I Tested Custom GPTs—Here’s What Pros Should Know About AI

Why People Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Mentorship, Therapy, Education, and More

In recent times, the rapid development of AI chatbots—often powered by large language models like GPT—has opened up a world of possibilities. From offering personalized diet plans to providing emotional support, AI chatbots have become a convenient, on-demand resource. This article explores why people are increasingly comfortable turning to AI chatbots for services that traditionally require human professionals, such as psychologists, nutritionists, teachers, and business consultants.

Anonymity and Confidentiality

Why I Even Considered AI Chatbots

I’ve noticed a growing trend where people are turning to AI for tasks traditionally handled by humans like therapy, nutrition advice, teaching, and business planning. One big reason seems to be anonymity. Many people, myself included, feel more at ease sharing personal thoughts and concerns with an AI than with a human professional. There’s less fear of being judged, and there’s an expectation that what’s said is kept private.
Additionally, temporary chats offered by some AI apps claim not to use users’ conversations for training their models, which further boosts trust. With these factors in mind, I decided to test several specialized GPT chatbots.

Therapist/Psychologist GPT

I started with a Therapist or Psychologist GPT. My goal was to see if it could offer meaningful emotional support and advice.

  1. Comfort vs. Practicality:
    • The chatbot did a decent job acknowledging my feelings and trying to comfort me. It would say things like, “It’s totally normal,” or “A lot of people go through this.” It’s surprisingly reassuring in the moment and helps reduce immediate stress.
    • However, it often fell back on sugar-coating problems, offering general platitudes rather than actual solutions.
  2. Off-Topic Tangents:
    • After a couple of prompts, the AI sometimes started asking about details I’d briefly mentioned earlier but that weren’t central to my concern. This caused it to drift off-topic, so it never truly provided a precise solution or deeper guidance.
    • While it’s nice to have a “feel-good” approach, the tangential questions eventually became frustrating. I felt it was more about distraction than resolution.
  3. Judgment-Free Space:
    • On the bright side, the chatbot was non-judgmental. I felt free to express anything without fear of condemnation.
    • But the lack of human empathy and real-time critical thinking made the experience less satisfying for genuine psychological support.

My Verdict:
This AI was okay for a quick, private outlet to vent feelings, but not strong in delivering real professional therapy. It often meandered and didn’t offer actionable steps or deeper therapeutic insight. For mental health issues, a trained human psychologist is still irreplaceable.

Nutritionist GPT

Next, I tried a Nutritionist GPT. As someone looking to tweak my diet, I was curious how well an AI could handle nutritional needs.

  1. Personalized Diet Plans:
    • I could input my current weight, target weight (gain or loss), dietary preferences, and allergies. Instantly, it generated a meal plan detailing what to eat, how many calories per meal, and how much protein each item contained.
    • I mentioned, for example, that I disliked peanut butter. It seamlessly replaced it with several alternatives offering a similar protein-to-fat ratio.
  2. Cost and Convenience:
    • What struck me was how much this simplified the process. In place of paying a human nutritionist for each consultation, I could ask this GPT anything at any time—free of charge.
    • It also adapted the meal plan as soon as I requested a change. This instant, on-demand personalization felt almost luxurious without the typical financial barrier.
  3. Depth of Information:
    • The chatbot was adept at explaining why I needed a particular amount of protein or how carbs affect energy levels. It didn’t just provide a plan; it educated me on the rationale behind it.

My Verdict:
Surprisingly robust. It gave me a thorough, tailored plan far beyond the generic “eat fewer carbs” advice. The convenience factor was massive, and, for once, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything crucial by not talking to a human. This GPT definitely “passed the test” as a legitimate helper in nutrition.

GameDev GPT

Curious about a more technical application, I tested a GameDev GPT aimed at beginners in game development.

  1. Basic Concepts Mastery:
    • It did a solid job explaining fundamental game development concepts, such as setting up a simple environment, character movement, or basic collision detection.
    • It’s like having a mentor who is great at theoretical overviews and can guide you through easy steps.
  2. Struggling with Complexity:
    • When I asked for help creating more advanced AI—for example, designing realistic pedestrian or vehicle behavior—it started mixing up concepts. It either repeated generic lines or misunderstood the context.
    • This showed me the GPT had a limited capacity for specialized niche tasks or advanced logic. You often have to rephrase your question multiple times or accept partial solutions.
  3. Learning Curve and Communication:
    • Interacting with the chatbot was a bit of a back-and-forth. I had to be precise in my prompts. Without clear instructions, it occasionally produced irrelevant code or tutorial snippets.

My Verdict:
Good for absolute beginners or those needing a refresher. For more sophisticated game development tasks, it still lags behind human expertise or specialized documentation. However, it’s a convenient place to start or brainstorm solutions.

Business Planner GPT

Finally, I tried a Business Planner GPT to see how it would handle questions about starting a software company on a tight budget.

  1. High-Level Strategy and Ideas:
    • It immediately offered steps such as defining a product niche, creating a minimal viable product (MVP), and rolling out a basic marketing campaign.
    • It suggested using email marketing, particularly leveraging college student emails if I was in a college environment. It even suggested using basic Python scripts for bulk sending, which could be a shortcut for those on a tight budget.
  2. Outdated Information:
    • It told me to consider a free .ml domain, which used to be free but isn’t widely free anymore. This highlighted that the GPT might be trained on older data and not updated in real time.
    • Other suggestions, like specific free hosting or certain startup directories, felt slightly dated. I would need to verify everything manually.
  3. Good Starting Point, Not the End:
    • The plan provided was a framework, but definitely not the final word. For instance, it didn’t detail recent best practices for email campaigns or modern domain registration solutions.

My Verdict:
Helpful for brainstorming and quick outlines, but you have to fact-check thoroughly. The business world moves fast, so relying solely on AI for up-to-date market conditions and resources is risky.

Overall Impressions and Comparisons

Therapist GPT vs. Real Psychologist

  • Feel-Good Factor: The AI is quick to console but lacks depth.
  • Drawback: It can’t replace a trained professional who applies evidence-based therapy methods.

Nutritionist GPT vs. Real Nutritionist

  • Greater Customization: The AI gave me a thorough, instantly modifiable plan.
  • Potential Replacement? Quite possibly for everyday dietary needs, especially if you have basic health goals and want to save money. Still, complex medical conditions would require a real professional’s oversight.

GameDev GPT vs. Human Mentorship

  • Beginner-Friendly: Great for initial steps and clarifying simple queries.
  • Advanced Topics: Needs more specialized knowledge; a human expert or extensive tutorials are better for complex issues.

Business Planner GPT vs. Professional Consultants

  • Quick Brainstorm: Good for generating rough ideas.
  • Needs Updating: Some info can be outdated, so verifying facts is crucial.

Can AI Replace Professionals?

1. The Temptation of Convenience

AI chatbots and specialized GPTs are compelling because they offer:

  • Round-the-clock availability: Unlike a traditional appointment-based system, AI is always “open.”
  • Immediate responses: Users can rapidly iterate on ideas or concerns without waiting.
  • Low or zero cost: Many AI tools require no subscription fees, making them accessible to nearly anyone with an internet connection.

In certain fields—such as routine nutrition advice or preliminary business planning—an AI’s speed and accessibility are strong selling points. For example, a nutrition chatbot can crunch caloric requirements, suggest meal plans, and adapt to user feedback in seconds—all tasks that would typically demand a professional’s time and carry a fee.

2. The Human Element

Despite these advantages, AI often falters where human insight and empathy are critical. Areas like psychology, therapy, nuanced medical consultation, and advanced creative problem-solving demand:

  • Emotional intelligence: Recognizing subtle cues in a patient’s tone of voice, body language, or deeper context is something AI still struggles to replicate.
  • Ethical discernment: Professionals undergo training and adhere to strict guidelines to ensure patient/client safety. AI may not fully understand or adhere to these ethical frameworks without the right safeguards.
  • Contextual knowledge and experience: Real-world problem-solving often relies on experience that goes beyond data points, where professionals use their intuitive feel for a situation.

3. Why AI Can’t Fully Replace Professionals (Yet)

  1. Lack of Deep Understanding
    Even the most advanced AI is essentially predicting the next best response based on vast quantities of text. It doesn’t truly understand a user’s emotional state or the intricacies of complex issues. As a result, it may give answers that sound plausible but lack the depth or personalization that a human expert can provide.
  2. Data Limitations and Bias
    AI tools are only as good as the data and training they receive. If the data is biased, incomplete, or outdated, the chatbot can deliver misleading or harmful advice. For instance, a GPT trained on outdated nutritional data may prescribe meal plans that conflict with current health guidelines.
  3. Inability to Adapt to Non-Standard Cases
    Professionals deal with edge cases and unique scenarios. AI might handle the “typical” use cases well but struggle with exceptions. For instance, a person with multiple health conditions might need extremely tailored dietary advice that goes beyond a simple calorie-protein ratio.
  4. Ethical and Legal Concerns
    In fields like therapy or law, professionals must meet licensing requirements and follow codes of conduct. AI-based solutions can’t be licensed in the same way, making them legally and ethically problematic if they’re acting as an unregulated replacement.

How Professionals Can Integrate AI

1. Automating Repetitive Tasks

Professionals can use AI to handle routine calculations, data lookups, and paperwork. For example:

  • Nutritionists can rely on AI to quickly compute calorie counts and suggest meal plans, then focus their expertise on interpreting lab results, adjusting diets for complex medical conditions, or providing emotional support around eating habits.
  • Therapists could use AI tools to track clients’ moods or screen for early signs of distress, freeing up time to offer deeper, one-on-one counseling sessions.

2. Enhancing Customer Engagement

AI chatbots can serve as a first point of contact:

  • Businesses might use AI to answer common FAQs, pre-qualify leads, or gather initial data before a human steps in with tailored solutions.
  • Teachers can let AI answer repetitive questions about homework or resources, allowing them to devote more time to interactive discussion and complex student needs.

3. Brainstorming and Idea Generation

When professionals need fresh perspectives or want to explore a range of possibilities:

  • Consultants or entrepreneurs can use AI to generate initial business plans or marketing strategies, then refine these ideas based on real-world constraints and professional judgment.
  • Creative fields can leverage AI for quick drafts or concept sketches, which a skilled professional can later hone.

Why They Should Integrate AI

  1. Efficiency and Profitability
    • Nutritionists can quickly generate tailored meal plans for different clients, all while leveraging their own expertise to refine or customize what the GPT suggests. This drastically cuts down on the repetitive work of calculating calories and macros, thus saving time and maximizing returns.
  2. Accessibility and Personalization
    • With AI handling the initial data or plan generation, professionals can serve clients around the clock. Whether someone needs a new diet plan or quick advice in the middle of the night, AI can provide an instant response.
    • Clients appreciate the speed and cost-effectiveness; they receive personalized guidance without having to wait days for an appointment.
  3. Leveraging Professional Knowledge
    • When skilled experts are involved in training or customizing these AI tools, the results can be far more accurate and beneficial. For instance, a nutritionist who really understands macros, allergies, or specific medical constraints can refine the GPT’s outputs into highly reliable recommendations.

Why They Should Not (or Might Struggle to) Integrate AI

  1. Risk of Inaccurate or Incomplete Training
    • Psychologists face a unique challenge: an AI chatbot may be put together by “unskilled people,” who simply import PDFs into a custom GPT feature without proper curation or understanding. This can lead to a tool that appears credible but lacks clinical depth or evidence-based guidelines.
    • If the source material is poorly organized or lacks real-world case studies, the AI may offer advice that is generic—or worse, potentially harmful.
  2. Complexity of Human Factors
    • Mental health and therapy require a deep, empathetic connection. Current AI models often struggle to fully grasp or correctly respond to nuanced, deeply personal issues. Misinterpretations can occur, and the advice might not align with professional standards.
    • In a field that deals with emotional well-being and legally protected health information, even small errors can have serious repercussions.
  3. Reliability and Professional Responsibility
    • Psychology GPTs “are not something to rely on until and unless developed by actual practicing professionals,” as the concern for client safety and ethical practice is paramount. There’s a significant liability if a chatbot offers misguided suggestions without proper oversight.
    • In contrast, nutritional advice is often more data-driven and less risky (provided the user doesn’t have serious medical conditions), so an AI’s shortfalls might be easier to manage or correct.

Balancing the Pros and Cons

  • For Nutritionists: Integration can be straightforward and highly profitable. The risk is relatively low, and the benefits—faster meal-plan generation, subscription-based services, and real-time customization—are substantial.
  • For Psychologists: Caution is critical. Unless the AI is developed and constantly reviewed by experienced mental health professionals, its advice may be shallow or misleading. Properly vetted and professionally trained AI tools hold promise, but the bar is much higher due to the sensitive nature of mental health services.

Ultimately, professionals should integrate AI when it enhances their practice—saving time, improving client reach, and offering personalized support—but refrain from adopting it blindly in areas demanding extensive expertise, ethical oversight, and complex human interaction.