ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) text generator tool.

It belongs to a branch of AI known as generative AI. Generative AI creates content based on the prompts it’s fed.

Generative AI is a powerful tool and language model because it doesn’t only generate information. It can learn from any data it’s fed by analyzing patterns, trends, and relationships within the data. 

It does this through machine learning. Machine learning is the science of creating algorithms that learn from data and use it to make predictions or decisions.

But what makes ChatGPT even more impressive is that it’s powered by a type of machine learning algorithm called a neural network. This algorithm learns data inspired by the structure and function of the human brain — meaning it can generate human-like text.

As a result, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Everyone is trying to learn how to use it, from businesses to individual people.

This blog will help you understand how to use ChatGPT, regardless of your intended use.

We’ll cover:

1. It’s popularity.
2. How it can be used.
3. How to access ChatGPT
4. Navigating the interface
5. How to write a good prompt
6. Four best practices for using ChatGPT

The Growing Popularity of ChatGPT

There’s little contesting that ChatGPT is the number one generative AI tool in the market today. In fact, many other companies use ChatGPT’s source code when creating their AI apps.

Here are some astonishing facts about the rise of ChatGPT:

• It reached 100 million users just two months post-launch. This made it the fastest-growing consumer app in history.
•  Over 40% of adults in America use ChatGPT. 
• ChatGPT processes over 10 million queries per day!

How Are People Using ChatGPT?

Any list describing ChatGPT’s use cases will never be exhaustive because there are almost endless ways to use it:

• Companies use it as a writing tool to create marketing collateral or for web development.
• Non-business uses of ChatGPT could include searching for recipes, a wedding planning platform, or helping with writing a best man wedding speech.
• Authors use it to speed up content creation.
• Educators use it to write learning materials.

According to the latest research, people use ChatGPT for “fun” or learning purposes. 

One area where ChatGPT truly shines is in travel planning, particularly when it comes to organizing unforgettable road trips.

Take, for example, the process of planning an RV adventure in a vibrant destination like Orlando. By providing ChatGPT details about your travel dates, group size, and interests, the AI can effortlessly craft a comprehensive itinerary that maximizes your time and ensures you get all the must-see attractions. 

Whether you’re eager to explore Orlando’s world-renowned theme parks, discover the region’s natural beauty, or simply enjoy the convenience of an RV, ChatGPT can help you seamlessly incorporate all of your preferences into a meticulously planned itinerary. 

It can help you plan where to stay, what to explore, where to take RV rentals in Orlando, and everything in between. This allows you to focus on the excitement of the open road without worrying about anything.

But there are serious commercial benefits, too. Around a quarter of companies saved up to $70,000 by adding ChatGPT to their workflows.

Let’s take a quick look at an example. 

AdTech and branding are intertwined, where slogans are the cornerstone and lifeblood of a brand identity. ChatGPT emerges as a powerful ally for advertisers. 

With AI-powered tools, advertisers can swiftly generate diverse slogan variations for A/B testing, optimizing their marketing strategies in minutes instead of hours (or days).

Let’s now get into a step-by-step guide to using ChatGPT.

Setting Up Your Account

Head to ChatGPT and create an account using your email address. You can create a free account to access GPT 3.5 or the premium version ($20p/m) with additional access to GPT-4, GPT-4o, and plugins.

The GPT-4o is the newest and most advanced model. It was released on May 13, 2024, and is a multilingual, multimodal generative pre-trained transformer designed by OpenAI.

GPT-4o is free (with a usage limit). Unlock usage up to 5 times higher when you subscribe to ChatGPT Plus.

Here are the main differences between 3.5 and 4:

• GPT 4 is the advanced model trained on a larger volume of data and more varied data sources.
• GPT 4 can answer more complex questions. It even passed the law bar exam!
• GPT 4 provides more relevant and nuanced outputs.
• GPT 3.5 data is limited to January 2022.

Scenarios where GPT-4o and  GPT-4 will serve you well include:

• Educational content such as explainer text for students.
• Detailed creative and technical writing.
• Legal document drafting.

Scenarios where GPT 3.5 does the job include:

• Translating text into different languages.
• Writing responses to emails.

Getting Familiar With ChatGPT’s Interface 

When your account is set, you’ll see the following interface. It’s plain and easy to navigate. The different elements of the interface are illustrated below with the corresponding numbers. 

1. Where outputs are generated.
2. This is where you type in your prompt.
3. This whole screen constitutes one chatbot. 
4. As you start new chats, each one is saved here in list form. You can edit each chat title for easy reference.
5. To start a new chat, click here.
6. To switch between ChatGPT 4 and 3.5, click here
7. This is where you can explore the plugins. We’ll look at that later on.

How to Write a Good Prompt

ChatGPT’s output will only be as good as your input. Get good at writing prompts, and you’ll save time and resources.

There are four elements to prompting.

Clarity

The prompt should clearly communicate what you want the model to output. Make it concise, specific, and unambiguous. 

Let’s say you want to write a short story. A clear prompt is:

“Generate a short story about a detective solving a mysterious murder case in a small town. Include details about the detective’s personality, the victim, potential suspects, and the final resolution.”

Which generated the following:

Versus the same prompt in a vague format:

“Write something about a detective and a murder in a town.”

That generated this:

As you can see, the more detailed you were, the better and more compelling the story generated.

Context

Provide relevant context to help the model understand the task or topic. This can include background information, examples, or specific instructions.

For instance, a writer wants to generate a blog explaining the benefits of meditation for stress relief. A prompt with good context could be:

“Write a blog post about the benefits of meditation for stress relief. Include scientific research findings, personal anecdotes, and practical tips for beginners.”

This prompt generated the following.

Now, let’s look at the same blog with poor context. The prompt was:

“Write a blog post about meditation.”

The first prompt highlighted:

• Specific things that need to be included in the blog
• The blog’s target audience
• The type of meditation

And that’s why the output was rife with information compared to the generic one.

Length

Keep the prompt length appropriate for the complexity of the task. Too short of a prompt may not provide enough information, while overly long prompts may overwhelm the model.

Cases that may require a longer prompt include more academic/educational work. For example, with the GPT-4 model, you may prompt:

“Write an in-depth research paper analyzing the impact of climate change on biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest. Discuss the various factors contributing to biodiversity loss, such as deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate variability. Include case studies of specific species affected by these changes, and propose recommendations for conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change on Amazonian biodiversity.”

Cases where a short prompt suffices could be:

“What’s the recipe for smoked salmon?”

Structure

Organize the prompt in a structured manner, using paragraphs or bullet points if necessary, to make it easier for the model to parse and understand.

If you were planning to write a landing page for a website, a prompt with good structure could be:

 

This gives ChatGPT more to work with rather than prompting something generic and unhelpful like:

“Writing a landing page for a new mobile fitness app.”

Advanced Prompting Strategies

To get even more out of ChatGPT, consider these advantaged prompting strategies:

• Set clear objectives: Tell ChatGPT what you intend to achieve with the prompt. For example, if you’re writing social media posts for a charity that sponsors orphans, you might add, “The goal is to persuade people to sponsor an orphan on a monthly donation basis.” 
• Set the medium: Let ChatGPT know where this writing will go. For example, if you want to use it to write tweets for X, let it know, and it’ll output shorter text to accommodate X and recommend relevant hashtags.
• Employ constraints: Telling ChatGPT what you don’t want is as important as telling it what you want. You can ask it to leave out specific words or details.
• Add variability and engage in a conversation: If you’re not getting the answer you want, a simple follow-up question or talking to ChatGPT like you would a human can change everything. Take a look at some of the examples below:

4 ChatGPT Best Practices

Consider the following strategies if you want to turn ChatGPT into a powerful generation tool for your business or personal projects.

Note: you’ll need GPT-4 for these.

1. Custom Instructions

Custom instructions allow you to tailor ChatGPT’s behavior and responses to your requirements. Whatever instructions you write in custom instructions will apply to every new chat created from there onwards. 

Here are some scenarios where custom instructions would work:

• Where the target audience is specific. For example, if you’re writing educational materials for children aged 6–10, you can ask ChatGPT to make its output reading level match that age range.
• When needing outputs in your brand voice. If your content needs to be in a specific brand voice, you can put these in custom instructions, saving you time having to repeat it in every new chat.
• For accessibility purposes, you may want to omit the words altogether. Adding the no-no list in custom instructions means they’ll never appear in the outputs.
• For when a particular writing style is needed. For example, highly technical language, Shakespearean, etc.

To find custom instructions, click your user name at the bottom and select Customize ChatGPT.

2. Download the Mobile Version

Use ChatGPT on the go on your mobile device. Login directly via your browser or download the smartphone app version. 

The advantage of the mobile version is you can voice-text your prompts, making it quicker than typing them out.

3. Use ChatGPT Plugins

These plugins aren’t associated with ChatGPT and are supplied by independent creators. Some of them are fantastic. Our favorites are:

• YouTube, where you can paste any video link, and it’ll summarize what’s in the video.
• Consensus, which helps you find content from over 200 million academic papers.
• Code Copilot for improving code.
• Dall-E for image generation.

To find the plugins, click ’Explore GPTs’ and search for a plugin.

 

4. Document Uploader

ChatGPT accepts PDF documents. You can upload PDFs with hundreds of pages and ask ChatGPT to only give responses according to their content.

This is great for finding content within long research papers or lesson plans that must be derived from a specific textbook.

To upload a PDF, click the paper clip sign next to the prompt inputter.

Wrapping up

ChatGPT’s ability to generate quick and accurate responses to various prompts makes it a valuable resource for individuals and businesses.

With practice, you’ll become better at refining your prompts.

We encourage everyone to explore and experiment with ChatGPT for their specific needs, whether for research, writing, or everyday use.

About the author: Ryan Robinson