OpenAI unleashed an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution when the company launched ChatGPT for public use in late 2022. Since then, ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by OpenAI's large language models (LLMs), has dominated headlines and preoccupied the minds of executives running Twitter, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, inspiring them to create their own generative AI projects.
Also: ChatGPT vs. Microsoft Copilot vs. Gemini: Which is the best AI chatbot?
Though OpenAI offers a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription for $20 a month, free ChatGPT users can do a lot without the monthly fee. This includes accessing the GPT Store to use custom GPT bots, generating images, enjoying a sense of continuity in their conversations with Memory, uploading photos and documents to discuss them with ChatGPT, having the bot browse the web to give more current context, using advanced data analysis, and access to GPT-4o mini and GPT-4o, OpenAI's newest and most advanced LLM.
How to use ChatGPT
ChatGPT has many capabilities that you can use for free, so we'll cover how you can access the AI chatbot to try these features yourself.
As you can see here, I've logged in to ChatGPT. This is the new UI launched by OpenAI.
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ChatGPT users have come up with creative ideas for using the chatbot, from asking questions in search of funny answers to correcting a bug in code. Across all these areas, one thing is abundantly clear: this AI tool is remarkable not due to any particular innovations but rather because it's accessible and easy to use.
Here are some of ZDNET's guides on different ways to use ChatGPT.
How to use ChatGPT for coding
How to use ChatGPT for work
How to use ChatGPT for school
Need an AI essay writer? Here's how ChatGPT (and other chatbots) can help How to use ChatGPT to do research for papers, presentations, studies, and more How to make ChatGPT provide sources and citations How to save a ChatGPT conversation to revisit later How to use ChatGPT to summarize a book, article, or research paper How your kids can use ChatGPT safely, according to a momUseful ChatGPT tips
FAQs
How can I use GPT-4o?
GPT-4o is currently available for all ChatGPT users, free and paid. Once you begin using the ChatGPT free tier, you'll start interacting with GPT-4o without selecting it as your preferred model. Once you hit your rate limit of about 15 prompts per three hours, the model will automatically switch to GPT-4o mini.
OpenAI deprecated older GPT models, leaving only GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, and GPT-4o mini.
What's the difference between GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini?
GPT-4o mini is an accessible version of GPT-4o, OpenAI's largest 'omni' model. GPT-4o was launched as the largest multimodal model to date, and it can process visual, audio, and text data without resorting to other AI models, like Whisper, as GPT-4 does. GPT-4o mini is a more cost-efficient model than GPT-4o, though still more capable than GPT-3.5, which previously powered the free ChatGPT tier, and GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Also: What does a long context window mean for an AI model, like Gemini?
Aside from giving free ChatGPT users access to a larger, superior model by defaulting to GPT-4o mini rather than GPT-3.5, OpenAI is making GPT-4o mini a more affordable model in the API for developers. The model is 60% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo, features a 128K token context window, with an output of up to 16K tokens per request, and is trained with information up to October 2023.
What's the difference between free and paid ChatGPT?
Some big differences exist between using the free ChatGPT tier and a Plus subscription. Paid users will have up to five times the limit of free users and can generate more images with DALL-E 3. Subscribers can use GPT-4 when their GPT-4o limit runs out, while free users can use only GPT-4o mini when their quota runs out. ChatGPT Plus users can create GPT bots, while free tier users cannot.
In addition, ChatGPT Plus subscribers have priority access to new features from OpenAI, including the Advanced Voice Mode, which is gradually rolling out now.
What are some good prompts for ChatGPT?
ChatGPT's responses to prompts are good enough that the technology can be an essential tool for content generation, from writing essays to summarizing a book.
The better the prompt, the better the response you'll get. Here are examples of prompts you could start with:
How does a computer store and process information? Analyze this code and tell me how to fix it: [Paste the code]. Write a poem about migraines in Walt Whitman's style. What is the difference between a virus and a bacterium? Write a sick note for my child who has to miss school. Write a song/poem about [insert topic here] (try adding multiple details). Give it a list of ingredients from your pantry and ask it to write a recipe with them. Ask it to summarize ideas or concepts. Request a packing list for a three-day trip to the beach.Your imagination is the limit. Have fun with different ChatGPT prompts. For example, ZDNET's David Gewirtz asked the AI chatbot to write a WordPress plugin and used it to help him fix code faster. He also requested ChatGPT to write a Star Trek script and start a business using the technology and other AI tools.
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Others have used the tool to write malware. ChatGPT is an AI assistant programmed to reject inappropriate requests and doesn't generate unsafe content, so it may push back if you give it certain potentially unethical requests.
Can I use ChatGPT without a login?
OpenAI allows users to access the free version of ChatGPT, powered by GPT-4o mini and GPT-4o, without logging in, though you must create an account to access your chat history. To access GPT-4, you need an account and a ChatGPT Plus subscription.
Also: My 3 favorite AI chatbot apps for iOS - and what you can do with them
If you'd rather access GPT-4o with a higher rate limit and without logging in to a website, you can use Microsoft Copilot, formerly Bing Chat, which uses OpenAI's GPT-4o. You can log in with a Microsoft account for extended conversations. GPT-4o is a faster and smarter model than GPT-4.
What is ChatGPT Plus?
ChatGPT Plus is OpenAI's paid subscription to ChatGPT that offers access to GPT-4o mini, GPT-4, and GPT-4o. A paid subscription gives you priority access to new features, has a higher usage limit than a free account, and lets you use the AI chatbot during peak times.
Also: If these chatbots could talk: The most popular ways people are using AI tools
Is ChatGPT accurate?
ChatGPT and other AI assistants are prone to misinformation because they're trained on massive amounts of data humans create. These tools can be biased if their data is flawed and can give inaccurate responses, especially regarding world events.
Challenge any incorrect premises and always fact-check information from ChatGPT and other chatbots.
Can I use ChatGPT on my phone?
OpenAI offers mobile apps for iOS and Android. These apps provide a rich ChatGPT experience, letting you talk with ChatGPT through voice conversations powered by OpenAI's Whisper without requiring a ChatGPT Plus subscription.
Also: These are my 4 favorite AI chatbot apps for Android
If you don't want to download an app, use the AI-based tool in your mobile browser. The steps to use OpenAI's ChatGPT from your mobile browser are the same as on a PC. Go to ChatGPT.com and start typing. The AI chatbot should work similarly to when you access it from your computer.