I worked in public relations prior to rejoining the family seed business in 2003. One of my early PR jobs was to conduct Internet searches of our clients and their leadership teams to compare and contrast their product descriptions and company positioning to our clients.
How times have changed. Internet search engines are seeing a drop-off in usage as more folks turn to AI tools like ChatGPT to get their information. In fact, Apple’s senior VP of services testified to Congress in May that Google saw its first-ever monthly query decline on its Safari web browser.
“Googling” something is the past. Asking your favorite AI tool is the future.
For fun, I used ChatGPT to see what it said about me. I typed “Tell me about Jim Schweigert the seedsman.” I was surprised to read several pages of information about my role at Gro Alliance, leadership within ASTA, content from past interviews and nuggets of information from past Seed World articles. It even highlighted a few common topics I post about on social media.
Turns out that AI already has a strong opinion about me!
It has opinions about you, too.
AI tools scour the internet to build a comprehensive dataset about virtually any person, thing or subject. They cross-reference those data to see what’s most common, what’s from reputable sources and what others say about the subject of your inquiry. And yes, they even scan your social media posts.
You might be asking how this is relevant to the seed business.
Well, think about what a farmer might ask ChatGPT:
“Which company conducts the most soybean yield trials in southern Wisconsin?”
“What’s the best corn hybrid for irrigated, sandy soil in central Nebraska?”
“Which seed corn hybrid offers my farm in central Ohio the best ROI per acre?”
“Compare XYZ Seed Corn Company to ABC Seed Corn Company.”
Most companies have spent years working on SEO maximization, so they appear on the first page of various Google searches. AI is the new frontier.
I recommend creating a list of common questions farmers ask your salespeople. The more specific the question, the better. Most likely, they will ask those same questions to their favorite AI tool. Analyze the answers closely. How does your company rate in the responses? Does the AI tool properly summarize your company’s offerings and services?
You can then rework the language on your website, update terminology in your press releases and tailor the focus of your social media posts. Doing this will ensure that you and your company are properly positioned for the era of artificial intelligence.
