Previously, a common comment from clients, whether new or existing was “I was talking to the person down the pub, and they said………”
With the advance in technology this has now changed to “I asked the question of ChatGPT and………..”
As a firm we are always looking for ways to improve the service that we provide to clients and to move with times when it comes to advances in technology. However, you need to know when something is not developed enough to be of practical use.
The danger with AI such as ChatGPT is that it is itself still learning and being developed and will not necessarily give you the correct answer to a question.
We have tested this by asking it a specific question regarding furnished holiday lets. We asked the initial question and when it gave, what we knew to be, the incorrect answer we then asked more questions and reworded the question and eventually it told us that yes, we were correct. Had we relied on the initial answer, we would have been given incorrect advice.
The danger is that you will not know whether the answer you get is right or wrong, otherwise you would not be asking the question in the first place and also whether you are asking the correct question. Thinking about it, this issue is not tax specific and can apply in any situation.
You will all see that when you do a google search the first answer that comes up is an AI answer and the answer you get gives the impression of certainty and that it can be relied on. We have proved that this is not the case.
I am not saying that AI won’t be useful in the future when it is more developed, just it’s still in the very early stages of learning and you need to proceed with caution when it gives you an answer and that it may be best to check before relying on what it tells you.