You may already be using ChatGPT, but it sometimes answers well and sometimes isn't what you want, and you have to explain the same thing over and over again. Most people's first reaction is to learn better prompts, but the problem often lies even further back: how well it actually knows you. This article explains the misunderstandings about 'digital twins' and gives you three settings you can complete in ten minutes on your phone, turning AI from 'being able to chat' into 'being able to help.'
- Already using ChatGPT but find its answers are not enough, and you have to explain the background again every time.
- Have heard of 'digital twins' but only think of virtual personas, unsure how it relates to your work as an operator.
- If you only have a phone and cannot touch a computer, you can still start using AI in your work.
- A judgment standard: distinguishing between 'a digital twin that looks like you' and 'an agent that understands you and can help you do things,' and knowing what each is suitable for.
- A prompt you can directly read to AI, letting it write your own self-description.
- Three steps you can complete on your phone, including a method that lets you immediately see the results.
Two Imaginations of Digital Twins
Now when talking about 'digital twins,' most people imagine this scene: a virtual person who looks like you, speaks with your voice, can lip-sync, and can record videos.
That thing definitely has value. If you are doing self-media, making short videos, or needing to produce marketing materials in bulk, replicating the appearance is what you need.
But that's just the surface. It doesn't know what industry you're in, doesn't know how you judge whether to take on a task, and doesn't know what you care most about when negotiating a collaboration. It looks like you, but its mind is empty.
Looks like you, speaks like you. For self-media, marketing, and short videos, this is indeed useful, and you need the 'face time.'
But he doesn't know how you think or how you make decisions.
Understanding how you do things, understanding your thinking, and understanding your decision-making, so he can help you do things.
If you want to copy an entire workflow, not just the appearance, you need this kind.
Think of it as training an employee
This is how I understand it.
Training a new employee, what you want is not for him to look like you. What you want is for him to know how you do things: how to quote for this kind of case, how you would reply to this customer question, and what situations require you to consult you before making a decision.
Without this step, it will always remain at the level of general advice, because it is facing a person it doesn't know.
From 'understanding me' to 'being able to help me do things'
These two things are connected, and the order cannot be reversed.
First layer: understanding me
It knows who you are, what you do, and what you care about. Once this layer is done, you will feel its answers become more stable, and you don't need to explain the background every time.
Second layer: being able to help me do things
When it understands you well, what it gives is no longer just 'reference directions,' but things you can directly use. It can write a quotation letter in your tone, and it can break down customer questions according to your logic.
Most people are stuck at the first layer and try to jump to the second layer, then complain that AI is not useful.
Three things you can do on your phone
No need for a computer, no need to learn programming. The following three things can all be done on the ChatGPT mobile app, and can be completed in ten minutes.
1. Set custom instructions
This is the most direct step. Tell ChatGPT who you are, what industry you are in, and how you hope it will respond to you. Set it once, and it will remember every time after that.
If you don't know how to write it, let it help you. Open ChatGPT, and use voice input to read this out:
After reading, it will organize it into a paragraph of text. Paste that paragraph into the custom instructions field in the settings, and you're done.
2. Turn on memory function
After turning it on, it will keep the important information you have told it, so you don't need to repeat it every time. This function is not necessarily enabled by default, so it's worth checking in the settings.
3. Use the same question for verification
This step is often skipped by many people, but it is the most impactful part of the whole process.
Ask a question you asked before setting up, and then ask it again after setting up. The same question, the same AI, the answer will be noticeably different. That difference is the concrete meaning of 'understanding you better,' clearer than any explanation.
If you haven't thought of what to ask yet, use this question, as it forces the AI to use its understanding of you:
Before setting up, it can only give you a general answer. After setting up, it will start talking about your industry and your situation.
A limitation to be aware of
By the way, there is a common misunderstanding. Some people think: Why don't I just create my own GPT?
Therefore, if you only have a mobile phone, you don't need to go in this direction. Doing the above three things well will have the same noticeable effect, and you can complete it today.
If you are using the computer version
The above three things are the foundation. After the foundation is done, there is still a path to go up.
The advanced tools on the desktop version (like Codex, desktop Claude) can do more: they can directly read files on your computer. If you already have organized your data and have your own knowledge base, the depth of what the AI can talk about will be completely different.
Conclusion
Whether the AI is useful or not has a large part to do with how well it knows you, not how strong the model is.
Making the AI know you is lower than most people think: a self-description, a setting, and a verification. Three things, which can be done in ten minutes on a phone.
After doing this, your AI will go from 'being able to chat' to 'being able to help you.'