ChatGPT is based on GPT foundation models that have been fine-tuned for conversational assistance. The fine-tuning process involved supervised learning and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). In the reinforcement learning stage, human trainers first ranked responses generated by the model in previous conversations. ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022. It currently uses GPT-5, a generative pre-trained transformer (GPT), to generate text, speech, and images in response to user prompts.
How to use ChatGPT: A beginner’s guide to the most popular AI chatbot
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- In the reinforcement learning stage, human trainers first ranked responses generated by the model in previous conversations.
- OpenAI collects data from ChatGPT users to further train and fine-tune its services.
- Premium users were originally limited in the number of messages they could send to the new model, but OpenAI increased and eventually removed these limits.
- I’ve covered the models and modes above, but here’s a reminder of all the core features (as of October 2025).
- In March 2023, a bug allowed some users to see the titles of other users’ conversations.
- […] It’s also a way to understand the “hallucinations”, or nonsensical answers to factual questions, to which large language models such as ChatGPT are all too prone.
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In June 2023, hundreds of people attended a “ChatGPT-powered church service” at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Germany. In January 2023, the International Conference on Machine Learning banned any undocumented use of ChatGPT or other large language models to generate any text in submitted papers. Geoffrey Hinton, one of the “fathers of AI”, voiced concerns that future AI systems may surpass human intelligence. A May 2023 statement by hundreds of AI scientists, AI industry leaders, and other public figures demanded that “[m]itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority”. In late March 2023, the Italian data protection authority banned ChatGPT in Italy and opened an investigation.
Can I make images with ChatGPT?
- In January 2023, the International Conference on Machine Learning banned any undocumented use of ChatGPT or other large language models to generate any text in submitted papers.
- ChatGPT also provided an outline of how human reviewers are trained to reduce inappropriate content and to attempt to provide political information without affiliating with any political position.
- The Guardian questioned whether any content found on the Internet after ChatGPT’s release “can be truly trusted” and called for government regulation.
- By January 2023, ChatGPT had become the fastest-growing consumer software application in history, gaining over 100 million users in two months.
- Stanford researchers reported that GPT-4 “passes a rigorous Turing test, diverging from average human behavior chiefly to be more cooperative.”
- A 2025 Sentio University survey of 499 LLM users with self-reported mental health conditions found that 96.2% use ChatGPT, with 48.7% using it specifically for mental health support or therapy-related purposes.
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It can generate plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers known as hallucinations. The chatbot can facilitate academic dishonesty, generate misinformation, and create malicious code. The ethics of its development, particularly the use of copyrighted content as training data, have also drawn controversy. Despite decades of using AI, Wall Street professionals report that consistently beating the market with AI, including recent large language models, is challenging due to limited and noisy financial data.
Can I make videos with ChatGPT?
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- In late March 2023, the Italian data protection authority banned ChatGPT in Italy and opened an investigation.
- The Pro launch coincided with the release of the o1 model, providing unlimited access to o1 and advanced voice mode.
- Released in February 2025, GPT-4.5 was described by Altman as a “giant, expensive model”.
- Some, including Nature and JAMA Network, “require that authors disclose the use of text-generating tools and ban listing a large language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT as a co-author”.
- A May 2023 statement by hundreds of AI scientists, AI industry leaders, and other public figures demanded that “[m]itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority”.
- In June 2023, hundreds of people attended a “ChatGPT-powered church service” at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Germany.
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A 2023 study reported that GPT-4 obtained a better score than 99% of humans on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Stanford researchers reported that GPT-4 “passes a rigorous Turing test, diverging from average human behavior chiefly to be more cooperative.” Released in February 2025, GPT-4.5 was described by Altman as a “giant, expensive model”. In March 2023, a bug allowed some users to see the titles of other users’ conversations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that users were unable to see the contents of the conversations.
Applications
GPT-5 was launched on August 7, 2025, and is publicly accessible through ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, MonacoJack and via OpenAI’s API. In 2025, OpenAI added several features to make ChatGPT more agentic (capable of autonomously performing longer tasks). Users interact with ChatGPT through conversations which consist of text, audio, and image inputs and outputs. OpenAI collects data from ChatGPT users to further train and fine-tune its services. By January 2023, ChatGPT had become the fastest-growing consumer software application in history, gaining over 100 million users in two months. As of 2025, ChatGPT’s website is among the 5 most-visited websites globally, and has over 800 million active weekly users.
Want to learn more about ChatGPT?
OpenAI supports limited, no-login access in many regions, so you can try ChatGPT instantly. The attorneys were sanctioned for filing the motion and presenting the fictitious legal decisions ChatGPT generated as authentic. The uses and potential of ChatGPT in health care has been the topic of scientific publications and experts have shared many opinions.
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This has led to concern over the rise of what has come to be called “synthetic media” and “AI slop” which are generated by AI and rapidly spread over social media and the internet. Robin Bauwens, an assistant professor at Tilburg University, found that a ChatGPT-generated peer review report on his article mentioned nonexistent studies. ChatGPT also provided an outline of how human reviewers are trained to reduce inappropriate content and to attempt to provide political information without affiliating with any political position. Their leaders emphasized their earlier caution regarding public deployment was due to the trust the public places in Google Search. The company announced a slew of generative AI-powered features to counter OpenAI and Microsoft.
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OpenAI’s outsourcing partner was Sama, a training-data company based in San Francisco, California. Apart from models, there are modes and tools in ChatGPT that allow you to go beyond basic chatting. Each one is built for a specific task, from in-depth research to real-time browsing. In my experience, the web version offers the fullest range of features available. The Guardian questioned whether any content found on the Internet after ChatGPT’s release “can be truly trusted” and called for government regulation.
GPT-4, which was released on March 14, 2023, was made available via API and for premium ChatGPT users. Premium users were originally limited in the number of messages they could send to the new model, but OpenAI increased and eventually removed these limits. ChatGPT was initially free to the public, and OpenAI planned to monetize the service later.