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Chatting about Monogramming with ChatGPT
We had a little fun with ChatGPT today, chatting all about monogramming.  We'd been meaning to write a blog post on the topic of monogramming, so we decided to see what all the fuss was about with this new AI tool and ask for its help.

And what a revelation!  Couldn't have written the answers to these questions better ourselves... and that's saying something because no one is more obsessed about the history, the techniques, the trends and the general state of monogramming than we are. But have a look at what the AI scribe came up with... 

 

First, we asked ChatGPT why you would get something monogrammed. 

Results from ChatGPT when asked why someone would get something monogrammed

That's a rather comprehensive and informative answer.  The ChatGPT interface asks you to give feedback, via a thumbs up or down (in the top right corner) and then a pop-up box appears that asks for more detail.  Feedback presumably helps refine the answers if they aren't fully fledged or correct.  But we couldn't think of anything material to correct or add.  So far so good.

Second, I asked about the most popular items that are monogrammed.

Transcript from ChatGPT when asked about trends in monogramming services

 

Obviously, since we here at Initially London firmly believe that there isn't a single thing that couldn't be improved with a monogram, we wouldn't expect ChatGPT's list to be as long as our own. But this is a very thoughtful, curated and impressive collection of ideas.  We gave this answer a thumbs up. 

For our third question, we asked where you can get monogrammed goods in London.  

transcript from Chatgpt conversation about monogrammed accessories and linens
This is clearly ChatGPT's achilles heel... it offered up solutions based on the biggest marketing budget. So we ended up with some rather pricey options for monogrammed goods.  Which, by the way, is one of the reasons we started Initially London... as an accessibly priced, design-led alternative to the luxury goods market's personalised product offering. 
AI doesn't fully understand the difference between personalisation services (adding initials as an optional extra on purchased goods) and monogramming (which is a design-based service). 
So we gave this answer a thumbs down, with the relevant feedback. 

 

Next we asked about Initially London...

ChatGPT's answer when asked about Initially London

 

We quite like this answer!  Interesting that ChatGPT doesn't give out contact details though.

Finally, we asked the question that we're often asked ourselves... 

 Chat transcript from ChatGPT when asked about the most popular items that are monogrammed

ChatGPT doesn't stir up any national rivalries and tactfully described the cultural differences that may have given rise to the enthusiastic embrace of monogramming in the US.  

We'd only add a fourth reason:  the cult of celebrities. As Hollywood does, the rest of America follows. And it's been that way since the beginning of the silver screen era in the 1930s.

 

Film stars like Clark Gable and Greta Garbo took roles that were dressed in the style of European aristocrats, and their monogrammed bedding, dressing gowns and smoking jackets fuelled a passion for monogramming in America. All while post-war sobriety in the UK in the 1930s and 40s contributed to the near total elimination of the Victorian obsession with monogramming. 

So we can't really decide whether this answer deserves a thumbs up or down, we'll just withhold the feedback. 

 

To read more about ChatGPT, there's plenty of information on the internet.  But we found this Forbes article quite interesting for a start. 

 

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