How to use ChatGPT: a guide for beginners and businesses

ChatGPT — a powerful generative artificial intelligence tool that is already used by millions of people. At the same time, many users are just starting to get acquainted with its capabilities.

SPEKA has created a guide to help everyone quickly understand how ChatGPT works and how to use it to its maximum benefit.

Basic information about ChatGPT

What is ChatGPT

ChatGPT — is a generative neural network of artificial intelligence that provides answers in natural language. It is powered by OpenAI's large-scale Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT) language models.

Who created ChatGPT

ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI. It was initially funded by Amazon Web Services, InfoSys, YC Research, and prominent investors including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. In 2023, the company received $10 billion in investment from Microsoft, which became a strategic partner of OpenAI.

How much does it cost to use ChatGPT

• Free version available to everyone;
• ChatGPT Plus: $20/month;
• ChatGPT Teams (for business, minimum two users): $25/month per user;
• ChatGPT Pro (advanced functionality): $200/month.

In 2024, ChatGPT has become indispensable for businesses and everyday users thanks to its capabilities for creating texts, code, images and much more. If you are not yet familiar with this tool, it is time to learn how to use it.

How ChatGPT works

ChatGPT uses the GPT-4 algorithm – one of the most powerful language models, which analyzes the context and predicts the next words in the text. This allows it to generate logical and understandable responses that are as similar as possible to human communication.

OpenAI regularly improves ChatGPT. For example, in September 2024, a new model was introduced OpenAI o1 optimized for complex scientific and mathematical problems. It is available to ChatGPT Plus, Teams, Enterprise, and Edu subscribers.

Recently, the president of the non-profit ARC Prize Greg Kamradt said that the OpenAI o3 model achieved a performance level that exceeds the «human threshold» on the ARC-AGI benchmark. The ARC-AGI Benchmark measures the ability of AI to solve problems that require human-level thinking or analysis. The average human performance level on it is 85 points. The o3 model received 87.5 points.

How to use ChatGPT: step-by-step instructions

1. Visit the official website: chat.openai.com;
2. Register: enter email address and confirm registration via code;
3. Start a dialogue: enter your question in the «Message ChatGPT» field;
4. For the Plus version: there is a «Upgrade to Plus» button on the home page.

Tips for effective use:

• Write clear instructions: specify whether the answer needs to be detailed, short, or adapted for a specific audience.
• Make a chain of thought to get a step-by-step justification for the answer.
• Some users assign ChatGPT to the desired role, for example, writing in the first prompt «Now you psychologist» or whatever.

ChatGPT App for iOS and Android

In May 2023, OpenAI released a free ChatGPT app for iOS. This version syncs your history across devices and integrates with Whisper — OpenAI’s speech recognition system.

In December 2024, Apple announced that ChatGPT is built into iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices (with A17 Pro chips or later).

Key features of ChatGPT on iPhone:

• Siri support: voice assistant can use ChatGPT capabilities;
• generation text: creating texts in any applications;
• image generation: integrating images into your projects using AI.

The Android version was released on July 25, 2023. Initially, it was available for download to users in the USA, India, Bangladesh and Brazil. Over time, access expanded to other countries.

How ChatGPT can help your business

ChatGPT is actively used for:

• code creation and verification;
• preparing reports, presentations, emails;
• writing advertising materials and texts for websites.

From February 13, 2024, the Memory function is available, which saves the context of previous conversations to facilitate work.

What can replace ChatGPT

Claude by Anthropic

This alternative is based on the Anthropic Sonnet and Opus models. Claude allows you to create text, summarize information, and work with documents. A free version is available, while a paid version costs $20/month. Like ChatGPT, it can write code and work with documents that the user uploads.

Google Gemini (formerly Bard)

Chatbot from Google, integrated into the search engine and other services of the company. Its difference – natural-sounding texts created based on Google's own language model.

Meta AI based on Llama 3

Meta chatbot, available on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Suitable for performing queries, creating texts and even images.

Microsoft Copilot

Copilot — is the integration of GPT-4 into Microsoft Office services and business solutions. Perfect for automating business tasks.

Perplexity AI

This chatbot is known for providing the user with relevant results from Google searches, often providing more accurate answers. Suitable for queries that require precision, but can be inferior in creativity.

The Future of ChatGPT

The impact of ChatGPT on business and the labor market remains a matter of debate. Some experts believe that this technology will not only create new jobs, but also change the way we do things.

Despite the controversy, ChatGPT is actively integrated into various applications, including Microsoft 365 and mobile applications. OpenAI continues to improve its models, paying special attention to OpenAI o1, but is not in a hurry to launch GPT-5 yet.

According to OpenAI, the development of GPT-5 is not currently underway. Sam Altman also noted that the launch of GPT-5 should not be expected in the near future, as the company is focused on improving existing technologies, such as OpenAI o1.