How to Use ChatGPT (Beginner’s Guide)

As OpenAI steadily introduces new and remarkable features, ChatGPT has become an essential part of how I work. It assists me in everything I do, from developing ideas and interpreting spreadsheets to providing feedback on my writing.

If you are interested in using ChatGPT in your day-to-day tasks but do not know where to begin, I will share exactly how I got started and how you can make it part of your workflow too.

What ChatGPT Can Do

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that relies on natural language processing to carry on conversations that feel human. This language model answers questions and generates different types of content, such as blog posts, social media captions, essays, code snippets, and emails.

It belongs to a category of generative AI tools, which means it can produce text, images, or even videos based on the prompts users type in.

At its core, ChatGPT works much like the automated chat systems you might see on customer support sites. You can ask it questions, follow up with more queries, or ask for clarification if its answers are unclear. The name GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer,” which explains how it understands your input and forms its replies.

What makes ChatGPT more advanced is how it improves over time. It learns through a method called reinforcement learning, where human feedback and ranking systems help shape which responses are more helpful. This process trains the model to respond better in the future through ongoing machine learning.

How Much ChatGPT Costs

OpenAI provides several subscription options for ChatGPT, starting with a free plan and extending to enterprise-level access. Here is a quick overview:

Plan	Price	Key Features
Free Tier	$0	Limited GPT-4o access, basic features, free chatgpt
ChatGPT Plus	$20 per month	Faster AI, priority access, web browsing, voice modes
ChatGPT Team	$25–$30 per user per month	Collaboration tools, shared custom GPTs, admin console
ChatGPT Enterprise	Custom	Unlimited GPT-4o, security & admin features, access to OpenAI’s latest models
ChatGPT Pro	$200 per month	Unlimited AI, o1 model, data analysis tools, research tools, video & voice screensharing

ChatGPT Free

• Cost: $0
• Features: Includes access to GPT-4o mini, partial access to GPT-4o, standard voice interactions, the ability to upload files, generate images, browse the web, and perform advanced data analysis.
• Limitations: Responses may be slower, daily message limits are lower, and GPT-4 access is restricted.‍

‍ChatGPT Plus ($20 per month)

• Features:
  • Get first access to the GPT-4o model with increased message limits.
  • Enjoy quicker replies with access to both standard and advanced voice features.
  • Upload files, explore the web, and perform in-depth data analysis.
  • Build and interact with your own custom GPTs.
• Ideal for: Users seeking a quicker, more consistent AI assistant

ChatGPT Team ($30 per user per month)

• Features:
  • Access everything included in ChatGPT Plus, with increased usage limits for GPT-4, GPT-4o, and other AI models.
  • Create and distribute custom GPTs across your team workspace.
  • Use admin tools to manage team settings and member access.
  • Team chats stay private and are not used to train AI models.
• Ideal for: Small teams and businesses looking to streamline collaboration and automate daily tasks with AI.

ChatGPT Enterprise (Custom Pricing)

• Features:
  • Experience faster AI performance with unrestricted access to GPT-4o.
  • Use a larger context window to handle longer conversations and complex tasks.
  • Rely on enterprise-level security features, including admin controls and usage analytics.
  • Receive priority assistance through dedicated customer support.
• Ideal for: Large companies automating workflows, developers creating AI-powered tools, and businesses that need advanced AI functions.‍

ChatGPT Pro ($200 per month)

• Features:
  • Includes all features from the ChatGPT Team plan, along with unlimited GPT-4o access.
  • Unlock OpenAI research tools such as upgraded Sora video generation and early access to Operator previews.
  • Get increased limits for video use and screen sharing during voice chats.
  • Use the o1 model, o1 advanced voice, and o1 pro mode for stronger reasoning and more accurate replies.
• Ideal for: Developers, professionals, and businesses seeking the most advanced AI tools available.

How to Use ChatGPT (Step by Step)

Here is a quick overview to help you begin using ChatGPT:

1. Visit https://chatgpt.com or open the mobile app, then log in or create a free account.
2. If you are on a paid plan, select the AI model you want to work with.
3. Type, upload, or speak your prompt directly on the ChatGPT home screen.

Once you receive a reply, you can:

• Revise your original prompt
• Submit a new prompt
• Check the listed sources
• Copy the answer
• Ask for a new version
• Rate the reply
• Share the output
• Open and edit the reply in a separate workspace

Next, I will walk you through each of these options in more detail.

Step 1 – Create Your Account

To begin using ChatGPT, you will need to set up a free OpenAI account. Visit https://chatgpt.com and click Sign up. You can register using your email address or sign in through your Google or Microsoft account. If you choose email, you will be asked to verify your phone number to confirm you are a real person.

If you already have an OpenAI account, simply click Log in and start chatting.

Step 2 – Open ChatGPT

By default, ChatGPT runs on GPT-4o. However, if you are on a paid plan, you can switch to a different model. Just click the model dropdown in your chat window and select the option you prefer.

Step 3 – Learn the Basics

Within seconds, ChatGPT generates a response that you can read or listen to. Beyond that, you can choose from several other actions.

Change Your First Prompt

Move your cursor over the prompt and click the pencil icon labeled Edit message. Make your changes, then press Send to update the conversation.

Type or Speak a New Prompt

One of ChatGPT’s standout features is its ability to keep track of your ongoing conversation. This allows you to ask for changes or follow-ups without repeating what you already said. It uses the context from earlier messages to shape its next response, creating a smooth back-and-forth interaction.

See Where Info Comes From

Hover over any source tag included in the reply to see more details. If you want to explore the source further, just click on it to open the original page.

Copy the Answer

If you want to share ChatGPT’s reply elsewhere, click the Copy icon located below the answer. After clicking, the icon changes to a checkmark to confirm the text has been copied. This shortcut lets you avoid manually selecting the text and using keyboard commands.

Get a Different Answer

If the reply does not match what you had in mind and you want to reuse the same prompt, click the Switch model icon under the latest response, then select Try again. You can also use this menu to switch to a different AI model before generating a new answer.

Rate the Answer

Since ChatGPT cannot read your facial expressions, it depends on users for feedback. Click the thumbs up or thumbs down icon below the reply to indicate whether you found the response helpful or not. This input helps improve its future performance.

Edit in Full-Screen Mode

If you want to refine or expand a response in a dedicated workspace, click the Edit in Canvas icon. This opens a new editing area where you can work on the reply more thoroughly. I will explain this feature in more detail later.

Share the Chat

Rather than taking screenshots of individual replies, you can share the entire conversation with others. Click Share at the top of the chat window to generate a unique link. You can copy and send this URL to friends or coworkers

If you are using an Enterprise plan, only people within your workspace can view the shared conversation.

You can also choose to make your chat visible to the public. To do this, check the box labeled Make this chat discoverable, and it may appear in web search results.

Step 4 – Try These Tools

You can interact with ChatGPT using several input methods:

Type Your Question or Task

Enter your question or request in the message bar on the home screen, then press Enter or click the Send message icon (a small upward arrow).

Use the Built-In Search

If you want ChatGPT to pull information from the internet, click Search in the message bar and type your query. This instructs the AI to use web sources rather than relying only on its training data.

Try the Deep Research Tool

For a more detailed response backed by citations, click Deep research in the message bar. This option prompts ChatGPT to scan hundreds of online sources and files for verified information.

Use Your Voice

Click the Voice Mode icon or the microphone in the message bar to use speech-to-text and talk directly to ChatGPT.

Upload an Image

Click the paperclip icon to attach an image, then add a prompt to explain what you want ChatGPT to do with it. You can also drag and drop an image straight into the message bar from your computer.

Use Agent Mode

Agent Mode allows ChatGPT to carry out multi-step tasks or assist with more complex goals by acting on your behalf. To activate it, click Agent in the message bar and describe what you want to accomplish. ChatGPT will then plan and execute a series of actions based on your request.

Step 5 – Tips for Better Results

Be Clear and Direct

Write prompts that are direct, detailed, and easy to understand. Give enough background so ChatGPT can grasp what you are asking. Avoid vague questions to receive more accurate and relevant answers.

Improve Your Prompt Gradually

Prompt writing often works best through trial and improvement. Start with a basic prompt, review the output, then adjust your wording, add context, or simplify your request. Repeat this process to improve the quality of responses.

Set the Tone With Keywords

Guide the model’s tone by including clear descriptors. Use terms like formal, informal, friendly, professional, humorous, or serious. For example: “Explain this in a friendly and engaging tone.”

Sample Prompts and Real Uses

You can rely on ChatGPT for a wide range of tasks, including solving math problems, writing code, proofreading, brainstorming campaign ideas, drafting reports, and much more.

Here are 14 practical ways to apply ChatGPT across various roles in the workplace:

ChatGPT in Marketing

Marketers can rely on ChatGPT for content creation, campaign planning, and brand development. With the right prompts, it can generate everything from blog ideas to full strategies that align with your audience.

Create Content Faster

Thanks to its vast training data, ChatGPT acts as a creative partner. You can generate well-structured draft content that follows your specific instructions.

Whether you need attention-grabbing blog posts, social media captions, content schedules, or campaign strategies, ChatGPT helps you craft a wide range of materials tailored to your audience.

It also reviews your current content and suggests keywords, meta descriptions, and other SEO elements to boost visibility and engagement. This works for newsletters, brochures, essays, emails, and other marketing content. You can even ask it to fine-tune your content for stronger online performance.

Prompt: “Build a blog content calendar on sustainable living for adults over 40. Include optimized titles and short content briefs for each post.”

Build a Branding Strategy

ChatGPT can support brand development by generating ideas for messaging, voice, and visual elements. Share your brand references, and the tool can help you build a consistent identity across all online platforms.

It can also assist in creating a detailed branding style guide that captures your core values and connects with your target audience, helping to improve recognition and recall.

Prompt: “Create a branding strategy guide for a new eco-conscious clothing brand aimed at ages 17 to 28. Highlight key messaging, tone of voice, and techniques to engage this audience effectively.”

ChatGPT in Writing

Writers can treat ChatGPT as a research assistant, idea generator, or even an editor. Whether you are working on creative content or professional documents, it can support every stage of the writing process.

Research Support for Writers

Writers can turn to ChatGPT as a research partner. Instead of digging through countless web pages, you can get a well-organized answer pulled from a variety of sources, including academic papers, blog posts, and industry reports.

You can also ask for content outlines, summaries, supporting data, and other research materials to strengthen your writing.

Prompt: “Summarize recent research findings on how remote work affects employee productivity. Include key points and sources where possible.”

Develop Creative Stories

ChatGPT serves as a powerful resource for generating story concepts and building plot structures. You can use it to explore creative directions and develop narrative elements that might normally take days to plan and write.

Try asking ChatGPT to expand character profiles by referencing your favorite movies or TV series for inspiration.

Prompt: “Create a detailed plot outline for a mystery science fiction novel set in 1950s The Caves of Steel. Include key characters, major twists, and setting details.”

ChatGPT in Project Management

Project managers can use ChatGPT to optimize planning, resource allocation, and risk mitigation. It helps track goals, reduce bottlenecks, and keep teams aligned.

Improve Resource Allocation

ChatGPT helps manage and adjust resource allocation for your projects with accuracy. Just provide details like project scope, deadlines, team availability, and resource limits.

Based on that input, it will recommend strategies and action steps to allocate resources effectively, ensuring the project finishes on schedule and stays within budget.

Prompt: “Recommend the best resource allocation strategy for a three-month software development project with a five-person team and a $40,000 budget. Include task distribution and timeline suggestions.”

Plan for Risk and Delays

Spotting and evaluating possible risks early in a project can greatly enhance the precision and success of your project management efforts from start to finish.

ChatGPT can review past project data and reports to forecast risks such as going over budget, missing deadlines, or running into resource gaps.

Prompt: “Examine potential risk factors for my upcoming international product launch. Use examples from similar past projects to recommend effective mitigation strategies.”

ChatGPT in Engineering

Engineers can use ChatGPT to accelerate coding tasks, troubleshoot bugs, and generate technical documentation. It also supports learning and improves collaboration across development teams.

Debug Code With AI Help

You can speed up debugging for software projects by using ChatGPT to detect faulty code patterns and suggest possible solutions.

It reads and interprets error logs instantly, helping you resolve issues more efficiently during troubleshooting.

ChatGPT also generates code documentation based on identified fixes and practical use cases. Tasks that might normally take weeks can now be completed in just a few minutes.

Prompt: “Paste code here – Can you review this code block, explain the source of the errors, and generate a documentation report for future reference?”

Write Technical Documentation

ChatGPT can automate technical documentation for your software projects, helping improve engineering workflow and productivity.

It generates clear, precise, and reliable content for manuals, setup instructions, and product specifications. This not only saves time but also maintains uniformity across all documentation. You can also adapt this material into help center content for customer support teams.

Prompt: “Write a complete user manual for our new software tool. Include sections on installation, core features, troubleshooting tips, and other important details.”

ChatGPT in Human Resource Management (HR)

HR teams can use ChatGPT to streamline internal processes, improve communication, and support employee experience. From onboarding to conflict resolution, the tool offers helpful ways to save time and improve clarity.

Help With Employee Onboarding

Using ChatGPT during employee onboarding reshapes how you welcome new team members and introduce them to your organization’s culture and procedures. You can automate the distribution of tailored materials, including training content designed for specific roles.

ChatGPT also generates fully customized administrative documents within seconds, helping you cut down on HR expenses.

This level of personalization enhances the onboarding process and frees your HR staff to focus on high-impact activities such as handling compensation discussions and managing internal promotions.

Prompt: “Create a detailed onboarding guide for new employees at my software company. Include an overview of company policies, key procedures, and team introductions. Maintain a professional and informative tone throughout.”

Guide for Conflict Resolution

ChatGPT can help you handle workplace conflicts by offering clear guidelines and communication tips grounded in proven practices. It can recommend mediation strategies and deliver personalized advice for managing delicate situations. Combine these prompts with free HR templates to give your HR team powerful tools for automating conflict resolution.

Prompt: “Write a detailed, step-by-step conflict mediation guide for resolving a disagreement between two employees over project roles and responsibilities.”

ChatGPT in Finance

Finance professionals can turn to ChatGPT for market analysis, investment research, and risk assessment. The tool helps simplify complex data and support informed decision-making.

Support for Investment Analysis

ChatGPT supports financial analysts by providing insights into market research and investment analysis.

Its ability to scan large datasets and identify trends in profits and losses over specific time periods makes it a valuable resource in the finance industry.

You can use ChatGPT to evaluate current market behavior, review past investments, and forecast future opportunities.

Prompt: “Examine current trends in the renewable energy sector and highlight the most promising investment opportunities for the upcoming quarter.”

Help With Risk Management

ChatGPT helps identify financial risks and recommend ways to reduce them, allowing you to save time on risk management analysis.

It reviews financial statements, market trends, and regulatory updates to deliver complete risk evaluations. You can also ask it to assess risk for mutual funds, bonds, individual stocks, and other financial instruments.

Prompt: “Evaluate the financial risks of expanding into the Asian market under current economic conditions and propose effective risk mitigation strategies.”

ChatGPT in Product Management

Product managers can rely on ChatGPT to gather feedback, evaluate competitors, and define clear product strategies. It supports decision-making by simplifying complex insights and customer data.

Gather Feedback on Features

ChatGPT can handle large volumes of customer feedback and organize responses related to different product features. It sorts this feedback into key themes and offers creative suggestions for enhancement.

By measuring satisfaction levels and identifying areas for innovation and usability upgrades, you can focus on the most impactful feature updates and future improvements.

Prompt: “Collect and evaluate user feedback on our mobile app’s interface. Highlight areas that need improvement and suggest design enhancements.”

Analyze the Competition

Use ChatGPT to carry out competitor analysis by asking it to collect and summarize data on rival products and marketing tactics.

This process helps you evaluate how your product compares in the market and anticipate potential challenges. It also lets you plan ahead for dips in sales or upcoming improvements in competitor offerings.

Prompt: “Analyze recent mid-range smartphone launches from the past year. Focus on their key features, pricing models, and how they position themselves in the market.”

Apps and Tools ChatGPT Works With

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, offers an API that anyone can use to integrate its Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) technology into their own systems or workflows.

To build an integration with the OpenAI API, you must send coded requests that specify which GPT model should handle the task. Since this process requires programming knowledge, non-developers may find it difficult to set up without technical support.

What’s Good and Bad About ChatGPT

Like any powerful tool, ChatGPT has its advantages and limitations. Knowing both sides will help you use it more effectively and avoid unnecessary issues.

Pros of ChatGPT

ChatGPT offers many useful features that can support daily tasks, improve productivity, and enhance creativity. Here are some of the most notable benefits.

Saves Money

ChatGPT offers a budget-friendly option for both individuals and businesses. Rather than hiring several experts or assistants for different tasks, you can rely on ChatGPT to handle roles like writing, editing, customer support, and tutoring. This reduces expenses tied to expanding your team.

Works for Many Tasks

ChatGPT stands out for its flexibility across a wide range of tasks. You can rely on it to write emails, craft blog content, solve technical problems, or generate new ideas. It easily shifts between formal, casual, and creative tones, making it useful for both work-related and personal projects.

Fast and Efficient

ChatGPT handles and produces information at remarkable speed, offering a faster option compared to standard research or content writing methods. If you need a 1000-word essay within the hour, it can create a detailed draft in just minutes, cutting down the time required for lengthy or repetitive work.

Helpful for Learning and Tutoring

ChatGPT works well as a personalized tutor for students and self-learners. It adjusts explanations based on your pace and simplifies complex subjects to match your learning style.

Feels Safe and Non-Judgmental

For those who feel uncomfortable asking questions in typical settings, ChatGPT provides a safe and nonjudgmental space. It encourages users to explore ideas, learn new topics, and ask for guidance without worrying about criticism.

Always Available (24/7)

ChatGPT stays available around the clock, unlike human support teams. It responds instantly, which makes it especially helpful for users in various time zones or those working outside regular hours. Its constant availability guarantees that assistance is always within reach.

Supports Many Languages

ChatGPT works with many languages, making it a useful tool for international users. It can translate content, hold conversations in various languages, and help people navigate language differences with ease.

Cons of ChatGPT

While ChatGPT is helpful in many areas, it also has its drawbacks. It is important to understand these limitations so you can use it with the right expectations.

Can Give Wrong or Misleading Info

Although ChatGPT can produce responses that sound convincing, it is still prone to mistakes. It may occasionally share incorrect or outdated information and sometimes presents its answers with more confidence than accuracy. For this reason, users should double-check important facts on their own.

Raises Ethical Questions

AI tools like ChatGPT bring up serious ethical concerns. People can misuse them to produce deepfakes, spread false information, or create harmful material. Without strong safety measures in place, these models may unintentionally support unethical behavior.

Doesn’t Truly Understand You

ChatGPT functions by recognizing patterns and predicting likely responses, not through true understanding. Although it may appear smart, it does not interpret context, emotions, or real-world complexity the way people do. As a result, its answers may occasionally fall short or overlook important subtleties.

Needs Clear User Input

ChatGPT’s output relies strongly on how clearly and accurately the user frames their input. Vague or unclear prompts can result in off-topic or incomplete answers. To get the best results, users often need to rephrase or improve their questions.

Not Always Creative or Original

Although ChatGPT produces content at high speed, its responses can occasionally come across as repetitive or predictable. Because it learns from existing information, it lacks the ability to generate truly original ideas, which may not meet the expectations of users looking for unique or innovative thinking.

People May Rely Too Much on It

As ChatGPT becomes more widely used, the risk of depending too much on AI increases. This reliance may reduce the use of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, as users might turn to AI for tasks they could manage on their own. Over time, this habit could slow down both personal and professional development.

Some Responses May Be Biased

ChatGPT learns from data that contains real-world biases, which can occasionally show up in its responses. As a result, it may unintentionally reinforce stereotypes or produce content that offends or overlooks certain groups.

Privacy Might Be at Risk

ChatGPT processes the input it receives, which can lead to concerns about privacy and data security. Even though trusted providers prioritize protection, there is always some risk of sensitive information being exposed or misused, particularly when users share personal or confidential details.

Common Mistakes to Avoid with ChatGPT

As we integrate ChatGPT into our daily work, it is important to recognize the risks that can arise when best practices are ignored. By examining common professional missteps, we aim to provide you and other readers with useful guidance that encourages responsible and ethical use of ChatGPT in the workplace.

Misunderstood Answers

Asking questions without clear context can cause ChatGPT to generate replies that carry unintended meanings, which may lead to confusion or miscommunication and trigger further complications.

Case A: An engineer turns to ChatGPT for help with debugging a complex code issue.

Result: Misunderstood replies may prompt the engineer to contact other teams unnecessarily, causing poor time management and delays in resolving the problem.

Case B: A team uses ChatGPT to clarify a project requirement.

Result: The response creates confusion, leading to incorrect interpretations, misaligned work, missed deadlines, and difficulty reaching project objectives.

Recommendation: Submit specific, well-structured questions. Be sure to include relevant context, such as code samples or project-related information. Doing so greatly improves the accuracy of the response. Breaking your query into smaller parts also allows ChatGPT to respond more effectively, helping it follow the intended context more closely.

Legal Trouble

Asking questions and using ChatGPT without evaluating the information it provides can lead to legal complications, especially when it involves privacy or data protection regulations.

Case A: A team integrates ChatGPT into a customer-facing tool without applying proper data protection protocols.

Result: The mishandling of user data leads to a privacy breach, which may trigger legal action under data protection laws and damage the company’s public image.

Case B: A company prepares a project proposal with the help of ChatGPT but fails to disclose the AI’s involvement in the documentation.

Result: The omission creates legal concerns when clients learn about the undisclosed use, potentially leading to contract issues or legal claims for non-disclosure.

Recommendation: Stay informed about current data privacy regulations. Create clear and detailed policies for how you manage user data. Always be transparent in your communication, especially when AI tools are involved in client-facing materials or documentation.

Damage to Your Reputation

Using ChatGPT responses without applying critical thinking can lead to public backlash, especially if the content appears biased, inaccurate, or offensive.

Case A: A consultant uses ChatGPT to write a message for a client without reviewing it carefully.

Result: The message subtly criticizes the client’s reasoning, which the client finds offensive. This sparks a public disagreement and harms the consultant’s relationship with the client.

Case B: An engineer relies on ChatGPT to draft release notes for a newly launched feature.

Result: The notes misrepresent the feature, leading to negative feedback from the user community.

Recommendation: Always prioritize human review and editing, particularly for important or client-facing content. Set clear standards for identifying bias, inaccuracy, or offensive language. Regularly assess ChatGPT’s output for quality and sensitivity, and use tools or checks to flag potential issues before publishing.

Privacy or Security Issues

Using automated responses without evaluating possible risks can leave systems exposed to security flaws, increasing the chance of unauthorized access or misuse.

Case A: A software engineer uses ChatGPT to get suggestions during a code review.

Result: If the model overlooks security flaws or recommends unsafe coding practices, the engineer may unintentionally add exploitable vulnerabilities to the codebase.

Case B: An engineer generates code snippets through ChatGPT to connect with a third-party API.

Result: The code may lack input validation, proper error handling, or secure protocols, which could expose the system to API-related threats.

Recommendations: Always perform careful input validation. Understand that AI-generated responses may not fully cover security concerns, so conduct your own checks. Use current library versions and routinely update them to address potential bugs and vulnerabilities.

Problems Updating Code

Relying on code suggestions without fully understanding their logic can lead to poor documentation and weakened collaboration among developers. It can also make future updates more difficult to manage.

Case A: An engineer uses ChatGPT to refactor code automatically.

Result: Without full context, the tool may apply inconsistent changes, disrupting code structure and making it harder for the team to maintain clarity and logic across the codebase.

Case B: An engineer asks ChatGPT to help implement a new feature.

Result: Lacking a clear understanding of the project’s architecture, the model might add unnecessary complexity, reducing code readability and maintainability.

Recommendations: Treat ChatGPT as a support tool, not a primary solution for critical coding tasks. Encourage engineers to thoroughly review and validate all AI-generated suggestions. Keep a close eye on code quality and structure through regular maintenance and peer reviews.

Privacy, Safety, and Ethics

Beyond performance, using ChatGPT responsibly also means paying attention to privacy, security, and ethical use. This section covers the key concerns you should keep in mind before sharing sensitive information or relying on the tool in critical settings.

Bias and Wrong Answers

ChatGPT learned from a wide range of sources, some of which include clear biases. Because of this, it may occasionally generate responses that reflect stereotypes related to race, gender, or other topics. The model has also been criticized for presenting incorrect or misleading information as if it were accurate.

In addition, there is limited transparency about the training data and how the model forms its responses. Users often cannot see which sources the tool relies on or understand how it arrives at certain conclusions.

It is essential for users to recognize these limitations and verify any information ChatGPT provides by cross-checking it with reliable sources.

Cheating and Copied Work

In academic settings, students may misuse ChatGPT and other AI tools to cheat, whether deliberately or by accident. Common examples include:

• Submitting AI-generated content as if it were their own
• Paraphrasing copied material and presenting it as original
• Creating fake data to support a research paper

Using ChatGPT in these ways violates academic integrity policies set by most universities. It also creates an unfair advantage over students who follow the rules and poses serious risks, especially if the resulting work contains errors or false information and gets published.

Privacy Risks

ChatGPT saves conversation data to help train future models. If you enter personal details or false information about yourself or someone else, the tool might repeat that content in future replies.

Be mindful of what you choose to share, and avoid entering sensitive or private information about yourself or others.

To keep your conversations out of future training data, you can turn off chat history manually and ask OpenAI to delete your previous messages.

Breaking Copyright Rules

ChatGPT was trained using a wide range of materials, including content that may be protected by copyright. Because of this, it can sometimes generate responses that contain copyrighted material. This raises both ethical and legal concerns.

According to OpenAI, users are responsible for how they use ChatGPT’s outputs. If a response includes copyrighted content and is later published or distributed, the user may be held liable for any copyright violations.

This becomes especially challenging since ChatGPT does not cite its training sources, making it difficult to determine when content might infringe on copyright. Users should take extra care to review and verify AI-generated material before using it publicly.

Can You Trust ChatGPT’s Answers?

Recent MMLU data shows that ChatGPT-4o, OpenAI’s newest model, reaches an accuracy rate of 88.7%, placing it among the highest-performing large language models, slightly trailing Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Earlier versions, such as GPT-3.5, perform noticeably worse. While scores differ by study, reported accuracy for factual questions typically ranges between 50% and over 80%.

Model accuracy can shift over time. One study found GPT-4’s accuracy in identifying prime numbers fell from 84% to 51% within three months, demonstrating how performance can change.

Some areas have shown gains, indicating that model updates may impact tasks differently.

LMArena evaluates language models by crowdsourcing feedback through anonymous head-to-head comparisons, where human judges decide which model performs better.

According to the latest figures from LM Arena:

• Gemini-Exp-1206 currently ranks highest with an Arena Score of 1374.
• ChatGPT-4o-latest (2024-11-20) comes in a close second at 1365.
• Gemini-2.0-Flash-Thinking-Exp-1219 and Gemini-2.0-Flash-Exp trail slightly behind.
• GPT-4o-2024-05-13 scores lower at 1285, showing that performance may vary even among different versions of the same model family.

While benchmark scores offer a broad snapshot, they do not always capture real-world behavior.

Several elements affect how accurately ChatGPT performs in practical scenarios:

• Prompt Clarity: The way you phrase your question strongly influences the output. Detailed prompts with clear instructions and proper context usually lead to more accurate responses.
• Language Used: ChatGPT performs best in English, as most of its training data is in that language. Responses in low-resource languages may be less accurate.
• Topic Familiarity: ChatGPT tends to perform better on subjects with rich training data. Its accuracy is strong for general knowledge but drops in specialized fields like rare medical conditions or less-documented historical events.
• Question Difficulty: Clear, factual questions are easier for ChatGPT to answer correctly. In contrast, complex or open-ended queries are more likely to result in errors.
• Model Updates: Newer versions like GPT-4o generally deliver better accuracy, reasoning, and safety than earlier models such as GPT-3.5.

False Facts and Made-Up Info

One of the main challenges faced by ChatGPT and other large language models is a behavior known as “hallucination.” This happens when the model produces incorrect or illogical information while sounding confident and accurate.

Research shows that GPT-4 hallucinates less frequently than GPT-3.5, but the issue still exists. In one study focused on scientific literature reviews, GPT-3.5 generated false references 39.6% of the time, while GPT-4 did so in 28.6% of cases.

ChatGPT also struggles to express uncertainty. Instead of admitting when it lacks information, it often creates responses that sound reasonable, even if they are wrong.

Try ChatGPT Now – You’re Ready

You now have everything you need to start using ChatGPT effectively. From everyday productivity to advanced workflows, the tool offers powerful capabilities. How you use it makes all the difference.If there is a specific tool, AI model, or emerging tech you want us to cover next, head over to Sibryl.com and send us a message. Your ideas help shape the content we create, and we would love to hear what you want to learn more about.