u/ThorinOakenshield64

I run a packaging/manufacturing business and I’m trying to understand how realistic it is to use AI for searching through years of business files and job history.

We have a master PC where Excel work tickets are generated and stored, while I work independently on my own laptop for quotations, design work, dielines, etc. Most quotations are Word documents and the work tickets are Excel-based.

What I’d like to achieve eventually is something where I can ask in plain English:
“Find the latest perfume box job for Indigo”
or
“Pull similar rigid box quotations from last year”

…and have the AI search through the work tickets and related quotation files to return useful results.

I’m not trying to build some fully autonomous AI office. More just a smart searchable business memory layer over existing files/folders.

What I’m struggling to understand is where ChatGPT itself fits into this.

From what I understand, ChatGPT can’t just freely access files on a PC unless there’s some kind of integration/bridge involved. So are people using:
- shared folders,
- cloud storage,
- APIs,
- OpenAI integrations,
- local AI tools,
etc. to make this work?

Would appreciate hearing from people who’ve actually implemented something similar in a real business environment and not just demo videos.

I bought a Mini 5 Pro like a week ago and somehow I’ve already convinced myself I need an Air 3S.

Meanwhile I’m still:
- flying around my neighborhood
- recording random trees at sunset
- getting excited when Return to Home works properly

But now suddenly I’m watching comparison videos thinking:
“yeah but the Air 3S is way better in wind”

I’m not filming documentaries. I don’t even know how to color grade.

The worst part is the money would probably be way better spent on a proper laptop for editing instead of another drone I absolutely do not need right now.

Someone please talk sense into me before I financially ruin myself over “bigger drone cool.”