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You’re Using ChatGPT… But Are You Using it Strategically?
If you’re like most school leaders, admissions directors, or marketing professionals, you’ve already experimented with ChatGPT.
You’ve asked it to write an email, summarize a document, or generate a few marketing ideas. At first, it felt impressive.
But after a while, you may have noticed something else: the results were fine but not transformational.
You still had to rewrite much of what it produced. The messaging didn’t always sound like your school. And it didn’t consistently reflect your mission, your families, or your enrollment priorities.
That’s not a failure of AI.
It’s a sign that you’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible.
The Problem with “Generic” AI Use
ChatGPT is a powerful tool; however, when schools use it casually, it often produces generic results.
AI responds to the clarity of your prompts, the context it’s given, and the strategy behind the question. Without those elements, schools often receive language that is vague, messaging that lacks consistency, and advice that applies to almost any school.
In that scenario, AI becomes another tool you try, rather than a system you trust.
The key insight is simple but important: AI doesn’t replace strategy. It amplifies it when used intentionally.
What If ChatGPT Actually Understood Your School?
Now imagine a different experience.
Instead of starting from scratch every time you open ChatGPT, you have an AI assistant that already understands your role, your enrollment goals, your admissions process, and your brand voice. It understood your mission and the type of families you’re trying to serve.
Instead of asking, “Can you write this for me?” you begin asking, “How should we approach this strategically?”
This is where custom GPTs begin to change the conversation.
What Is a Custom GPT and Why It Matters for Schools?
A custom GPT is a version of ChatGPT that’s intentionally designed for a specific purpose.
For schools, that means AI that thinks like an enrollment and marketing professional. It reinforces your messaging instead of diluting it. It understands the family journey, from inquiry to enrollment to retention, and helps create consistency across your team.
This isn’t about adding more technology to your school.
It’s about reducing friction, increasing clarity, and improving execution.
The Power of a Brand Bot for Enrollment and Marketing
One of the most effective applications of custom GPTs in schools is a Brand Bot.
A well-designed Brand Bot becomes a strategic extension of your team. It helps clarify your enrollment messaging so you’re not reinventing the message each time you communicate. It supports admissions teams by helping draft thoughtful follow-up emails, prepare for campus visits, and strengthen application and re-enrollment communication, without replacing the relational work that matters most.
For marketing teams, a Brand Bot helps maintain a consistent voice across platforms, generate content ideas aligned with enrollment priorities, and support more cohesive campaigns. The result is less guesswork and more intentional storytelling.
Most importantly, it helps teams move faster without losing strategy.
You Don’t Have to Build This From Scratch
One of the biggest misconceptions about custom GPTs is that schools have to figure all of this out on their own.
You don’t.
As part of the AI Catalyst Training Program, participants gain access to custom GPTs I’ve already developed specifically for schools. These tools are designed to support enrollment strategy, admissions communication, and marketing clarity and they’re built around the real challenges schools face every day.
Just as important, the training doesn’t stop with access to pre-built tools.
Participants also learn how to develop their own custom GPTs so their teams can adapt AI to their specific context, create role- or department-specific tools, and maintain consistency even as staff or priorities change.
The goal isn’t dependence on a single tool.
The goal is capability.
Why Training Matters More Than the Tool
Most educators today are teaching themselves AI through trial and error. They experiment, test prompts, and piece things together as they go.
Without a strategic framework, schools risk inconsistent use across teams, messaging drift, and missed enrollment opportunities. The tool itself isn’t the issue.
The gap is training that understands schools, and specifically your school.
An Invitation to Use AI Intentionally
This is exactly why I created the AI Catalyst Training Program.
It’s designed specifically for school leaders, admissions teams, and marketing professionals who want to use AI with clarity and confidence, leverage custom GPTs built for schools, and learn how to create and manage their own AI tools to support enrollment, marketing, and long-term sustainability.
This isn’t about becoming an AI expert.
It’s about becoming a more effective, more strategic leader in a changing environment.
The schools that will thrive in the years ahead won’t simply adopt new tools. They’ll use them intentionally.
Ready to Move from Experimenting to Leading?
If you’re ready to stop dabbling with ChatGPT and start using AI intentionally, to support enrollment growth, strengthen marketing, and bring clarity to your communications, I invite you to join me in the AI Catalyst Training Program.
In this training, you’ll:
- Gain access to custom GPTs built specifically for schools
- Learn how to create your own custom GPTs aligned with your mission and strategy
- Walk away with practical tools you can use immediately with your admissions and marketing teams
This training is designed for school leaders, admissions professionals, and marketing staff who want AI to work for their enrollment strategy, not distract from it.
The schools that will thrive in the years ahead won’t simply adopt new tools.
They’ll use them strategically.