Perplexity on Ai for Marketing: Part 4

istock generated image from the prompt: a robot teaching an architect how to write the story of their career in a modernist design office with abundant light. I love that both the robot and the architect are female. istock’s Ai generation charges a nominal fee.

To wrap up my discussion with Perplexity, I asked for sites that could aid my storytelling process. I played with the highly rated StoryBird, toolbaz and squibler.

Using a condensed version of my professional narrative, StoryBird.ai allowed me to select “horror” as a genre—now that is fun. Sadly, StoryBird.ai didn’t allow me to download my story without forking over $20. It also assumed I was a youngish male architect. When I tried to correct the discrepancy, it took more $ off my initial $5 credit and made me a grey-haired woman. Its “horror” theme in architecture images looked like the “bespoke architect” generated for a previous post . The platform gave me the option to publish my story on Amazon. The “architect story in horror genre” was almost worth it…

The second platform Perplexity pointed me to toolbaz.com. This free platform generated the following story, which is not bad, but doesn’t start at the beginning I gave it. Thus, it took a huge leap forward in time and disregarded scenes that inform the protagonist’s motivation. For anyone who has taken my writing classes, motivation and intention are key drivers of voice. Thus, from a story standpoint, this one reads flat and emotionless.

Toolbaz also went off on a tangent and gave me students (I’m not a professor) and broad impact on the field. [When I plugged this story into StoryBird, lapping up more of my now less than $3 credit, the protagonist showed up with grey hair and wrinkles even though when the story starts, as it did with the first one, there is no mention of age.

Here’s Toolbar’s story unedited, using “Alice” for the protagonist. For those of you who know me, you might say “not bad”:

Alice's experience with her boss taught her the importance of communication and storytelling in the field of architecture. She realized that it was not enough to just have a good design, but it was equally important to be able to effectively communicate and convince others about the design.

Through her teaching, Alice emphasized the importance of understanding the context and inspiration behind a design. She encouraged architects to draw from various sources and use their creativity to come up with unique and innovative designs.

Alice also taught architects how to effectively communicate their ideas through different mediums, such as sketches, models, and presentations. She emphasized the importance of using clear and concise language to explain the design concept and its significance.

Additionally, Alice stressed the importance of storytelling in architecture. She believed that every design has a story to tell and that by sharing these stories, architects can create a deeper connection with their audience and better convey the meaning and purpose behind their designs.

As a result of her teachings, Alice's students became more confident and skilled in communicating their ideas and designs. They were able to effectively convey the inspiration and context behind their designs and tell compelling stories about their work.

Alice's influence not only impacted the field of architecture but also brought attention to the importance of effective communication and storytelling in all creative industries. Her experience with her boss may have been difficult, but it ultimately led her to make a positive impact in the field and inspire others to do the same.

For the last round, Perplexity sent me to another free site, squibler. Here’s the unedited form of its take on Alice’s career, sticking with the critical idea of intention in the first line.

Alice had always been drawn to the beauty of nature and the power of architecture to enhance it. So, when she was given the opportunity to design a new visitor center for [nameless] State Park, she was thrilled.

Alice spent hours pouring* over her sketches, finding inspiration in the works of renowned Mexican architect, Luis Barragán. But her excitement was short-lived when her boss demanded a more traditional design, one that resembled a symmetrical house with a front porch. over her sketches, finding inspiration in the works of renowned Mexican architect, Luis Barragán. But her excitement was short-lived when her boss demanded a more traditional design, one that resembled a symmetrical house with a front porch.

Alice's creativity was stifled, and her boss's oppressive nature only made things worse. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and decided to quit. To her surprise, her boss was eventually fired, and the architectural firm decided to go with Alice's design, incorporating her signature rock wall into the visitor center. However, Alice had already moved on from the design side of architecture and found a new passion in teaching others how to effectively communicate their ideas and tell the stories behind their work.

Through her workshops and lectures, Alice was able to inspire a new generation of architects to think outside the box and push the boundaries of traditional design. And as she stands in front of the completed visitor center, she knows that she made the right decision in leaving, for now, her legacy lives on through her unique design and her teachings. 

I love how squibler took Alice back to her first design project (something I never did because apparently the building isn’t well maintained). An established storytelling convention is for the resolution to harken back to the story’s beginning, so well done squibler! Though I laughed at the use of “legacy.”

None of the Ai generated options suffice to tell my story, even after I added more specifics. What I got back is an overly wordy, vacuous reporting that I barely read through.

Conclusion (again), Ai can’t tell your stories for you. At least not yet. Missing from these examples, as I said in the beginning, is emotion. Ai also writes formally and with lots of excess words. Asking for shortened versions only resulted in important content getting lost.

Don’t use Ai to tell your stories. Generate them yourself and use a good Ai writing assistant like Word’s or ProWritingAid to ensure grammar and punctuation are correct.

If you are interested in creating great stories about architecture, architects, architectural practice, and your projects or if you’re planning to pursue Fellowship in the AIA College of Fellows, please check out my books at https://www.architectactionresult.com/shop or through your favorite e-bookseller.

* The correct word is “poring”, but I’ve left the Ai version intact.

I couldn’t resist adding this alternative to the prompt above. Aside, from the robot’s leg being imbedded in the table, she’s clearly the boss of this guy’s writing efforts. Note the paper in front of him appears to be upside down.