Houston expert: How ChatGPT affects business skills in 2023

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Here's what you should think about before rolling this hot new technology into your business. Photo via Getty Images

The world has been captivated by ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program that can understand and respond to questions and statements using natural language, just like humans. It has been trained on a large amount of text data and uses this knowledge to generate helpful and informative responses to users.

As great and resourceful as this can be, there are some major aspects about it that can be harmful in a business setting, such as the inability to make personal connections. A sales manager using AI to write sales scripts cannot incorporate the emotional intelligence needed to form a connection. With the switch to AI and loss of this personal touch, the company’s close rate drops significantly, and the sales manager’s effort to find solution may just be to run more numbers in terms of contacts and sales attempts, which usually exacerbates the problem.

Another example of how ChatGPT can hurt your business is by relying on it to generate website and social media content. A business owner that believes ChatGPT will do the “heavy lifting” and grow his or her business is overlooking the importance of creating real and experiential marketing experiences for customers. Business owners can inadvertently spend entire budgets on AI driven social media ands and not have the sales numbers to cover these costs due to their low returns on investments for many industries and keep the business in operation.

The overarching theme, or danger behind ChatGPT, is that people are relying heavily on it to produce their work. After all, relying on technology is part of our human nature. When great technology is introduced, such as email, teleconferencing, AI assisted searching, etc., we rarely ask ‘how can this technology assist me?’ versus ‘how can this technology do things for me?’ The greater the technology, the greater likelihood humans will take the easiest path.

ChatGPT not only affects businesses, but it also applies to education. Teachers are already seeing a drop in math skills as kids carry around calculators. Just wait until next semester when educators are reading thousands of essays written by ChatGPT.

Just as we would hate to see our children deprive themselves of actual skills, the same can be said for our business people. Some of the main issues that arise from the use of ChatGPT are:

Diminishing Rates of Return

When we embrace technology to the point that we no longer put forth effort from a practiced skill set, we can expect to see declining engagement rates, click-through rates and customer loyalty. As of 2023, the online engagement rate has fallen from 5% to 0.06%. Click-through rates are not faring much better with a measly 6.3%. As these numbers continue to fall (which they have every year for the past couple decades now), we continue to just brush it off as this is how business is done.

Aversion in the Marketplace

People are becoming so displeased with technology driven processes (as opposed to technology assisted processes) that they have a strong aversion to companies using it. How many social media ads have prompted you to make a purchase? How many times do you provide a bogus email to a website form? When doing a search, how many times do you scroll to the bottom without looking and hit page two because you know you are not getting any real results on the first page anymore?

Yes, ChatGPT is cool and yes, there are some amazing uses you can implement into your business; however, do not look at it as the answer to any and all business problems. Embrace your craft as a leader and avoid subbing the work out to tech - doing so could cost you everything.

As a business owner myself, I am not opposed to technology. I am all in favor of what technology can do. However, there is no denying that the more we look to technology to do the work for us instead of with us, the more we see a drastic decline in the overall skill set of business people without an increase in business success rates.

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Josh Tolley is the founder of Kingsbridge LLC and is based in Houston.

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Texas plugs in among states at highest risk for summer power outages in 2025

hot, hot, hot

Warning: Houston could be in for an especially uncomfortable summer.

A new study from solar energy company Wolf River Electric puts Texas at No. 2 among the states most at risk for power outages this summer. Michigan tops the list.

Wolf River Electric analyzed the number of large-scale outages that left more than 5,000 utility customers, including homes, stores and schools, without summertime electricity from 2019 to 2023. During that period, Texas experienced 7,164 summertime power outages.

Despite Michigan being hit with more summertime outages, Texas led the list of states with the most hours of summertime power outages — an annual average of 35,440. That works out to 1,477 days. “This means power cuts in Texas tend to last longer, making summer especially tough for residents and businesses,” the study says.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the electric grid serving 90 percent of the state, predicts its system will set a monthly record for peak demand this August — 85,759 megawatts. That would exceed the current record of 85,508 megawatts, dating back to August 2023.

In 2025, natural gas will account for 37.7 percent of ERCOT’s summertime power-generating capacity, followed by wind (22.9 percent) and solar (19 percent), according to an ERCOT fact sheet.

This year, ERCOT expects four months to surpass peak demand of 80,000 megawatts:

  • June 2025 — 82,243 megawatts
  • July 2025 — 84,103 megawatts
  • August 2025 — 85,759 megawatts
  • September 2025 — 80,773 megawatts

One megawatt is enough power to serve about 250 residential customers amid peak demand, according to ERCOT. Using that figure, the projected peak of 85,759 megawatts in August would supply enough power to serve more than 21.4 million residential customers in Texas.

Data centers, artificial intelligence and population growth are driving up power demand in Texas, straining the ERCOT grid. In January, ERCOT laid out a nearly $33 billion plan to boost power transmission capabilities in its service area.

Houston ranks among top 5 cities for corporate HQ relocations in new report

h-town HQ

The Houston area already holds the title as the country’s third biggest metro hub for Fortune 500 headquarters, behind the New York City and Chicago areas. Now, Houston can tout another HQ accolade: It’s in a fourth-place tie with the Phoenix area for the most corporate headquarters relocations from 2018 to 2024.

During that period, the Houston and Phoenix areas each attracted 31 corporate headquarters, according to new research from commercial real estate services company CBRE. CBRE’s list encompasses public announcements from companies across various sizes and industries about relocating their corporate headquarters within the U.S.

Of the markets included in CBRE’s study, Dallas ranked first for corporate relocations (100) from 2018 to 2024. It’s followed by Austin (81), Nashville (35), Houston and Phoenix (31 each), and Denver (23).

According to CBRE, reasons cited by companies for moving their headquarters include:

  • Access to lower taxes
  • Availability of tax incentives
  • Proximity to key markets
  • Ability to support hybrid work

“Corporations now view headquarters locations as strategic assets, allowing for adaptability and faster reaction to market changes,” said CBRE.

Among the high-profile companies that moved their headquarters to the Houston area from 2018 to 2024 are:

  • Chevron
  • ExxonMobil
  • Hewlett-Packard Enterprise
  • Murphy Oil

Many companies that have shifted their headquarters to the Houston area, such as Chevron, are in the energy sector.

“Chevron’s decision to relocate its headquarters underscores the compelling advantages that position Houston as the prime destination for leading energy companies today and for the future,” Steve Kean, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, said in 2024. “With deep roots in our region, Chevron is a key player in establishing Houston as a global energy leader. This move will further enhance those efforts.”

According to CBRE, California (particularly the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas) lost the most corporate HQs in 2024, with 17 companies announcing relocations—12 of them to Texas. Also last year, Texas gained nearly half of all state-to-state relocations.

In March, Site Selection magazine awarded Texas its 2024 Governor’s Cup, resulting in 13 consecutive wins for the state with the most corporate relocations and expansions.

In a news release promoting the latest Governor’s Cup victory, Gov. Greg Abbott hailed Texas as “the headquarters of headquarters.”

“Texas partners with the businesses that come to our great state to grow,” Abbott said. “When businesses succeed, Texas succeeds.”

CBRE explained that the trend of corporate HQ relocations reflects the desire of companies to seek new environments to support their goals and workforce needs.

“Ultimately, companies are seeking to establish themselves in locations with potential for long-term success and profitability,” CBRE said.

SpaceX test rocket explodes in Texas, but no injuries reported

SpaceX Update

A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky.

The company said the Starship “experienced a major anomaly” at about 11 pm while on the test stand preparing for the 10th flight test at Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas.

“A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X.

CEO Elon Musk ’s SpaceX said there were no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site.

The company said it is working with local officials to respond to the explosion.

The explosion comes on the heels of an out-of-control Starship test flight in late May, which tumbled out of control. The FAA demanded an investigation into the accident.

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