A worker who uses AI for a $670 monthly side hustle says ChatGPT has ‘cut her research time in half’

• A worker says she’s using AI to support a $670 per month side hustle.
• Nicole Cueto told CNBC using ChatGPT instead of search has halved her research time.
• Cueto says she’s been making extra money since January by planning people’s vacations.

A worker says she’s using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to support a $670 per month side hustle — and it has drastically improved her productivity. 

Nicole Cueto, a public relations consultant based in New York, told CNBC she’s been making extra money since January by planning vacations. She told the news outlet that using ChatGPT instead of traditional search engines such as Google and Bing has halved her research time and sped up her planning process.

Unlike traditional search engines, AI-powered tools can respond to queries with personalized and in-depth answers instead of just displaying a list of relevant links. Microsoft and Google have both made moves to incorporate this conversational tech into their search engines.

Cueto told CNBC she prompts the chatbot to create personalized trips for each client. For example, she asks the bot things like: “Give me a budget-conscious guide to Paris that incorporates historical neighborhoods where politicians lived in the 1880s.”

Cueto told the news outlet that the chatbot’s instructions weren’t perfect, however, and she conducts further research and fact-checks the chatbot herself.

The side hustle takes a total of 10 to 20 hours per week and makes her an average of $670 per month, according to documents cited and reviewed by CNBC. 

Freelancers have been relying on new generative AI tools to increase their productivity or take on side hustles. One freelance product marketer who uses the chatbot for idea generation and to write blogs and emails told Insider that ChatGPT had been a “game changer” for saving time. 

Workers have also been using tools like ChatGPT or the image generator Midjourney to content create on the side. One product-design manager used ChatGPT and Midjourney to write and illustrate a children’s book in 72 hours.