ChatGPT

What it does

ChatGPT is OpenAI’s AI assistant. You type, talk or show it a picture, and it writes, explains, summarises, translates, analyses files and makes images.

It is the best-known AI tool, and the one most guides and courses assume you have.

Why use it

• One tool covers most everyday jobs: emails, plans, summaries, ideas and questions.
• It can read your documents, spreadsheets and photos, and answer questions about them.
• Voice mode lets you talk it through a problem, hands free.
• The free plan is enough to learn what AI can do for you.

How it works

1. Create a free ChatGPT account on the website or the app.
2. Type what you need in plain English, as you would to a colleague: the task, who it is for and the tone.
3. Add anything it should work from: paste text, or attach a document, spreadsheet or photo.
4. Read the answer, then ask for changes (“shorter”, “warmer”, “as a table”) until it is right.
5. Check facts, names and figures before you use the result anywhere that matters.

How hard is it to use?

Beginner Easy to start. You need an account, not any technical know-how.

You can be useful with it in five minutes. Getting great results takes practice at saying exactly what you want; our Beginner guides cover that.

What it costs

Free plan; paid plans. The free plan has the core features with daily limits. Paid plans raise the limits and unlock the most capable models, and there are business plans for teams.

Prices change often, so check ChatGPT’s own site before you pay.

Watch out for

• It can state wrong facts confidently. Check anything that matters.
• The free plan’s limits can run out mid-task on busy days.
• Don’t paste in confidential work unless your employer allows it.

Your data

On personal plans, your chats can be used to improve OpenAI’s models unless you turn that off in the data settings. Business plans aren’t used for training by default.

ChatGPT doesn’t offer UK data storage, so check where it keeps your data before you share anything private or about other people.