ChatGPT is a powerful AI assistant that goes beyond simple Q&A, helping with learning, coding, research, writing, and creative projects, while supporting voice, image, and file-based inputs for more natural interactions.
You can personalize ChatGPT to your needs using Custom Instructions or by creating Custom GPTs, tailoring its responses, tone, style, and knowledge base for study, work, or personal projects.
The free version is great for casual or occasional users, while ChatGPT Plus provides faster responses, access to advanced models, multimodal tools, and priority usage for heavy, professional, or creative workflows.
Conversational AI has matured rapidly – from simple chatbots to powerful, human‑like assistants. Among them, ChatGPT stands out as one of the most advanced and versatile tools. Whether you're just curious or aiming to harness AI for your work, creativity, or personal growth, ChatGPT offers capabilities that extend far beyond basic Q&A. With features ranging from voice input and image interpretation to highly customizable workflows, it's reshaping how we think, write, and collaborate.
In this guide, we take you through everything you need to know – from getting started as a beginner to mastering advanced features. You’ll learn how to use ChatGPT in every context, complete beginner to an advanced guide, like how it works at a fundamental level, how to use it on the web or mobile, and ways to deeply customize it to fit your needs.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, designed to converse in a human-like way. Under the hood, it is powered by large language models called GPTs (Generative Pre‑trained Transformers). These models are trained on vast amounts of text data, which allows them to understand language patterns, context, and meaning.
When you type a prompt, ChatGPT first breaks your text into smaller units called tokens. It then analyzes these tokens using a transformer architecture, which helps it understand the relationships between words in context. Using what it has learned during its training, it predicts what the most likely next token should be and continues this process until it builds a coherent, meaningful response.
A key part of what makes ChatGPT powerful is its training process, particularly Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). Human trainers evaluate and rank different model outputs, guiding the model toward more helpful, safe, and relevant responses. Over time, this feedback refines the way ChatGPT replies so that it aligns more closely with human preferences.
Because it’s trained in this way, ChatGPT can do a wide range of tasks: answer questions, write code, summarize text, compose emails or essays, translate languages, and even help generate creative content.
However, it’s not perfect. ChatGPT sometimes makes mistakes, it can generate plausible-sounding but incorrect information (a phenomenon known as ‘hallucination’) and its knowledge is limited by its training data cutoff. So, while it’s a very helpful assistant, it’s always good to verify important or sensitive information you get from it.
Also Read – What is ChatGPT and How Does it Actually Work?
Using ChatGPT is quite straightforward. The process is similar whether you’re on a computer or on your phone.
The first step is to go to the official ChatGPT website (chat.openai.com). If you are new to this, you will have to create an account that normally includes verifying your phone and email. After you log in, the first thing you will see is a chat interface with a text box at the bottom.
To use ChatGPT, just enter your prompt in the input box. Your prompt can be very simple like ‘What is AI?’ or very complicated, e.g., ‘Write a five-point blog outline on becoming a prompt engineer in India with a professional tone.’ After you hit Enter (or click the send button), ChatGPT delivers an answer to you. You may also ask follow-up questions or demand clarifications to keep the conversation going.
For mobile users, ChatGPT can be accessed either through web browsers or the official ChatGPT app (which is available for both iOS and Android). To start the process, install the app from your app store, log in, and then open a new chat. The user interface is almost the same as the web version: there is a text input box for writing queries and a send button to tap for receiving a response.
If voice input is available, you can also use the microphone icon to speak your prompts instead of typing. Some versions let you upload images to ask questions about what’s shown, making it very flexible. Across devices, your chat history is usually saved, so you can return to past conversations anytime.
When chatting with ChatGPT, it helps to start fresh for new topics by clicking “New Chat.” This clears the context and reduces confusion from previous topics. If you want to refine the answers you get, don’t hesitate to ask follow-up questions. The more context or clarification you provide, the better the response.
Also, remember that if you're on a paid plan (like ChatGPT Plus), you may have access to advanced models, browser-based features, or plugins — so explore your settings to make the most of what’s available to you.
Also Read – How to Use ChatGPT on Web or Mobile App
One of ChatGPT’s most powerful features is how you can tailor it to your personal style and needs. There are primarily two ways to customize ChatGPT: through Custom Instructions and by creating a Custom GPT.
Custom Instructions let you tell ChatGPT something about yourself — who you are, what you like, and how you prefer it to respond. This feature is available on all ChatGPT plans. OpenAI Help Center In your settings (under Personalization on web or Customize ChatGPT on mobile), you can switch on the customization toggle and fill in two text boxes:
What would you like ChatGPT to know about you? Here, you can add details about your background, profession, preferences, or anything else that helps ChatGPT understand your context.
How would you like ChatGPT to respond? Use this to define the tone, format, and style. For instance, you might ask it to keep responses short, use bullet points, or speak in a formal or friendly manner.
Once you save these instructions, they apply to all new conversations, so you don’t have to re-explain things every time.
If you want even more control, you can build your own “GPT” — a custom, task-specific version of ChatGPT. OpenAI’s GPT Builder allows you to do this without any coding.
Here’s how to create one:
In ChatGPT, go to the ‘Explore’ section (or ‘My GPTs’) and click on Create a GPT.
In the Create tab, you describe what you want the custom GPT to do, such as ‘help me brainstorm business ideas’ or ‘act like a personal tutor for French.’
Then go to the Configure tab to set up more specific behavior: give it a name, write detailed instructions about how it should respond, choose whether it should have its own personality, and optionally, upload documents or files (like a style guide or reference manual) that the GPT can use as context.
You can also enable or disable capabilities like web browsing, code interpretation, or actions via APIs. Once you're satisfied, you save it. You can decide whether to keep it just for you, share it via a private link, or make it public.
Using custom GPTs gives you a powerful way to automate recurring tasks, maintain consistency in how ChatGPT responds, or build an assistant that feels like it was built just for you.
Beyond instructions and custom GPTs, you can also manage memory, tone, and personality. For instance, ChatGPT can remember certain details about you across sessions (if memory is enabled), and you can adjust that in settings. OpenAI Academy. These options let you teach ChatGPT who you are and how you work, so every interaction feels more aligned with your workflow.
Also Read – How to Customize ChatGPT for You to Enhance Efficiency
The multimodal features of ChatGPT allow you to go beyond text. You can use voice input, image uploads, and file uploads in both mobile and web versions to make your interaction more natural and richer. According to Analytics Insight, users can click the microphone icon for voice, the ‘+’ (or paperclip) icon for images/files.
On the mobile app, tap the microphone icon in the prompt bar to start speaking. You can also use a “dictate” feature: speak, let the app transcribe your words, edit the prompt if needed, then send. For example, you might say: “Explain how photosynthesis works” aloud instead of typing it. On the web version, simply click the voice‑mode icon (e.g., a blue orb or headphone icon) and allow microphone access.
The benefit is you can hold a natural, back‑and‑forth spoken conversation. The AI listens, responds, you listen or continue speaking. This is ideal when your hands are busy or you prefer speaking rather than typing.
You can upload images (photos, screenshots) to ChatGPT and ask it questions about them. On mobile, tap the ‘+’ icon in the message bar, select Upload Photo (or Take Photo). You can optionally annotate or circle parts of the image before sending. On the web version, click the paperclip or ‘+’ icon in the chat input, then select an image file (PNG, JPEG, non‑animated GIF up to ~20 MB) or drag and drop it. Afterwards you can ask prompts like: ‘What is in this image?’ or ‘Describe what’s happening here.’
Using images is useful when you need visual reasoning: for example uploading a chart, a photo of a product, or a diagram and asking ChatGPT to interpret it.
ChatGPT supports uploading documents such as PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, and text files. On the desktop web interface: log in, click the paperclip icon, select a file from your computer or connect cloud storage (Google Drive / OneDrive). Then type a prompt like: ‘Summarize this document’ or ‘Extract key points from this spreadsheet.’
On mobile apps: tap the ‘+’ icon, choose ‘Uploads’ or ‘Files’ and select the file. After uploading, provide an instruction.
Such file‑upload features turn ChatGPT from a simple text chat into a multi‑purpose assistant that can analyze your personal documents, data or images.
Using voice, images and files makes ChatGPT more flexible and closer to how humans naturally communicate. Whether you're dictating commands while cooking, showing a photo of a mechanical part for description, or uploading a PDF for summary, it expands your interaction modes. As Analytics Insight notes: ‘Users can click the image icon … upload images … analyze text within images by using its optical character recognition (OCR) feature.’
Tip: Even though the features are available to all users, some advanced capabilities (larger file size limits, specific voice modes) may require a paid subscription. Always check what your plan supports.
Also Read – How to Use ChatGPT with Voice, Images, and File Uploads
For students, ChatGPT can act like a 24/7 tutoring assistant: explaining concepts, generating practice questions, helping with outlines and study plans. But it’s important to use it responsibly, as a learning aid, not a shortcut. As reported by Analytics Insight, ChatGPT’s “Study Mode” transforms study into an engaging experience with explanations, interactive practice, and more.
Begin by setting your learning goal: whether it’s finishing an assignment, preparing for an exam, or understanding a topic. Then ask ChatGPT specific questions rather than very broad ones (e.g., ‘Explain the periodic table trends with examples’ rather than ‘Explain chemistry’). This leads to more useful, tailored responses.
Next, you can activate Study Mode (if available) to get guided, interactive help rather than just an answer.
Step‑by‑step problem solving: Paste in a math or science problem and ask ChatGPT to walk you through the solution with explanation of each step.
Simplified explanations: If you’re stuck on a concept, ask ChatGPT to explain it at your level (e.g., high school, beginner) with examples.
Practice questions & quizzes: Ask ChatGPT to generate sample questions, flashcards or quizzes on a topic you're studying. This helps reinforce learning and self‑test.
Summaries of notes or chapters: Upload your notes or text and ask ChatGPT to condense them into concise bullet‑points or an outline you can review.
Writing support: Use ChatGPT to brainstorm essay topics, create structured outlines and then refine your writing. ChatGPT can suggest improvements in grammar, style, clarity.
Study planning: Ask for help creating a revision schedule or checklist for exam preparation, balancing your subjects and time.
It’s important students use ChatGPT as a support tool, not for copying entire assignments. Use it to understand, not just to get answers. Checking facts and doing your own thinking matters. Research shows that when used properly, ChatGPT can improve student learning performance and higher‑order thinking.
Also, avoid pasting sensitive or identifying information and always respect your school’s policy on AI use.
You have a biology assignment: ‘Describe the process of photosynthesis and create three practice questions.’ You can upload your textbook chapter or paste the relevant section, ask ChatGPT: ‘Summarize this section in simplified terms for a high‑school student,’ then: ‘Generate three practice questions (with answers) on this topic.’ It will help you learn, test yourself, and prepare.
Also Read – How to Use ChatGPT for Students, Homework and Study Help
When it comes to programming, ChatGPT can be a valuable ‘pair‑programmer’ or tutor. Whether you’re writing code, debugging issues or learning a new language, ChatGPT offers guidance. Analytics Insight highlights how ChatGPT helps break down coding concepts, gives examples and supports learners.
If you need to write code, you can ask ChatGPT very specific prompts: mention the programming language, inputs, outputs, constraints. For example: ‘Write a Python function to calculate the factorial of a number without using built‑in recursion.’ ChatGPT will provide code snippets and explanations.
You can also ask for refactoring of your existing code, or to include comments, follow best practices and make your code more readable or efficient.
When your code throws errors or is not working as expected, paste the code snippet plus the error message or describe the unexpected output. Ask ChatGPT: ‘Here’s my JavaScript function and I get this error. What is wrong and how can I fix it?’ ChatGPT will help identify logical bugs, syntax issues, missing libraries, etc.
But it’s important to verify and test any suggestions: ChatGPT’s help is a starting point, and you should run the code and confirm the fix works.
If you're learning a new language (say Rust or Go), ask ChatGPT: ‘Teach me the basics of Rust syntax with examples,’ or ‘Explain pointers in C++ like I’m a beginner.’ You can follow up with practice problems: ‘Give me three beginner‑level challenges in Go and I’ll try solving them.’
You can also ask ChatGPT to review your code, suggest improvements in style or performance, and provide hints rather than full solutions, so you learn properly.
Be specific: Provide as much context as possible (language, framework, version, what you expect vs what you got).
Iterate: If the first answer isn’t perfect, refine your prompt, add new information, and try again.
Understand what you’re using: Use ChatGPT’s suggestions, but always read and test the code yourself; AI can still make errors or miss context.
Don’t rely entirely: Use ChatGPT to assist. The human (you) remains in control of understanding, testing, and deploying.
Protect your data: Avoid pasting proprietary code or sensitive files into public AI systems without checking policy.
Once you’re comfortable, you can use ChatGPT for architecture advice (“Give me a diagram and explanation for a REST API in Node.js”), generating unit tests, translating code between languages, creating documentation or helping integrate with libraries. These are powerful, but always check what’s produced.
Also Read – How to Use ChatGPT for Coding, Debugging, and Learning Programming
If you’ve ever wished that ChatGPT could ‘just know’ a bit about you and respond in a way that fits your style, you’re in luck. The Custom Instructions feature lets you do just that, so let’s walk through how to set it up and why it matters.
First, to access Custom Instructions, you go to your profile in ChatGPT. Click your name or picture in the bottom‑left corner, choose Settings (or Settings & Beta) and then select Custom Instructions. You’ll see two text boxes: one asks ‘What would you like ChatGPT to know about you to provide better responses?’ and the other asks ‘How would you like ChatGPT to respond?'.
In the first box, you might share something like: ‘I’m a software engineer specialising in front‑end development. That gives ChatGPT context: your job, your interests, your level of knowledge. In the second box, you might instruct: ‘Use a casual tone, bullet points when appropriate, and keep explanations concise.’ Once you click Save, these instructions apply to all future chats (until you change them).
Why is this useful? Because you no longer have to repeat “I’m a teacher, talk to me like I’m not a beginner” every time you start a conversation. Instead, you set your preferences once and get more personalised replies. The character limit is around 1,500 per field.
Here’s how the process looks, simply:
Access the profile settings, Custom Instructions.
Fill in what ChatGPT should know about you + how it should respond.
Save and start chatting, your preferences are now applied.
This is available on web, desktop, iOS and Android.
Using Custom Instructions effectively can dramatically reduce friction and get replies aligned with you rather than generic. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to avoid overly technical jargon, to always use Australian spelling, or to provide code blocks rather than paragraphs — whatever matches your style.
In short: personalise once, benefit always.
Also Read – How to Use ChatGPT Custom Instructions and Personalize
Once you’ve mastered tailoring replies with Custom Instructions, the next level is building your own custom version of ChatGPT, something tuned for a particular workflow, topic, or team. And yes, you can do this without writing code.
What you’ll need: an active account with one of the paid plans (e.g., Plus, Team or Enterprise) and a clear idea of what you want this custom GPT to do. According to OpenAI, the interface allows the creation of GPTs simply by describing them in plain English.
Here’s a step‑by‑step guide:
Log into ChatGPT and navigate to Explore GPTs in the sidebar, then click + Create.
In the Create tab you describe your GPT’s purpose in plain language (for example: ‘A writing coach GPT that reviews blog drafts for tone and clarity’). The builder will suggest a name, description, and profile image which you can accept or modify.
Switch to the Configure tab to refine details: give your GPT a name and description, upload a portrait or choose one, set instructions (tone, style, what it should/shouldn’t do), add up to four conversation starters, upload reference files (PDFs or docs) for context, and enable features like web browsing or image generation if needed.
Test the GPT using the preview panel until you’re happy. Then click Save or Update, and choose how you want to share: private, link only, or public (via GPT Store).
What advantages does a custom GPT offer? You can build multiple ones (unlike a single set of Custom Instructions), you can tailor the knowledge base (uploading documents specific to your domain), and you can share it with others.
Even though there is no coding required, a thoughtful setup pays off. You will need to test and refine behaviour, especially if you uploaded files or enabled advanced actions. The no‑code builder wraps many complex aspects into a user interface.
Thus, if you find yourself repeatedly asking the same kind of thing from ChatGPT (e.g., drafting contracts, analysing sales data, creating lesson plans), building a tailored GPT can save you time and ensure consistency.
Also Read – How to Create Your Own Custom GPT Without Coding
Finally, let’s talk about how ChatGPT can drive research and data‑analysis workflows, from brainstorming ideas to interpreting datasets. The tool is versatile, but humans must oversee for accuracy and ethics.
When you’re starting a research project, you can use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, outline papers, generate drafts, and refine language. For example, provide your topic and ask: ‘Generate research questions about virtual reality in medical training.’ Then ask it to summarise existing literature or suggest keywords. But you must still go verify sources, check for originality, and refine the writing. Because the AI can hallucinate or miss nuance.
On the data‑side, if your plan supports advanced features (like the Data Analysis/Code Interpreter mode), you can upload datasets (CSV, Excel), ask the model to preview the data, clean it, perform exploratory analysis, generate visualisations (bar charts, scatter plots) and even write Python code for you to copy. For example: ‘Here’s a sales_data.csv. Show first five rows, check for missing values.’ Then: ‘Produce a line chart of monthly sales trend.’ Depends on plan and features.
You can also ask for targeted insights: ‘Correlation between advertising spend and sales? Code please.’ Then interpret results in plain language. But always cross‑check that the outputs are valid, because the model might misinterpret or make mistakes.
Always verify results and citations. The AI may generate plausible but incorrect statements.
Give specific prompts: telling the model ‘You are a data analyst; make me a summary table ensures the output is still effective.
Maintain ethics: don’t let ChatGPT write entire papers or claim it as your exclusive analysis; it’s a tool, not a substitute for your critical thinking.
Never submit confidential or proprietary information without understanding how it’s handled by the platform.
ChatGPT can be an invaluable tool for research and data analysis, speeding up the process, idea generation, draft code production, and trend visualization, but it only works best when combined with your area of expertise, supervision, and verification.
Using ChatGPT is simple, but knowing how to manage your privacy ensures that your personal information stays safe. ChatGPT offers several settings that allow you to control how your conversations and data are used.
For example, you can turn off the option that allows your chats to help train the AI. On desktop, you do this by clicking your name in the bottom-left corner, opening Settings, going to Data Controls, and turning off the toggle that says ‘Improve the model for everyone.’ On mobile, you tap your profile or menu icon, go to Data Controls, and switch off the same option. This ensures your conversations will not be used to improve the AI, giving you more privacy.
You can also manage your chat history. If you want to remove individual chats, on desktop you can click the three dots next to a chat and delete it, and on mobile, you tap the chat, select the three dots, and delete it. You can also delete all chats at once in the Data Controls menu, which makes sure old conversations are completely removed. For people who want extra security, ChatGPT offers a ‘Temporary Chat’ or incognito mode. These conversations are deleted automatically after a period and are never used for training, allowing you to ask sensitive questions without worry.
The ChatGPT has also given the user ability to control voice and audio settings. In case of utilizing the voice input, the user may turn off the option that captures audio to be used for model training. Those who opt for custom GPTs can assess and modify the privacy settings while they are being developed and can change them later in the Configure tab. Furthermore, if you are using ChatGPT for web browsing purposes, you can delete your browsing history and all the stored browser memories to ensure that your information is confidential.
Despite the existence of all these options, it is still very essential very necessary to exercise caution when it comes to personal information. Never share details such as full names, addresses, financial information, or any other information that is highly sensitive. Regularly checking your settings is also a good habit, particularly after app updates, to ensure they have not been reset.
If you link any third-party services or use advanced features, bear in mind that those services might have access to some of your data, so only connect them if you trust them. With a proper comprehension of these options and their wise usage, one can enjoy using ChatGPT without compromising data safety.
Also Read – How to Prevent ChatGPT From Using Your Data?
The next dilemma that a lot of users have after privacy is the free version upgrade to ChatGPT Plus decision. The free plan is an excellent beginning. It grants you access to the fundamental features of ChatGPT, which are sufficient for posing questions, generating ideas, and conducting light research. But, during peak hours, it can be quite slow and the use of advanced features and the latest AI models will be restricted.
On the other hand, ChatGPT Plus is a subscription plan that costs about $20 per month. It provides a quicker response time,priority access even during peak times, and allows more extensive operations including file uploads, image creation, and in-depth research. Moreover, the Plus plan opens the door to the most recent and powerful models, being the right choice for people who use ChatGPT extensively for education, work, or content production. Plus enables you to play with custom gpts, agent modes, and tools for video creation or data analysis.
Whether Plus is a good deal or not depends on your usage pattern. Occasional users of ChatGPT who ask informal questions or play fun learning drills will find the free version to be sufficient most of the time. However, the paid plan has proven to be a significant time-saver, increasing productivity and providing access to advanced features, making it totally reliable for frequent users of the platform for professional purposes, heavy research, or creative projects. In a nutshell, ChatGPT Free is the best choice for novices and casuals, whereas ChatGPT Plus is the best pick for power users who need speed, priority access, and the most recent tools.
Also Read – ChatGPT Free vs. ChatGPT Plus: Is the Paid Version Worth
ChatGPT has developed so much that it is no longer just a chatbot but rather a powerful AI assistant that is able to help with learning, creativity, research, coding, and even daily tasks. Its powerful language models, combined with features like voice input, image and file analysis, and highly customizable workflows, make it a tool that adapts to both beginners and advanced users. Users can make custom AI experiences by utilizing Custom Instructions or creating custom GPTs that perfectly match their goals, whether it is for studying, working, or personal projects.
The students can use ChatGPT as a partner in their quest to comprehend the subject matter, test themselves in problem-solving, and even sort out their study materials, while the working professionals can use it to enhance their skills in coding, researching, and writing content. Moreover, by its multimodal capabilities, the interaction is further made easier and so it is more natural and the communication is more efficient. However, the constant monitoring of privacy, data, and the ethical use of the same takes care that the AI experience is safe and responsible.
Choosing between the free and Plus plans depends on your needs: casual users can rely on the free version, while power users benefit from faster responses, advanced models, and additional tools. Ultimately, ChatGPT is not just a tool but a companion for learning, productivity, and creativity, offering endless possibilities for those willing to explore and experiment with its wide-ranging capabilities.