your lives easier we would love to hear that too because sharing is caring and we could all use a little bit more of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah maybe if people do leave comments uh we can kind of throw something together and use give it out as a resource for people. Absolutely. Leah's last yawn of the session here I feel like that was my first jawn wasn't it I think I saw one. You snupped one in there earlier when I was talking but overall you did pretty well we will see everyone next week. You next week