Update
Certainly! Here are some ways you can use to write jokes with ChatGPT:
1. Setup and punchline format: ChatGPT understands the setup and punchline structure well. You can provide a humorous setup and then let ChatGPT generate the punchline. For example:
User: "Why did the tomato turn red?"
ChatGPT: "Because it saw the salad dressing!"
2. Wordplay: Utilize ChatGPT's ability to understand and generate puns, double entendres, or clever wordplay. Ask the model to come up with puns based on a given word or phrase. For example:
User: "Can you give me a pun based on 'coffee'?"
ChatGPT: "Why did the espresso file a police report? It got mugged!"
3. Absurd scenarios: Encourage ChatGPT to generate jokes by building absurd or illogical scenarios. This can lead to unexpected and humorous outcomes. For example:
User: "What happens if a cat starts a bakery business?"
ChatGPT: "It becomes purr-tisan bread!"
4. Unexpected twists: Ask ChatGPT to generate jokes with unexpected twists, where the punchline goes against the typical expectations associated with the setup. This can create surprise and humor. For example:
User: "Why did the scarecrow win an award?"
ChatGPT: "Because it was outstanding in its field!"
Remember to provide clear context and specific instructions to ChatGPT to help it generate relevant and humorous jokes. You can experiment with different prompts, engage in playful conversations, and iterate with follow-up questions to refine the jokes further.
Instruct it on what style of comedy it should create—and for what purpose
Just like asking a comedian to "say something funny" usually results in the opposite, telling ChatGPT to "'write something funny" won't get you the results you want. Here's an example:
Prompt: Write something funny about donuts.
Result: Remember, donuts are like friends—some are glazed, some are powdered, and some are sprinkled. But they're all deliciously lovable!
Would we call this "funny"?
Instead, start by telling it what type of funny. I mentioned a few common comedic devices earlier, so let's go back to the wordplay example. We also need to tell it why it's writing the funny (in this case, for a social media post).
Prompt: Write a funny social media post about donuts that uses wordplay.
Result: Life is like a donut—sometimes it's filled with surprises, other times it's sprinkled with laughter. Either way, it's always delicious!
Still a little tooth-achingly sweet, and not quite funny, but it's definitely better than the first version. And it's a good starting point for you to take it over the finish line. How about "Life is like a filled donut: sometimes you get jelly when you thought it was chocolate. Either way, you're gonna eat it."
One thing to keep in mind: ChatGPT seems to know at a basic level how social media platforms differ from each other. If you instruct it to write something for Twitter, it will give you posts that are concise and fall within its character count. Likewise, when specified to write a post for Instagram, you'll end up with wordier posts that are more likely to reference visuals. So when writing prompts, be sure to indicate where on social media these posts will appear, and you should get more specialized results.
Tell ChatGPT how far to take it
Without providing ChatGPT with the magnitude of the joke, it tends to push things to the max. Here's what happened when I told it to be sarcastic.
Prompt: Write a sarcastic joke about donuts.
Result: Hey, do you know why donuts are the healthiest food on the planet? Because they have a hole! That means zero calories, right? Who needs vegetables when you have a perfectly balanced diet of circular sugar bombs?
This feels like Bill Burr levels of sarcasm. If that's what you're going for, great. But if you want a little more nuance, you'll want to use some guardrails (like the word "subtle").
Prompt: Write a lighthearted post about donuts that makes a subtle joke about why they're better than vegetables.
Result: Just remember, folks, donuts may not be the healthiest option, but they sure know how to make us smile and forget about kale for a while.
It still needs a lot of editing (Why are we starting with "Just remember, folks"?), but it followed the "lighthearted" and "subtle" suggestions.
Give ChatGPT a specific setup or premise
You might have an idea for a joke but only a vague idea of what the punchline could be. That's a good time to give ChatGPT the premise and see what happens.
Let's say you want to write a Halloween-themed post.
Prompt: Write a funny Halloween post with wordplay about ghosts and donuts.
Result: If you see a donut floating in mid-air this Halloween, don't be scared! It's just a friendly ghost who wanted to share its favorite treat with you. Just make sure to say, "Boo-licious!" before taking a bite!
The idea of a floating donut is inherently funny (just me?), but "boo-licious" is a bit corny (and is that what it's calling wordplay?). The exclamation points also need to go. Let's see if it can tighten things up, leaning more into the disembodied ghost aspect.
Prompt: Let's put more emphasis on the ghost offering a floating donut, and get rid of wordplay like boo-licious, and less exclamation points.
Result: Don't be startled if you come across a donut floating in mid-air this Halloween! It's just a friendly ghost, eager to share its beloved treat with you. Remember to thank the ghostly pastry chef before taking a bite. Enjoy the spectral sweetness!
Still not amazing, and still exclamation points, but a little better. I imagine I could continue prompting it to get it somewhere, but I also think I could take it from here.
Have ChatGPT impersonate your favorite funny person
If there's a comedian or humor writer whose voice aligns with your brand, ChatGPT can (kind of) impersonate them, if you tell it to write "in the style of" the person. Here's an example.
Prompt: Write a joke about donuts in the style of Hannah Gadsby, the comedian.
Result: You know, donuts are quite fascinating. They have this perfect circular shape, all symmetrical and enticing. But you take a bite, and it's like a betrayal. It's an empty promise of satisfaction. I mean, really, it's just a deep-fried disappointment. Donuts are like that toxic relationship you keep going back to, hoping it'll change. But it won't. It never will. So, if life gives you donuts, well, maybe it's time to reassess your life choices.
Not nearly as funny as Hannah Gadsby, but this is definitely the best we've gotten. That's because it's pretending to be a human, so instead of a computer writing jokes, it's at least a computer pretending to be a human writing jokes.
ChatGPT doesn't have actual personal experience to bring to the table—and that's often what makes funny funny. That's why asking ChatGPT to write in the style of a comedian can be a good start—though there are obviously some weird ethical implications there.
The verdict: Humans are funnier
I wasn't blown away by the ChatGPT results, but so much depends on the prompts you give it. I've also found that certain words and phrases led to better results. Here are some that worked well for me (instead of "funny"):
Wordplay
Irony
Subtle joke
Lighthearted
Absurdity
Clever
Hyperbole
Analogy
Upbeat
Do comedians, writers, social media managers, and other creatives who make humorous content have anything to worry about with the emergence of ChatGPT? Not yet. But ChatGPT can be a helpful writing partner, providing plenty of raw material that you can use to get some laughs. And probably a lot of crickets.
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