ChatGPT: how to use the viral AI chatbot that’s taking the world by storm

By now, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT, the general-purpose chatbot prototype that the internet is obsessed with right now. It’s quickly become the dominant example of the influence AI-generated content will have in the future, showing just how powerful these tools can be.

It’s made by OpenAI, well-known for having developed the text-to-image generator DALL-E, and it’s currently available for anyone to try out for free — even if there have been some issues as of late with accessing this incredible technology. Here’s everything you need to know about ChatGPT, including how it works and how to use it.

Is ChatGPT free to use?

Yes, the basic version of ChatGPT is completely free to use. It’s not free for OpenAI to continue running it, of course. Estimates are currently that OpenAI spends around $3 million per month to continue running ChatGPT, which is around $100,000 per day. Beyond the cost of the servers themselves, some egregious information has recently come out about what else has been done to train the language model against producing offensive content.

OpenAI has also recently announced a new paid, premium version of its chatbot, called ChatGPT Pro. You can currently only join the waitlist, though, and the monthly price is unknown. The features that may be available in ChatGPT Premium include no throttling, an unlimited number of prompts, faster response, and no blackouts.

ChatGPT Network Error

Many people attempting to use ChatGPT recently have been getting an “at capacity” notice when trying to access the site. It’s likely behind the move to try and use unofficial paid apps, which have already flooded app stores and scammed thousands into paying for a free service.

Because of how much ChatGPT costs to run, it seems as if OpenAI has been limiting access when its servers are “at capacity.” It can take as long as a few hours to wait out, but if you’re patient, you’ll get through eventually. Of all the problems facing ChatGPT right now, this is the biggest hurdle keeping people from using it more.

Do you need to download ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is available via a webpage, so no downloading is needed. OpenAI has yet to release an official app, despite the fact that app stores are full of fake versions. These should be installed and used with caution, as they are not official ChatGPT apps.

You can, apparently, download ChatGPT locally through Github, though it’s not necessary to use it.

How to use ChatGPT

The ChatGPT webpage is simple and includes an area for the results to populate and a text box at the bottom of the page for users to type inquiries. We started with questions, however, OpenAI recommends inputting a statement for the best possible result.

For example, inputting “explain how the solar system was made” will give a more detailed result with more paragraphs than “how was the solar system made,” even though both inquiries will give fairly detailed results. You also have the option for more specific inputting requests for an essay with a specific number of paragraphs or a Wikipedia page. We got an extremely detailed result with the request “write a four-paragraph essay explaining Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.”

If there is enough information available, the generator will fulfill the commands with accurate details. Otherwise, there is potential for ChatGPT to begin filling in gaps with incorrect data. OpenAI notes that these instances are rare. The brand also notes that ChatGPT also currently has “limited knowledge of world events after 2021.”

Even so, you have the option to input queries continuously until you close your browser or reset the thread to clear your previous requests. You also have the option to use ChatGPT in dark mode or light mode.

You can access the OpenAI Discord server and blog from this webpage and log out from there.

How to register an OpenAI account

Using the ChatGPT chatbot is fairly simple, as all you have to do is type in your text and receive the information. However, OpenAI does require an account before you can use any of its tools, so if you don’t have one, you will have to register. You have the option of choosing an easy login with a Google or Microsoft account.

Otherwise, if you have any other kind of email, you can enter it manually. After this, you must enter a phone number; however, keep in mind that you cannot use a virtual phone number (VoIP) to register for OpenAI. You will then receive a confirmation number, which you will enter on the registration page to complete the setup.

Once you see some housekeeping rules about ChatGPT, including potential errors in data, how OpenAI collects data, and how users can submit feedback, you know you have successfully registered.

ChatGPT prompts and examples

Well, that’s the fun part. Since its launch, people have been experimenting to discover everything the chatbot can and can’t do — and some of the results have been mind-blowing.

Learning the kinds of prompts and follow-up prompts that ChatGPT responds well to requires some experimentation though. Much like we’ve learned to get the information we want from traditional search engines, it can take some time to get the best results from ChatGPT. Heck, there are already online courses being published and sold on the matter.

It really all depends on what you want out of it. To start out, try using it to write a template blog post, for example, or even blocks of code if you’re a programmer.

Our writers experimented with ChatGPT too, attempting to see if it could handle holiday shopping or even properly interpret astrological makeup. In both cases, we found limitations to what it could do while still being thoroughly impressed by the results.

But the fun is in trying it out yourself. Whether you think ChatGPT is an amazing piece of tech or will lead to the destruction of the internet as we know it, it’s worth trying out for yourself to see just what it’s capable of.

Can ChatGPT be used for essay writing?

The use of ChatGPT has been full of controversy, with many onlookers considering how the power of the AI will change everything from search engines to novel writing.

Essay writing for students is one of the most obvious examples of where ChatGPT could become a problem. ChatGPT might not write this article all that well, but it feels particularly easy to use for essay writing.

Teachers, school administrators, and developers are already finding different ways around this and banning the use of ChatGPT in schools. Others are more optimistic about how ChatGPT might be used for teaching, but plagiarism is undoubtedly going to continue being an issue in terms of education in the future. There are some ideas about how ChatGPT could “watermark” its text and fix this plagiarism problem, but as of now, detecting ChatGPT is still incredibly difficult to do.

What’s the future of ChatGPT?

There’s no doubt that the tech world has become obsessed with ChatGPT right now, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. ChatGPT-4, the next iteration of the model, is is supposedly going to significantly improve the accuracy and capability of ChatGPT. There’s no firm release date for it yet, but the New York Times reported that it would launch sometime in the first quarter of 2023.

But the bigger development will be how ChatGPT is integrated into other applications. Microsoft reportedly made a multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT, which could someday appear across the Office suite of products. It could even end up making Bing a more worthy competitor to Google Search. If you think AI is a big deal now, just wait until it’s built into the most common applications that are used for work and school. We don’t know how or when this will start to roll out, but it’s certainly an important part of the future of ChatGPT.

Editors' Recommendations