10:11am
By: Greg Behr
In the world of brand dominance, few accomplishments are as impactful as securing the status of a verb. Xerox did it with copying. Google did it with searching. Post-It did it with sticky notes. And now, ChatGPT has done it with AI-powered content creation.
When someone says they ‘Xeroxed’ a document, they’re not necessarily using a Xerox machine. Similarly, when someone says ‘I’ll ChatGPT it,’ they’re not just referring to one specific AI model, but the impact of OpenAI’s product is undeniable in making AI-generated content synonymous with the act itself.
In a market that includes Gemini, Grok, and other AI tools, ChatGPT has achieved a level of brand dominance that transcends mere market share. It has become the cultural shorthand for AI assistance, setting a precedent for how tech companies can shape perception, influence behavior, and ultimately, secure a place in the public lexicon.
How did ChatGPT pull this off? The answer lies in timing, execution, and sheer market saturation. OpenAI leveraged a first-mover advantage in the conversational AI space, releasing a model that was not only capable but remarkably user-friendly. With ChatGPT, the barrier to AI adoption has lowered dramatically. You didn’t need a technical background to access or understand it. You just needed a question or a task.
Moreover, OpenAI positioned ChatGPT not just as a tool but as a creative partner. The narrative was less about replacing jobs and more about enhancing capabilities — a strategy that resonated in the post-pandemic era, where remote work, digital collaboration, and content generation were surging. When a product is as useful as it is ubiquitous, it naturally earns its spot in the cultural vernacular.
However, being the ‘verb’ of AI isn’t without its risks. For companies like Xerox, Google, and Post-It, the challenge became protecting their brand identity against genericization. Just as ‘Googling’ has become a stand-in for any web search and ‘Xeroxing’ for any photocopy, the rise of ‘ChatGPT it’ could blur the lines between OpenAI and its competitors. If OpenAI doesn’t maintain a clear brand identity and distinct value proposition, it risks becoming a generic term that loses its brand equity.
To solidify its position as the AI verb of choice, OpenAI should continue to innovate in ways that keep ChatGPT top of mind. That could mean expanding the model’s capabilities, integrating it more deeply with everyday applications, or creating specialized versions tailored to specific industries or tasks. It’s also about ensuring that ChatGPT remains a leader in responsible AI development, setting the ethical standards that other platforms follow.
Becoming a verb is both a triumph and a challenge. For ChatGPT, it’s an opportunity to not only maintain cultural relevance but to redefine how we think about AI in our daily lives. And as AI continues to evolve, so too will the ways we ‘ChatGPT’ our way to solutions.