AI tools have been making waves. First, it was AI image generators, then came ChatGPT with the ability to generate human-like text conversations. The potential for this technology is incredible, and you can use it right now.

What Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, the same company that also made DALL-E 2, which kicked off the wave of AI image generators. While DALL-E 2 generates images, ChatGPT is solely text-based—and it’s not OpenAI’s first chatbot.

OpenAI’s original GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) chatbot was trained on a massive collection of text data from the internet, allowing it to generate human-like text in response to a prompt. It was followed with GPT-2 in 2019, GPT-3 in 2020, and ChatGPT on November 30, 2022.

ChatGPT works by using algorithms to analyze and generate text based on the prompt from the user. When a user inputs a prompt or question, ChatGPT uses its training data to generate a response that is similar to what a human might say in that context.

Essentially, ChatGPT is an advanced chatbot that uses the massive repository of text on the internet to attempt to converse like a human would. While it certainly comes across as knowledgeable, it’s far from perfect.

How to Use ChatGPT

ChatGPT is free to use for anyone with an account on OpenAI’s website. There is also a “ChatGPT Plus” subscription plan for $20 per month. We’ll get you started with ChatGPT for free.

First, navigate to chat.openai.com in a web browser on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. You’ll be asked to “Log In” or “Sign Up.” You can sign up with an email address, Google account, or Microsoft account for free.

After you’re logged in, you can begin using ChatGPT. Use the text box at the bottom of the screen to type a prompt. This can be a question or a specific request. Press the paper airplane icon to submit.

ChatGPT will “type” out the response in real time. When it’s done, you can provide feedback with the thumbs up and down buttons.

Each prompt kicks off a conversation. You can enter follow-up prompts or change the subject entirely. It will remember what you’re talking about.

If you don’t think the response was good enough, you can simply ask it to try again.

You can also tell ChatGPT when it’s incorrect about something. (I made it say something false about Tom Hanks.)

You can bookmark the chat.openai.com website to quickly come back to it in the future.

That’s pretty much it! You’re free to go wild and ask any question you’d like. ChatGPT will do its best to answer the question, but if it can’t, it will explain why. Keep in mind that ChatGPT is using information from the internet, and the internet is not always accurate. Don’t take everything ChatGPT says as fact. It’s very often not.

You may be seeing more of ChatGPT and similar AIs in search engines soon. Microsoft is working on integrating ChatGPT into Bing, while Google is working on integrating its “Bard” conversational search tool, which uses its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) technology.

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