ChatGPT: Unlock all the secrets of the AI chatbot

ChatGPT-5: The Next Horizon in AI Conversation

Artificial Intelligence has taken the spotlight in recent years, but among the myriad chatbots available, ChatGPT emerges as a groundbreaking innovation that has captured global attention from corporate leaders to everyday users.

What Makes ChatGPT Stand Out?

• Unparalleled Capabilities – From natural language understanding to contextual reasoning, ChatGPT delivers responses that feel remarkably human.
• Rapid Advancements – Each iteration brings refinements in accuracy, speed, and user experience, keeping the platform at the cutting edge.
• Ethical Debates – With great power comes great responsibility. Discussions around bias, privacy, and transparency dominate headlines.

ChatGPT-5: What to Expect

While the official release date has not been finalized, industry insiders predict that ChatGPT-5 will hit the market sometime in August. Key enhancements rumored include:

1. Contextual Memory – Remembering past interactions for richer conversations.
2. Multi‑Modal Support – Handling text, image, and audio inputs seamlessly.
3. Fine‑Tuning API – Allowing businesses to customize the model for domain‑specific needs.

Ready for the Future?

Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or simply curious about AI chatbots, this guide offers a deep dive into everything from ChatGPT’s creator to practical usage tips. Stay informed and prepare for the next chapter in conversational AI.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT: A New Era of Conversational AI

ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre‑trained Transformer) is a cutting‑edge chatbot that can respond to open‑ended questions with human‑like prose. Unlike earlier assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant, it relies on a Large Language Model (LLM) that has ingested vast amounts of data to generate contextually rich replies.

Why ChatGPT Stands Out

• Content Breadth – the model draws from websites, books, social media, news articles, and more.
• Learning Techniques – it benefits from supervised learning and Reinforcement Learning From Human Feedback (RLHF).
• Flexibility – it is not limited to pre‑written scripts; it can adapt to a wide variety of queries.

Current and Upcoming Models

The present version is built on GPT‑4. OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT‑5 soon, promising even more sophisticated language capabilities.

Key Takeaways

• ChatGPT uses an LLM to produce natural language responses.
• It has been fine‑tuned using both supervised learning and RLHF.
• GPT‑4 is the baseline model; GPT‑5 is on the horizon.

Who created ChatGPT?

OpenAI’s Path from Non-Profit to Cloud Powerhouse

OpenAI, the San Francisco‑based research lab that unveiled ChatGPT, launched in 2015 as a non‑profit striving to create AI that is safe and helpful. In the early years the lab attracted major backing from high‑profile figures such as Elon Musk, securing substantial funding rounds.

Shift to For‑Profit and Leadership

By 2019 OpenAI restructured as a capped‑profit entity, allowing it to raise capital while capping investor returns. The transition brought a new CEO—Sam Altman—who now steers the organization’s strategic vision.

Infrastructure & Technological Edge

The lab’s AI models run on Microsoft Azure’s cloud infrastructure, while Nvidia GPUs provide the computational horsepower. This year OpenAI introduced cutting‑edge supercomputers, further amplifying its processing capabilities.

Microsoft’s Deepening Collaboration

Microsoft established a partnership with OpenAI in 2019, expanding it in 2021 and again in 2023. The 2023 investment, a multi‑billion‑dollar round, solidified Microsoft’s commitment by designating Azure as the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI’s services.

When was ChatGPT released?

ChatGPT’s Evolution

ChatGPT first entered the public arena in November 2022, operating on the GPT‑3.5 architecture. Since then, the platform has undergone several upgrades, culminating in the current iteration that relies on the GPT‑4 model.

Historical Milestones

• GPT‑3 debuted in 2020, a license exclusively granted to Microsoft.
• GPT‑2 was released in 2019 but never found a role in the public ChatGPT system.

Rapid Adoption

Upon launch, ChatGPT’s user base leapt to over 100 million within two months, marking it as the fastest‑adopted software at that time. The record was later eclipsed by Threads, a Twitter alternative.

Recent User Dynamics

In June 2023, the platform experienced a brief dip, losing 10 % of its global users. Despite the setback, growth has continued at an exponential pace.

How to use ChatGPT

Getting Started with ChatGPT

To access ChatGPT, launch your preferred browser and navigate to ChatGPT.com.

Maintaining a Chat History

• Sign up for a complimentary account to preserve previous conversations.
• Alternatively, operate anonymously without requiring a login.

Linking Third‑Party Accounts

• Users may connect their ChatGPT login to Google, Microsoft, or Apple credentials.

Sign‑Up Process Overview

The registration interface presents essential guidelines, covering potential data inaccuracies, OpenAI’s data collection methods, and avenues for user feedback.

Initial Tips

For an introductory experience, explore our curated selection of top ChatGPT tips.

Getting Started with a Chatbot

Using a chatbot is a breeze: simply type your prompt into the provided box and the system will generate a response.

What You Can Ask

• Basic conversations and yes/no inquiries
• Project research and detailed assistance

Tweaking Your Prompt

If the answer isn’t what you hoped for, refine or expand on your initial prompt; the AI will retain your context and may need just a bit more instruction.

An Example of Prompt Depth

Beginning with “Explain how the solar system was formed” will elicit a more comprehensive reply compared to the shorter “How was the solar system formed,” even though both will provide fairly detailed results.

Adding Style or Tone

For an even more tailored response, guide the chatbot with style or tone cues, such as “Explain how the solar system was formed as a middle school teacher.”

ChatGPT’s Reach and its Boundaries

Real‑World Applications

• Essay Assistance – Prompting the model to produce a four‑paragraph exploration of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein yields a highly detailed output.
• Template Generation – Developers can ask for a blog outline or code skeleton, gaining a structured starting point.

Tasks that Require Physical Interaction

While the chatbot can describe how to fold garments or explain complex concepts, it cannot perform actual folding or any other hands‑on activity. The limitation stems from an absence of physical limbs or working arms, not from a lack of knowledge.

Safety Measures and Content Restrictions

OpenAI has integrated safeguards to foster a safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence. Consequently, the model refuses to respond to requests that are hateful, sexist, racist, or discriminatory in nature.

Experiencing the Model’s Full Potential

Discovering the breadth of what ChatGPT can and can’t do has been an impressive journey since its launch. Effective prompts—and the follow‑up prompts that elicit the best responses—often require a period of careful experimentation. Similar to how we refine searches with traditional engines, eliciting the most accurate results from ChatGPT is a process that depends on your desired outcome.

Exploring the Trade‑offs of ChatGPT

Our team dabbled with ChatGPT, tackling everything from holiday shopping lists to zodiac profiles. The results sounded promising, but a handful of constraints surfaced.

1. Hallucinations Still Persist

ChatGPT’s early days were riddled with “hallucinations” – the model would echo false facts as truth. While fine‑tuning has curbed the frequency, errors occasionally crop up. The best practice? Verify.

• Ask the bot to cite its source.
• Cross‑check the cited data with reputable references.
• Keep a skeptical eye, especially on nuanced topics.

2. Memory is Session‑Bound, History is Optional

ChatGPT never stores the entirety of global history; it retains the conversation thread within the same session. Logged‑in users can:

• View past chats via the left‑hand navigation bar.
• Rename, hide, or delete individual sessions.
• Easily retrieve context for follow‑up queries.

3. User Interface Flexibility

ChatGPT offers toggles for mood preferences – switch between dark mode or light mode at any time.

4. Generative Images via DALL‑E

Premium subscribers – whether ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) or ChatGPT Teams ($30/month per user) – unlock the DALL‑E image generator. It turns text prompts into lifelike images. Free‑tier users cannot access this feature.

Regardless of subscription, any user can supply image or voice inputs to enrich their prompts.

Bottom Line

While ChatGPT remains an impressive language tool, users should:

• Fact‑check reported data.
• Leverage session memory for continuity.
• Choose the interface that best fits their visual preferences.
• Consider a subscription if image generation is a must.

How to use the ChatGPT iPhone, Android, and Mac apps

ChatGPT Mobile App Surges to Half a Million Downloads

Launched for both iOS and Android, the mobile app has matched the web experience almost exactly. Users can log in and interact with GPT from their pocket, with nearly every desktop feature now available on the go.

Key Features at a Glance

• Login Required – The app is only usable after signing in.
• Full Feature Set – All core functions from the web version have been ported.
• Streamlined UI – Conversations appear clean and concise.
• Hidden History & Settings – The menu in the top right conceals chat history and adjustment options.

Within less than a week of its release, the iOS edition has already crossed the half a million download mark, underscoring the high demand for on‑the‑go AI interaction.

Official ChatGPT App for Mac Now Free

Key Detail: Apple Mac owners can now download the official ChatGPT application, available for free shortly after its launch.

What It Does: The app unlocks a range of advanced features, taking Mac AI integration to the next level. Users can explore new AI tools, enhance creative workflows, and streamline daily tasks directly from their Mac.

New Features at a Glance

• Instant Access: Download the free app and start using ChatGPT right away.
• Enhanced AI Toolkit: Leverage powerful AI capabilities within the Mac ecosystem.
• Creative Boost: Turn ideas into reality with advanced Mac AI tools.

Bottom Line: The official ChatGPT app for Mac offers free, cutting‑edge AI features, making it a must‑download for Mac users looking to elevate their productivity and creativity.

Is ChatGPT free to use?

OpenAI Subscription Landscape 2025

OpenAI has shifted its monetisation strategy by layering subscription tiers that stratify user access to model capabilities. The progression from a free tier to paid passes unlocks broader features, including high‑frequency model calls, voice interfaces and custom GPT creation.

Tier Overview

• Free: Supports a limited monthly query quota. Ideal for casual exploration.
• Plus (¥20): Grants occasional access to OpenAI’s flagship models such as o1 and the Advanced Voice Mode. A budget solution for occasional users.
• Pro (¥200): Unlimited access to every available model plus the advanced voice interface. A flagship offer for researchers, institutions and power users.

Policy Shift

In September 2024, OpenAI faced criticism after a proposed $2,000+/month pricing model was leaked, raising concerns about the sustainability of cutting‑edge model research.

By December 2024, the Pro tier was launched, re‑emphasising unrestricted usage of the entire model suite and voice mode. The Plus tier remained a smaller option, providing limited capabilities that are attractive for the majority of everyday users.

Partner Access

Users subscribing to Microsoft 365 receive complimentary access to the o1 model, eliminating additional charges.

Operating Costs

OpenAI’s operating expenditure is significant. Current estimates place monthly costs at approximately \¥3 million, or \¥100 000 per day. Earlier reports from April 2023 indicated a higher daily cost of around \¥700 000, underscoring the operational intensity of ChatGPT’s online presence.

Key Takeaways

1. Pro tier is the primary premium instrument for high‑volume usage.
2. Plus tier offers moderate access for budget‑conscious users.
3. Microsoft 365 partnership grants additional model benefits.
4. Operational costs highlight the financial stake in sustaining advanced AI services.

What is ChatGPT’s context window character limit?

ChatGPT’s Token-Based Limits

ChatGPT doesn’t count characters. Its limits are measured in tokens, each roughly equivalent to one word.

Token Window for GPT‑4 Family

• Maximum tokens: 8,192
• Approximate words: 6,000 (varies with text complexity)

Key Takeaway

When planning prompts, think in terms of tokens rather than characters for more accurate length estimates.

What is Project Strawberry?

OpenAI Unveils “Project Strawberry” – A New Era of Human‑Like Reasoning

What’s Behind the Newly Named Models?

Project Strawberry introduced o1-preview and o1-mini, the latest family of reasoning models from OpenAI, announced in September 2024. These tools reportedly employ logic that mirrors human thought patterns.

Behind the Innovation

• OpenAI’s research lead Jerry Tworek detailed a fresh optimization algorithm and a dedicated training set specifically crafted for the o1 model.
• The approach fuses reinforcement learning with “chain of thought” reasoning, producing answers that are markedly more accurate than prior iterations.

Subscription Access & Future Plans

Currently, o1 and o1-mini are available only to paid tiers:

• Plus, Teams, Enterprise, and Edu subscribers (with o1-mini potentially reaching free‑tier users later, though a timeline remains undisclosed).
• In December 2024, OpenAI released the full o1 model, offering limited access on the Plus tier and unlimited use on the Pro tier.

Looking Ahead: The o3 Successor

Later that December, OpenAI teased o3 – a successor expected to perform every function of o1 but with enhanced capabilities.

Is there a ChatGPT API?

Integrating ChatGPT: A New App Landscape

How Developers Access ChatGPT

APIs act as a bridge, letting developers embed ChatGPT’s language abilities straight into their apps and websites.

Real‑World Applications

• Newegg’s PC Builder uses the API to suggest parts.
• Travel planners generate itineraries with just a few words.
• Snapchat’s MyAI stands out as the most prominent partner announcement.

OpenAI’s API Expansion

OpenAI has opened the ChatGPT API to the public, sparking a wave of tool development. Key examples include:

• Discord’s Clyde chatbot
• Wix’s website builder
• Other emerging solutions across the tech ecosystem.

GPT‑4 API Availability

GPT‑4 is now offered as an API, enabling developers to craft customized applications and services.

Companies Already Embracing GPT‑4

• Duolingo enhances language learning.
• Be My Eyes improves accessibility.
• Stripe refines payment processing.
• Khan Academy expands educational content.

ChatGPT alternatives worth trying

The Rising Tide of AI Chatbots

ChatGPT Still Holds the Crown

OpenAI’s flagship chatbot remains the most widely used, yet its reign is being challenged by a growing roster of contenders.

Microsoft’s Copilot

• Microsoft’s own Copilot, powered by the GPT‑4 engine, sits squarely in the competition arena.
• While the company has poured heavy investment into the startup, Copilot still offers a clear alternative to ChatGPT.

Google’s Gemini, the Multimodal Powerhouse

• Google’s Gemini AI (inherited from Bard) shares a proprietary transformer architecture.
• It can both comprehend and produce text, images, audio, video, and even code.
• First launched in March 2023, Gemini is available in 46 languages across 239 countries and territories.
• One of its most compelling features is free image generation, whereas users must upgrade to ChatGPT Plus to access similar capabilities.

Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet

• Anthropic’s Claude family has emerged as a serious rival.
• In June 2024, Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperformed GPT‑4o, Gemini Pro 1.5, and the older Claude 3.0 Opus by double‑digit margins.
• It also consumed 50 percent less energy.

Meta’s Meta AI

• Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has spent years developing its own Chatbot based on the Llama family of large language models.
• Launched in April 2024, Meta AI leverages Llama 3, the company’s latest model.
• The assistant is active in more than a dozen countries and seamlessly integrates across Meta’s app ecosystem (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger).

ChatGPT’s New Search Feature

• ChatGPT recently introduced ChatGPT Search, designed to battle Perplexity AI.
• Perplexity positions itself as an “answer engine” that scans the web for information related to a query and then synthesizes a conversational reply.
• OpenAI’s offering has repeatedly returned incorrect answers, sometimes with “confidence” that obscures the error, according to a study by the Columbia Tow Center for Digital Journalism.

Apple’s New Ia, Apple Intelligence

• Rumors of Apple’s own AI system made a reality at WWDC 2024, where the company unveiled Apple Intelligence.
• Apple Intelligence combines large language models and diffusion models specialized for everyday tasks across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
• It officially entered the market with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia releases in the fall of 2024.

ChatGPT’s numerous controversies

ChatGPT’s Upside and the Dark Side of Generative AI

While ChatGPT proves to be a groundbreaking digital assistant, its ability to hallucinate answers and misidentify facts reveals the weaknesses that arise when AI mimics human language.

Public Alarm Over Fast‑Growing AI

• Thousands of tech leaders signed a petition demanding the slowing of AI development.
• In Italy, the tool faced a temporary ban over privacy concerns, a decision that has since been reversed after FTC inquiries reopened.
• JPMorgan Chase and Apple have imposed internal restrictions on employees to prevent the automatic generation of emails with AI help.
• After Apple’s WWDC 2024 rollout, Tesla CEO Elon Musk threatened to ban any device running OpenAI’s software from his services.

Jobs at Stake, Scriptwriters on Strike

Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could eliminate up to 300 million global jobs. In Hollywood, the writer’s strike has highlighted the fear that AI‑written scripts might replace human screenwriters.

Capacity Crunches and the “At Capacity” Notice

• In 2023, many users received an “at capacity” warning when attempting to access the platform, because OpenAI was limiting access during peak demand.
• Users often had to wait several hours for the service to become available again, and the site sometimes went down for maintenance.

Controversies Over Misuse

• Some users claimed ChatGPT functioned as the mayor of a Wyoming city.
• FBI officials warned that AI could be used for generating malware.
• Vanderbilt University’s Peabody School faced criticism for an email generated about a mass shooting that emphasized community outreach.

Privacy Violations Under GDPR

A recent GDPR complaint alleges that ChatGPT violates privacy by collecting user data without consent and using it to train its models. The tool once generated Windows 11 keys, a usage far beyond its intended application.

What This Means for the Future of AI

Generative AI is a powerful resource, but its deployment must be monitored to protect jobs, prevent misuse, and honor privacy. Companies, regulators, and users need to work together to ensure that AI’s benefits are enjoyed without compromising safety or integrity.

Are ChatGPT chats private?

Understanding Privacy with ChatGPT

OpenAI uses conversations to improve its models, which allows a human reviewer to read through a portion of the chats. Although not every single message is examined, it is important to recognize that your chats are not completely private.

Why Deleting Matters

• Chats that remain in the left sidebar can be edited via the pencil icon.
• Individual messages cannot be removed; only the entire conversation can be deleted.
• Deleting a conversation does not erase its existence from the training data – it merely clears the sidebar history.

New Features for Hidden Chats

OpenAI has introduced a “hidden” mode that keeps your conversations invisible from the sidebar. Hidden chats will be excluded from training, ensuring your data stays private.

Opt‑Out Settings

You can opt out of training usage directly in the settings. This gives you full control over whether your conversations help shape future models.

Who owns the copyright to content created by ChatGPT?

OpenAI Confirms Your Creative Rights

OpenAI states that every piece you generate with ChatGPT or ChatGPT Plus is yours to reprint, sell, or merchandise. There will be no lawsuit from OpenAI over your content.

Controversy Over AI Copyright

• Generative AI Accused of “Stealing” – Critics argue that AI models copy the material they were trained on.
• AI Art Is Intensely Debated – The debate has escalated especially in the realm of AI-created art.
• Adobe’s Approach – Adobe only trains on stock image libraries that already hold proper artist credit and legal boundaries.

Legal Landscape Still In Flux

Copyright law currently protects only content created by human beings. Lawmakers and courts are still determining how generative AI will fit into this framework.

Will ChatGPT replace Google Search?

Search Engines Embrace Generative AI

Microsoft Pioneers Integration

Microsoft has integrated Copilot directly into its Bing search interface, embedding a dedicated “chat” tab within the standard menu.

Google’s AI-Overhauled Interface

Google launched AI Overviews in May 2024, replacing its earlier Search Generative Experience with AI-generated answers that supplant traditional link lists.

OpenAI’s Direct‑Search Competitor

• OpenAI released ChatGPT Search in October 2024.
• Like Perplexity, it lets users query the web from a single chatbot window.
• Upon a request, the system gathers relevant web data, synthesizes it, and delivers a conversational reply, bypassing the need to browse a list of links.

Can you write essays with ChatGPT?

Essay Writing and AI: A Controversial Debate

ChatGPT can produce essays that earn students impressively high grades. Yet this capability sparks a heated controversy: are students gaining grades that rely on knowledge they did not personally acquire?

• Generative AI tools are emerging to support this trend.
• One notable example is Caktus AI, a platform expressly designed to aid students in drafting essays.

These developments raise pivotal questions about the intersection of technology, education, and academic integrity.

Can ChatGPT write and debug code?

AI Coding Evolution

Modern AI has become a driver for rapid software production. Developers now employ it to generate entire platforms from scratch, while the latest GPT‑4 iteration sharpens each outcome.

Benchmark Highlights

• o1‑preview and o1‑mini deliver code that mirrors the competence of human data engineers.
• Both models exhibit a near‑human fidelity in logical structure and algorithmic precision.

Practical Implications

Teams can accelerate project cycles by utilizing AI to scaffold:

• Website skeletons
• Application frameworks
• Game mechanics

While AI excels, it’s still prudent to review every output and validate the code in real-world scenarios.

Can ChatGPT’s outputs be detected by anti-plagiarism systems?

There are multiple anti-plagiarism systems that have been developed specifically to detect the use of AI in school or university work.
While some schools are optimistic about the use of AI within the classroom, others aren’t very welcoming of the software with many institutions banning the use of ChatGPT in schools.
ChatGPT launched an updated version of its own plagiarism detection tool in January 2023, with hopes that it would squelch some of the criticism around how people are using the text generation system.
It uses a feature called “AI text classifier,” which operates in a way familiar to other plagiarism software. Third party developers have also stepped in with their own offerings, such as Plagiarism Checker.