What Is ChatGPT? Everything You Need to Know

ChatGPT is a smart chatbot that can chat with people and create responses that sound like they were written by a human. It uses a big language model (LLM) that has learned from a huge amount of internet data. This means ChatGPT can answer questions, write essays, give advice, and even program in a way that feels natural and smooth.

The “GPT” in ChatGPT stands for “general pre-trained transformer.” This is a type of technology that understands and generates human-like text by learning from examples. Essentially, ChatGPT lets us have conversations with AI, making it seem like the AI is thinking and responding like a person. Jeff Kagan, an expert in technology, explained it as a way for us to communicate with AI and for AI to communicate back, highlighting its ability to mimic a form of computer-based thinking.

What Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a smart chatbot made by OpenAI. It can chat with people and create many kinds of written content, like recipes, computer programs, essays, and personal letters. It can also give feedback on writing, make short summaries of long texts, and translate between languages. The paid version adds extra features, such as understanding pictures and voice messages, and working together with other OpenAI tools like the picture-creating service DALL-E.

How Does ChatGPT Work?

ChatGPT works like a super-smart auto-complete. It’s built on a huge network trained with tons of data from the internet, like Wikipedia and research papers. When you type part of a sentence, ChatGPT guesses the next most likely words to complete your thought. It does this step by step, creating sentences, then paragraphs, and even whole pages of text.

To handle all this data and come up with responses, ChatGPT uses something called transformer architecture – that’s the “T” in its name.

It’s really good at conversations because it was trained not just on facts but on how to chat by using a method that includes feedback from people. This way, it learns to make its answers sound more natural and better match what the user is looking for.

Sam Stone, a product management director at Open door, explained that this method is like teaching ChatGPT to understand and use human judgment. This doesn’t just make ChatGPT smarter; it also makes it more helpful by improving how it answers questions.

Who Created ChatGPT?

OpenAI, a company that researches AI in San Francisco, launched a tool called ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. Elon Musk, a well-known billionaire, and Sam Altman, who used to lead Y Combinator, started OpenAI in 2015 with some other business people. Big names like Microsoft and Thrive Capital have invested in it, along with famous individuals like Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, and Jessica Livingston from Y Combinator.

Before ChatGPT, OpenAI had already released some products like Whisper, a program that can recognize speech, and DALL-E, a tool that creates art from text descriptions.

Originally, OpenAI was set up as a nonprofit organization aimed at developing AI in a way that would benefit everyone, without the pressure of making money. However, in 2019, it shifted to a “capped profit” model but kept a nonprofit section.

What Can ChatGPT Do?

ChatGPT is really useful, especially for business. It has changed how we use the internet in big ways, says Raghu Ravinutala, who started Yellow.ai, a company focused on improving customer experience.

CREATE CONTENT

ChatGPT is among several AI tools designed to help write things like news articles, press releases, college essays, or sales emails.

To use it, you simply go to ChatGPT, type in what you need, like “Write an article about the benefits of sweet potatoes.” It will then create a draft for you, which you can tweak and improve as you like.

EDIT, TRANSLATE AND SUMMARIZE CONTENT

ChatGPT isn’t just for making content; it can do much more. It can change text into other languages, shorten long texts to just a few lines, complete sentences that aren’t finished, and create conversations. Plus, it can be specially trained for certain areas like law or medicine, using specific data to understand and work with those kinds of documents better.

WRITE CODE

ChatGPT is not just good at creating its own computer code in various languages; it can also change code from one language to another and fix errors in existing code. Thanks to its extensive training, ChatGPT has gone through more programming guides and documents than any single programmer could ever manage. This is why it can quickly write code and explain how it works step by step.

Some developers were really impressed with what ChatGPT can do. They even used it to make their own applications, like a spreadsheet helper that can do complicated math just from a simple question.

ANSWER QUESTIONS

ChatGPT can work like a search engine, but with a twist. Instead of giving you a bunch of website links, it gives you straightforward answers. For example, if you ask, “What should I visit in Paris?” or “What are good Father’s Day gifts?”, ChatGPT will provide its own suggestions. People have also asked it for advice on relationships and money matters.

HELP WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE

ChatGPT and similar conversational AI are changing the game in customer service by providing automated answers to customer questions, which used to need human help. According to Ravinutala, big AI systems like ChatGPT can help customer service companies by automating conversations. This lets companies figure out what customers really want and respond in the best way. He also mentioned that the sales team at Yellow.ai is now using ChatGPT to write emails to customers, with people just tweaking them a bit as necessary.

How to Access ChatGPT

To use ChatGPT on a web browser, go to its website at https://chat.openai.com/auth/login. If it’s too busy, you can enter your email to be alerted when there’s room.

You can also use ChatGPT on your phone. For iPhones and iPads, download the ChatGPT app from the App Store. For Android devices, get it from Google Play.

Before you start using ChatGPT, you’ll need to make an OpenAI account and agree to the terms of service. After that, you’re all set to use it right away.

Is ChatGPT Free?

ChatGPT is free, but there’s also a premium version called ChatGPT Plus for those who want more features. It costs $20 a month.

For that price, ChatGPT Plus gives you:

• The ability to use ChatGPT even when it’s really busy.
• Quicker answers.
• First dibs on new features and upgrades.
• The option to create images with DALL-E.

ChatGPT Limitations

Even though ChatGPT is powerful, it’s not without flaws. It sometimes makes mistakes or shows bias.

INACCURATE INFORMATION

ChatGPT often uses information from the internet, which can sometimes be wrong. This can lead to mistakes in its answers, even though they might sound right. These mistakes are known as “hallucinations.” This becomes a big problem when ChatGPT is used for important tasks like writing news articles, answering questions about history, giving health advice, or even helping with legal work. For example, a lawyer in New York used ChatGPT for a case and ended up with references to court decisions that didn’t exist.

Instead of admitting when it’s unsure about an answer or asking for more details, ChatGPT might just make a guess. Since it can present incorrect information in a convincing way, it’s often hard to notice and fix these errors.

Because of these issues, there’s been a lot of criticism towards ChatGPT. Ravinutala, an expert, mentioned that ChatGPT is still being tested and shouldn’t be completely relied upon for accurate information.

BIASED RESPONSES

ChatGPT can sometimes show bias in its responses. Everyone knows that just because something is on the internet, it doesn’t mean it’s true. The internet is full of racism, sexism, and many other prejudices, and it’s up to each person to decide how seriously to take this information. Unlike humans, ChatGPT can’t make that judgment. Even though OpenAI has tried to limit bias, ChatGPT can still end up showing biases, both obvious and subtle, in what it says.

Stone explained, “Past data can contain biases, and these data-driven models might pick up on them. We don’t want to carry these old biases into the future, especially if we’re not fully aware of them. We have to be very careful.”

JOB DISRUPTION

Many professional writers and marketers in different fields are worried that AI tools like ChatGPT might take over their jobs. However, Stone believes this fear is unfounded. He argues that when technology boosts productivity, it usually leads to more jobs, not fewer. He compares the situation to how the invention of personal computers or the internet increased productivity for office workers. 

According to Stone, technologies like ChatGPT will act more as tools to assist professionals rather than replace them. He suggests that these AI models could help with writing initial drafts or coming up with ideas. However, the expertise of professionals will still be crucial to improve and refine these drafts, making them better than what the AI can produce on its own.

PLAGIARISM

ChatGPT’s great writing skills have caused some worries. Teachers are afraid students might cheat using it, leading some schools to block it completely.

ChatGTP 4 vs. ChatGPT

In March 2023, OpenAI launched GPT-4, an advanced version of the technology behind ChatGPT. This new model is more versatile, able to understand both pictures and words, though it only replies in text. 

It’s a big step up from its predecessor, GPT-3.5, showing improved performance across various tests. Despite not always matching human ability, GPT-4 has reached human-like levels in some areas. For example, it scored in the top 10% on a mock bar exam, a significant improvement over GPT-3.5, which was in the lowest 10%.

OpenAI notes that GPT-4 is also more reliable, providing more accurate information and better avoiding biased or problematic responses. However, it’s not perfect and can still produce errors or inappropriate content.

Details about GPT-4’s size and the extent of its training data are kept secret by OpenAI, citing competitive and safety concerns. This means there’s still a lot we don’t fully understand about how it works.

Notable ChatGPT Updates

Since it started in November 2022, ChatGPT has gotten many important updates. These updates have added new things or made what it already could do even better, including:

MEMORY (FEBRUARY 2024)

This update makes ChatGPT able to remember things from past chats and use that information to shape its answers in future conversations. This could be anything from remembering a user’s food allergies to details about their business, or even how they like their responses – short and sweet or in a certain format. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT will naturally get better at remembering over time. However, users can also directly tell the bot what to remember or what to forget.

CHATGPT TEAM (JANUARY 2024)

The ChatGPT Team allows businesses to set up shared spaces where the same settings work for everyone. They can also share special data sets. For example, a marketing team could teach the model about their brand’s style and upload data from their campaigns. This way, team members can use ChatGPT to identify trends.

GPT STORE (JANUARY 2024)

The GPT Store lets people share their own GPT models with others. OpenAI says that creators in the United States can get paid depending on how much their custom GPTs are used.

CUSTOM GPTS (NOVEMBER 2023)

This update lets people make their own versions of GPT that can follow special instructions and use information given by the person who makes it. These custom GPTs can also link up with real-world information through APIs.

DALL-E 3 (OCTOBER 2023)

The latest version of OpenAI’s picture-making tool, DALL-E, is now available for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users.

IMAGE AND VOICE RECOGNITION; TEXT TO SPEECH (SEPTEMBER 2023)

This update lets people talk to ChatGPT and also upload pictures for the model to look at and respond to. It even added the ability to turn spoken words into text, basically turning ChatGPT into a complete voice assistant.

CUSTOM INSTRUCTIONS BETA (JULY 2023)

Users can now save instructions that work for all their chats, instead of having to repeat them for each conversation.

GPT-4 GENERAL AVAILABILITY (JULY 2023)

OpenAI says that GPT-4 can understand more detailed instructions than the one before it, and it can also work with pictures. OpenAI also pointed out that GPT-4 did really well on a practice law exam, scoring in the top 10 percent of people who took the test, while the earlier version was in the bottom 10 percent.

 CHATGPT PLUS (FEBRUARY 2023)

The paid version of ChatGPT offers quicker replies, lets you use it when it’s busiest, and gives you a chance to try new features before anyone else.

OFFICIAL LAUNCH (NOVEMBER 2022)

ChatGPT, which uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 technology, started in November 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does ChatGPT have an app?

Yes, you can get the ChatGPT app on Android, iPhone, and iPad. Just download it from Google Play or the App Store.

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT works like a phone’s auto-complete. It predicts the next word based on the context given. ChatGPT is similar to a phone’s auto-complete feature. It suggests the next word based on the context. The model is trained using automated processes and human input. This helps it generate text that appears human-written.

What does ChatGPT stand for?

GPT in ChatGPT means “generative pre-trained transformer.”

What are the main ChatGPT competitors?

Big competitors of ChatGPT are Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama 2, and Jasper AI.