Guide · ChatGPT
Five practical jobs for non-technical teams, Free vs Plus vs Business in plain English, and a clear line on privacy and auto-send.
In short
For most non-technical Australian small businesses, ChatGPT works best as a drafting assistant: it writes the email, quote or FAQ answer, and you edit it and send it yourself. The free tier is enough to practise; on 15–16 October 2026 OpenAI listed Plus at US$20 a month for one person and Business seats from US$20 per user a month billed annually (two-seat minimum). Keep personal, financial and health details out of it, in line with OAIC guidance.
By the Airkick team · Updated 16 October 2026
Reality check
For most Australian small businesses that aren't technical, ChatGPT is useful as a writing assistant: it drafts, you edit, you send. That is the safe default.
Connecting ChatGPT (or any assistant) so it sends email, posts to social, or changes your website without a human check is a different project. It needs clear rules, access controls and a willingness to own mistakes. This page sticks to the draft-then-send pattern.
Five jobs
Paste the facts (not the full thread with card details), ask for a short reply in your voice, then send it yourself from your real inbox.
List what you're offering, the price bands you're happy with, and the tone. Use the draft as a starting point; check every number.
Turn the questions your phone gets every day into plain answers. Good for services pages and onboarding emails.
Turn messy notes into actions and owners. Keep staff performance issues and personal details out of the prompt.
Captions and short updates from three bullets. You choose and post — nothing auto-publishes from this approach.
Plans
OpenAI offers a free ChatGPT tier that is enough to practise the jobs above.
On 15–16 October 2026, OpenAI listed ChatGPT Plus at US$20 per month for one person (billed monthly; see the OpenAI Help Center on Plus).
For teams, OpenAI listed ChatGPT Business Standard seats at US$25 per user/month billed monthly, or US$20 per user/month billed annually, with a two-seat minimum (see OpenAI business pricing). These are US-dollar list prices before tax; your A$ amount depends on exchange rate, card fees and any GST that applies to you.
We have not re-checked every OpenAI page in this midday update; the figures match what we already published on our cost calculator and assistant comparison after checking official pages on 15–16 October 2026. If OpenAI's live page disagrees, trust OpenAI.
To see A$ totals for your team size, use the AI tools cost calculator. To compare ChatGPT with Claude, Copilot and Gemini, read the comparison.
Privacy
Keep out
Customer or staff full names next to health, financial or complaint details; passwords; card or bank numbers; tax file numbers; and anything your clients would not want in a third-party system.
The OAIC recommends, as best practice, not entering personal information (especially sensitive information) into publicly available generative AI tools. See its guidance. Prefer a Business plan with admin controls if several people will use it, and still de-identify. This is not legal advice.
Example
Tell it who you are, what to write, and how long:
Example instruction
"You're helping a Melbourne plumbing business. Draft a polite email chasing a quote acceptance. Facts: quote sent Monday for bathroom rough-in, A$4,200 inc materials, valid 14 days. Warm, plain Australian English, under 120 words. Draft only — I will send it."
Next step
The AI Starter Kit is our A$29 guide for people who don't do tech: a 20-minute setup and copy-and-paste workflows that work with ChatGPT (and Claude or Gemini). Opens straight away, 7-day refund.
If you want a plan written for your business — named tools, costs, and the order to set them up — the AI Audit is A$399, delivered within 72 hours from an online form, with no meetings.
Free, by email
Ten small AI changes a non-technical team can make this week, on one page. You'll see it straight after you sign up, and we'll send a short email when there's something new worth your time. Unsubscribe any time.
Your email is only used for these updates. See the privacy policy.
Questions
Often yes to start: drafts for email, quotes and FAQ copy. Upgrade to Plus or Business when you hit limits or need team admin controls.
OpenAI listed Plus at US$20/month (monthly billing) when we last verified on 15–16 October 2026. You pay in US dollars (or whatever your card converts); check OpenAI's page for the live figure.
We recommend draft-then-send for most small teams. Auto-send needs extra controls and a clear owner for mistakes.
It depends on whether you already live in Microsoft 365 or Google, and whether you need a personal or team plan. Our comparison page walks through it with checked prices.
No. We link to OpenAI's public pricing pages. We don't get a commission for mentioning ChatGPT.