What is ChatGPT? Everything you need to know

ChatGPT has been taking the world by storm since launching in late 2022, and it is easy to see why. The revolutionary chatbot AI can do a surprising amount of tasks, from building an app from scratch to writing an entire term paper. Plus, there are a lot of things you didn't know that ChatGPT can do — from making a brand logo to composing music and more.

Working with ChatGPT is as easy as typing a few words or speaking into a microphone, but to help you get started with created a guide on how to use ChatGPT, as well as these tips to get the most out of ChatGPT.

With the arrival of GPT-4o OpenAI made more features available for free than ever and there is now an app for iOS, Android and macOS that includes both voice and some image analysis capability. This is our guide to all things ChatGPT.

ChatGPT news and updates (Updated August 12)

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hints at the possible launch of the new Project Strawberry model
• ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode rolling out right now — here’s what's new
• 5 conversation starters to try with ChatGPT Advanced Voice
• ChatGPT o1 is the new 'strawberry' model from OpenAI — 5 prompts to try

What does ChatGPT stand for?

According to OpenAI, ChatGPT is, "an artificial intelligence trained to assist with a variety of tasks." More specifically, though, it is an AI-powered productivity platform providing access to models built by OpenAI such as GPT-4o and DALL-E 3.

The underlying AI models are designed to produce human-like text and converse with people, hence the "Chat" in ChatGPT. Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has evolved to include image generation, code creation and AI vision.

To use ChatGPT, you present the model with a query or request by entering it into a text box. The AI then processes this request and responds based on the information that it has available. It is a new form of human-computer-interaction focused solely on natural language conversations.

The "GPT" in ChatGPT comes from GPT, the learning model that the ChatGPT application utilizes. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer and most people are currently using GPT-4o mini.

GPT-4o, or Omni, is a new type of generative model unveiled in May 2024 during a Spring Update event. It is natively multimodal meaning it can understand video, text, images, code, and speech as well as generate each of those forms of content.

Speech is the biggest benefit gained from the way Omni was trained as it allows for a native speech-to-speech voice mode where the AI can understand inflection, tone and even be interrupted in real-time. Previous voice models had to first convert to text and then back from text to speech which caused delays.

The premium version of ChatGPT also still has access to the base GPT-4 model but for almost every task GPT-4o is a better option.

Can you use ChatGPT for free?

Can people detect if you use ChatGPT?

As ChatGPT becomes more prevalent in writing, people are starting to create AI tools to detect ChatGPT or similar AI models in written content.

GPTZero is one such tool, created by Princeton University student Edward Tian. According to NPR, GPTZero uses “perplexity” and “burstiness” scores to measure the complexity of text. GPTZero was able to differentiate between an article from The New Yorker and a LinkedIn post written by ChatGPT, so there’s some early evidence that it works at detecting the use of ChatGPT.

The theory behind these tools is that humans write in a way that is more complex than content written by other AI. We even tested whether ChatGPT will steal our jobs and all four of our staff testers were able to tell what reviews were written by humans and which were written by ChatGPT. You can try and teach ChatGPT your writing style, but even then it could still be detected.

Additionally, ChatGPT can plagiarize without you knowing. Since ChatGPT pulls data from all over the internet and beyond as part of its model training, it pulls in data is not considered common knowledge. If you include something in a written work and it is not considered common knowledge or you are not the primary source, you need to cite it to avoid plagiarism. While the chatbot can provide quotes, and in some cases even fool plagiarism checkers, you need to be vigilant when using the chatbot to avoid plagiarism.

Is there a ChatGPT app?

There is an official ChatGPT app! While for a long time, you had to settle for using a web browser, OpenAI has launched an app for iOS, Android and macOS that lets you do everything that ChatGPT can do on a web browser. And there's a ChatGPT Android app now too. While limited to the U.S. initially, access to the official iOS app has expanded since its launch. The Android app currently requires you to pre-register for access.

Aside from the official app, there are also other apps using ChatGPT. Snapchat now has My AI, which is ChatGPT integrated into the popular messaging app. Opera has also integrated ChatGPT into its web browsers, allowing users to summarize articles and web pages, generate social media posts and more, with just a prompt or click. Even Slack has integrated ChatGPT into Slack's app. But none of these is a standalone ChatGPT app.

And be careful of apps claiming to be ChatGPT apps. Fake ChatGPT apps are spreading malware that can steal your money and passwords. Others are scamming users out of thousands of dollars. So if you want to use ChatGPT on your phone, you can either do it through your mobile browser or use the official iOS app.

Advanced Voice Mode

OpenAI recently unveiled Advanced Voice Mode, a feature that lets users converse with AI naturally, in smoother, more humanlike interactions. The update is only available to ChatGPT subscribers to start, but as voice-based AI technology continues to grow, it will more than likely expand to other tiers.

Utilizing the GPT-4o model, users can expect to have more emotionally responsive conversations and the ability to interrupt and change subjects with ease. In addition, Advanced Voice Mode offers a wider range of voices with more dynamic speech patterns, tone, and inflictions than ever before.

What is GPT-5?

ChatGPT-5 — or GPT-5 — is the rumored next version of ChatGPT's GPT model. It was rumored to be ready around December 2023, but that rumor has since been debunked. At an MIT event, OpenAI founder Sam Altman said that OpenAI is not working on GPT-5 and "won't be for some time." Regardless of when it's coming, we still don't know much about it yet.

The one thing we have heard rumored though is that ChatGPT-5 could achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI). This means it could pass the Turing test, which is a test that determines if a computer can communicate in a manner that is indistinguishable from a human. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has said he expects we’re ‘just a few years away’ from human-like AI.

ChatGPT alternatives

ChatGPT may have been the first generative AI chatbot to gain mainstream adoption, but in a growing and crowded market, is it still the best choice? I test AI apps for a living and I’ve pulled together some of the best ChatGPT alternatives that I've tried myself and can recommend.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, OpenAI has added multiple upgrades including custom GPTs built into ChatGPT, image generation and editing with DALL-E and the ability to speak to the AI. You can even use it without an account.

The recent upgrade to include the new GPT-4o model has seen even more improvements in the way it works, and there's now a desktop app to join the iPhone and Android versions. On mobile, you can even speak to it while using other apps.

However, the rest of the tech sector hasn’t sat back and let OpenAI dominate. Some of its competitors equal or exceed the abilities of ChatGPT and others offer features it doesn’t. From Claude and Google Gemini to Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity, these are the best ChatGPT alternatives right now.

Is ChatGPT safe?

This is a complicated question. In one sense, yes, ChatGPT is safe. If you log into your OpenAI account and use it, it won’t install anything malicious onto your device.

However, you still need to be concerned about OpenAI suffering a data breach and exposing your personal data, which is a risk with any online account. We've already seen that happen to a small number of ChatGPT Plus users who were affected by a bug that exposed "user’s first and last name, email address, payment address, the last four digits (only) of a credit card number, and credit card expiration date." While only a small percentage of users were affected, this shows that OpenAI still suffers from the same security risks as any website.

There has also been a breach where over 100,000 ChatGPT accounts were compromised due to malware. These account credentials were subsequently put on the dark web for sale to malicious actors. The ChatGPT site itself wasn't the cause of this breach, but you should still always be careful when using it.

We've also learned that ChatGPT may be sharing your secrets with how it records your chat history. Check out our guide on how to disable Chat History and Training on ChatGPT so you can limit what ChatGPT remembers.

Speaking of bugs, OpenAI has introduced its own Bug Bounty Program, challenging users and ethical hackers to report any issues they find, with some potentially big money rewards, up to $20,000. This will hopefully see ChatGPT become more secure than ever before.

On top of account safety concerns, you need to be conscious of what data you put into ChatGPT regardless of your account type. According to OpenAI’s ChatGPT FAQs article, ChatGPT does save your conversations and they are reviewed by OpenAI for training purposes. Recently a bug caused those conversation histories to be visible to other users, forcing ChatGPT to disable the feature for a short time. Samsung also found out that ChatGPT stores your data the hard way, as it accidentally leaked its secrets to ChatGPT multiple times by using ChatGPT to optimize tests for its chips, among other things.

ChatGPT news and updates (Updated May 15)