The Hidden Risk: How ChatGPT 5.0 Could Be Silently Compromising Your Project Data
Let me be brutally honest about something that’s become as routine as checking email in my business: I ask ChatGPT questions every single day. Multiple times a day, actually. But here’s the thing everyone gets wrong – this isn’t actually “using AI” in the way most people think about it. There’s no automation happening here. I’m not “implementing AI solutions.” I’m having conversations with a tool, just like I might call up an expert consultant.
Chatting with ChatGPT ≠ Using AI in Business
Let’s get something straight right from the start: having a conversation with ChatGPT (like what I do every day) is like talking to a really smart intern who can brainstorm, draft, explain, or even entertain. It’s interactive, helpful, and often brilliant—but it stays in the “idea stage” unless you take action. That’s not the same thing as actually using AI in your business.
What “Using AI” Really Means
Using AI in a business sense means you’ve moved past just talking to the AI and into deploying the AI. Here’s what that actually looks like:
Workflows & Automation – Setting up AI to automatically capture leads, send emails, book appointments, or tag CRM data without you lifting a finger.
Data Processing & Insights – AI pulling meaning from mountains of data, giving you real-time dashboards, forecasts, or compliance alerts.
AI-Driven Decisions – Automating business decisions like routing customer service tickets, approving small expense claims, or generating personalized offers.
Integration with Systems – Plugging AI into platforms you already use (HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, n8n, Zapier, etc.) so tasks happen hands-free.
Think of It Like This
Chatting with AI = asking a smart friend for advice.
Implementing AI = hiring that friend, training them, and wiring them into your business so they show up every day, do the work, and never sleep.
I’m doing the first one. Every single day. And while it’s incredibly valuable, let’s not pretend it’s the same as true AI implementation.
What This Actually Looks Like
A typical day might include:
- “How should I structure this proposal to emphasize ROI without sounding pushy?”
- “What are some potential objections to this pricing strategy and how might I address them?”
- “Help me analyze these customer feedback patterns – what am I missing?”
- “Draft three different ways to explain this technical concept to a non-technical client”
Each interaction takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. I’m actively engaged in every single one. I’m the one asking the questions, providing context, pushing back on responses that don’t quite fit, and ultimately making all the decisions about what to implement.
The Uncomfortable Truth About AI Mistakes
Now for the part that doesn’t make it into the glossy AI success stories: ChatGPT makes mistakes. Lots of them.
I’ve watched it confidently provide statistics that were completely fabricated. I’ve seen it give me marketing advice that would have been disastrous for my specific industry. It’s generated code that looked perfect but had subtle bugs that would have caused problems down the line. It’s misunderstood context, made assumptions about my business that were wrong, and sometimes just… got confused mid-conversation and started contradicting itself.
The hallucination problem is real, and it’s not going away anytime soon. Just last week, ChatGPT gave me “industry benchmark” numbers that sounded authoritative but were completely made up. If I hadn’t double-checked (which I now do religiously), I would have made strategic decisions based on fictional data.
And don’t get me started on lost context. How many times have I been deep in a productive conversation, only to have the AI suddenly “forget” what we were talking about or lose track of important details I provided earlier? It’s frustrating enough that I’ve developed the habit of summarizing key points periodically, just to keep the conversation anchored.
So Why Do I Keep Using It?
Given all these problems, you might wonder why I haven’t thrown in the towel. The answer is simple: despite its flaws, AI has fundamentally changed how I approach problem-solving in my business.
It’s not about getting perfect answers – it’s about getting better questions and different perspectives.
When I’m stuck on a challenge, ChatGPT forces me to articulate the problem clearly. Often, just the act of writing out the question helps me think through it differently. And even when its responses aren’t exactly right, they frequently contain seeds of ideas that I can develop into solutions.
It’s like having a brainstorming partner who’s available 24/7, never gets tired, and always has something to contribute – even if that contribution needs significant refinement.
The Reality Check Framework
Here’s how I actually use AI effectively in my business, accounting for all its limitations:
1. Always Verify Important Information If ChatGPT gives me data, statistics, or factual claims that will influence real decisions, I verify them independently. Always. The more important the decision, the more sources I check.
2. Use It for Ideation, Not Final Answers I treat AI responses as rough drafts or starting points, not finished products. Whether it’s content, strategy, or analysis, everything gets refined, fact-checked, and adapted to my specific context.
3. Maintain Active Oversight I’m not delegating judgment to AI – I’m using it to inform my judgment. The final call on every decision remains mine, and I’m actively engaged in evaluating every suggestion.
4. Document Important Conversations When AI helps me work through something complex, I save the key insights separately. Relying on the AI to remember context from previous conversations is a recipe for frustration.
The Honest Assessment
After a year of daily AI use in my business, here’s my honest assessment: it’s incredibly valuable and incredibly imperfect at the same time.
It’s made me faster at generating ideas, more thorough in considering different angles, and better at articulating complex problems. It’s helped me work through challenges I might have otherwise avoided or delayed tackling.
But it’s also required me to develop new skills in critical evaluation, fact-checking, and managing my own cognitive biases (because AI can be very persuasive, even when it’s wrong).
The Bottom Line
If you’re considering integrating AI into your business, go in with realistic expectations. It’s not going to automate your problems away. It won’t eliminate the need for human judgment, expertise, or verification. It will make mistakes, sometimes confident ones that could be costly if you don’t catch them.
What it will do is give you a powerful tool for thinking through problems, generating options, and approaching challenges from new angles – as long as you remain actively engaged in the process and maintain healthy skepticism about its outputs.
The future of AI in business isn’t about replacement or automation – it’s about augmentation and collaboration. And like any collaboration, it works best when both parties (human and AI) contribute their strengths while acknowledging their limitations.
That’s the real story of using AI in business every day. It’s messier than the headlines suggest, but for those willing to engage thoughtfully with both its capabilities and its flaws, it’s genuinely transformative.
Ready to Navigate AI in Your Business?
If you’re looking to integrate AI tools like ChatGPT into your business operations while avoiding the common pitfalls, I’d love to help. At Bigado, we specialize in helping businesses implement practical AI solutions that actually work in the real world – complete with the frameworks to verify outputs and maintain quality control.
Want to discuss your specific AI challenges? Visit Bigado.com to learn more about our approach, or book a consultation directly at Bigado.com/book to explore how we can help you harness AI’s power while managing its limitations.
What’s your experience been with AI in your business? I’d love to hear about both your successes and your “learning experiences” in the comments.