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Use free ChatGPT as a sounding board for website fixes, social posts and business decisions
Kerry Fagan, owner of Mark Thomas Men's Apparel, a men's clothing store with shops in Colonie and Saratoga Springs, New York, in the Times Union
Per the Times Union, Fagan uses the free version of ChatGPT multiple times per day at his Colonie and Saratoga Springs shops for tasks including website improvement recommendations and social media posts. He also runs decisions past it: "With any decision I'm thinking about making, it's so good to throw it in there and see what comes out. I'm amazed at how granular it gets." He started using ChatGPT around the end of 2025.
ChatGPT Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (he uses the free version)
Easy · or we do it from $149/mo
ChatGPT
The problem
Fagan says that like every small business, he is "wearing a lot of different hats," and he has no HR or IT department to hand questions to.
What happened
Fagan calls ChatGPT "such an efficiency tool" and "kind of a free virtual assistant I can bounce ideas off 24 hours a day." The article reports no time or sales figures. Self-reported.
Quoted in the source: Kerry Fagan, owner, Mark Thomas Men's Apparel. Source: Times Union: 'A virtual assistant': How Capital Region businesses are using AI (Lilli Iannella) (2026-05-31) · Added 2026-10-20.
How to set it up yourself
- What Mark Thomas Men's Apparel does: per the Times Union, the owner uses the free version of ChatGPT several times a day for website improvement ideas, social media posts and to think through decisions before he makes them.
- Pick one thing to work on: a page of your website, this week's social posts, or a decision you're weighing. Write down the facts that matter (prices, dates, what you sell, what you've already tried).
- Paste those facts into ChatGPT with the prompt below and ask for options and tradeoffs, not a single answer.
- Treat the answer as ideas. Check any fact, number or claim before it goes on your website or social accounts, and make the decision yourself.
Copy-paste prompt
I own {STORE NAME}, a {TYPE OF STORE} in {TOWN}. Here's what I'm working on: {WEBSITE PAGE / SOCIAL POSTS / DECISION}. Facts: {FACTS, PRICES, WHAT I'VE TRIED}. Give me 3 options, with the pros and cons of each and what you'd want to know before choosing. Use only the facts I gave; if something important is missing, ask me instead of guessing. Keep it practical for a small independent shop.One short email a day: 3 new AI use cases from real small businesses, each with its source and setup steps, plus a Tool of the Day. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Tools used
ChatGPT
General AI assistant for writing, research, brainstorming and analysis.
From Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (checked 2026-10-17)
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Checked prices: ChatGPT: from Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (verified 2026-10-17)
Rather not do it yourself?
We'll set this up in your tools, in your voice, tested. $149/mo with setup included (6-month minimum), or $497 pay-once. Satisfaction guarantee: we'll fix it until it works. Pay-once setups: or we refund your setup fee. $149/mo plan: cancel in the first 30 days and we refund your first month. Terms. We reply within 1 business day.
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