Blog: AI Insights
The AI Kitchen Challenge: A Fresh Look at Solving Business Problems with AI
By Antoine Ryan & Chat GPT
June, 2024
In my workshops, I introduce an interactive game called the AI Kitchen Challenge. This exercise helps participants define and evaluate ideas to increase customer reorders at a fictional business called Happy Eats. The task is broken down into three sections: defining the problem, proposing solutions, and evaluating those solutions, all facilitated through structured prompts that are to be copy-pasted into ChatGPT.
The Challenge
The AI Kitchen Challenge simulates a real-world business scenario where participants take on different roles within a company to address common business problems. This exercise not only teaches practical AI applications but also fosters creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
Step 1: Defining the Problem
The first prompt asks participants to imagine they are an independent grocery store owner and a customer of Happy Eats. They must write a concise email to Happy Eats’ head of sales explaining why they are hesitating to make a re-order. This step helps participants identify the core issue from the customer’s perspective.
Example Prompt 1: Outline Problem (copy and paste into ChatGPT)
Imagine you are an independent grocery store owner and a customer of Happy Eats. Please write a short and concise email explaining to their head of sales why you are hesitating about making a re-order. Outline one reason only.
<Head of sales>
With years of experience in the world of organic food, the Sales Expert enriches our team with great expertise in sales and customer service. If you have any questions about our B2B products, you've come to the right place!
</Head of sales>
<About us>
Happy Eats was founded with a visionary idea: to bring healthy and vital food closer to people. Our goal is to build long-term, economical, and, above all, fair relationships with producers and to create local perspectives. That’s why we support fair and direct trade and audit each of our projects ourselves. Protecting our environment is a matter close to our hearts. In constant exchange with our partners, we train people in mixed crop cultivation. In addition to vegan and organic products, minimal processing of the raw materials is particularly important to us.
</About us>Formatting Note: Sections like <Head of sales> and <About us> provide additional context and should be included as part of the text when you copy and paste into ChatGPT. These tags structure the content and emphasise the key information while keeping the response relevant to Happy Eats.
Step 2: Proposing Solutions
Once the initial email is generated, it is used in the next prompt where participants assume the role of the head of sales at Happy Eats. They must propose three ideas to solve the issue raised by the customer. This step encourages creative thinking and problem-solving.
Example Prompt 2: Solution (copy and paste into ChatGPT)
The head of sales receives the following email from an independent grocery store customer. His aim this quarter is to increase customer re-orders. List three ideas to solve this issue. Keep your answer very brief and concise.
<Head of sales>
With years of experience in the world of organic food, the Sales Expert enriches our team with great expertise in sales and customer service. If you have any questions about our B2B products, you've come to the right place!
</Head of sales>
<Email>
[Pasted content from the previous prompt response goes here]
</Email>
<About us>
Happy Eats was founded with a visionary idea: to bring healthy and vital food closer to people. Our goal is to build long-term, economical, and, above all, fair relationships with producers and to create local perspectives. That’s why we support fair and direct trade and audit each of our projects ourselves. Protecting our environment is a matter close to our hearts. In constant exchange with our partners, we train people in mixed crop cultivation. In addition to vegan and organic products, minimal processing of the raw materials is particularly important to us.
</About us>Formatting Note: Paste the output content from the previous prompt inside the <Email> tags when you copy and paste into ChatGPT. These tags help structure the content.
Step 3: Evaluating Solutions
Finally, participants switch roles to the operations manager at Happy Eats. They receive the proposed solutions from the head of sales and must list the pros and cons of each idea. This step involves critical evaluation and strategic thinking.
Example Prompt 3: Evaluation (copy and paste into ChatGPT)
Imagine you are the operations manager at Happy Eats. Your colleague has proposed the following ideas to increase customer reorders. Please briefly list pros and cons of each idea. Keep your reply short and impactful.
<Operations Manager>
As a freelancer, the Operations Manager oversees the daily operations, optimizes processes, and ensures our team works harmoniously in a positive environment. In addition to a keen interest in logistics and efficiency, they enjoy spending their free time exploring new technologies and ideas to enhance productivity and team spirit.
</Operations Manager>
<About us>
Happy Eats was founded with a visionary idea: to bring healthy and vital food closer to people. Our goal is to build long-term, economical, and, above all, fair relationships with producers and to create local perspectives. That’s why we support fair and direct trade and audit each of our projects ourselves. Protecting our environment is a matter close to our hearts. In constant exchange with our partners, we train people in mixed crop cultivation. In addition to vegan and organic products, minimal processing of the raw materials is particularly important to us.
</About us>
<Ideas>
[Pasted content from the previous prompt response goes here]
</Ideas>Formatting Note: Paste the output content from the previous prompt inside the <Ideas> tags when you copy and paste into ChatGPT. The tags help structure the responses and keep them organised.
Expanding the AI Kitchen Challenge
The AI Kitchen Challenge isn’t limited to just increasing customer reorders. It can be adapted to a variety of business scenarios, such as generating feedback for a marketing idea, defining the value creation aspect of a startup, or creating an advertisement for a free desk space in an office. Here are some additional scenarios to inspire you:
1. Marketing Feedback:
Use the AI Kitchen Challenge to simulate customer feedback on a new marketing campaign. Define the problem by asking customers what they think about the campaign, propose solutions to improve it, and evaluate those solutions.
2. Startup Value Creation:
For startups looking to refine their value proposition, use the game to define customer needs, propose ways to meet those needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of each proposal.
3. Office Space Advertisement:
If you’re offering a free desk space in your office, use the game to define what potential tenants are looking for, propose features and benefits of the space, and evaluate the appeal of those features.
Why This Exercise Works
The AI Kitchen Challenge effectively breaks down complex tasks into manageable sections, promoting a structured approach to problem-solving. By using a large language model to generate and evaluate responses, participants can explore diverse perspectives and solutions.
The Benefits
This exercise offers practical learning, reinforces a structured approach to problem-solving, enhances creativity, and fosters critical evaluation. It’s an excellent tool for teams looking to explore innovative solutions to common business problems.
Join the AI Kitchen Challenge
The AI Kitchen Challenge is just one example of how I incorporate interactive and engaging exercises into my workshops to enhance learning and application of AI in business processes. By breaking down problems and using structured prompting, we can explore the fuzzy edge of AI application to real-world business problems.
Join me in this journey of discovery and innovation. Let’s leverage AI and design thinking to transform challenges into opportunities and ignite the spark of innovation!
Your feedback and ideas are invaluable—feel free to reach out directly at ar@ryandesign.eu.
Thank you for being part of this journey!
Antoine
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ar@ryandesign.eu
Antoine Ryan
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