OpenAI offers a free version ChatGPT as well as paid plans with extra features for those who want to do more with it. In this guide, I'll show you how to get started and make the most of ChatGPT for whatever you need.
What you'll need: A computer or phone with an internet connection. ChatGPT is a website or app, and it's free to get started with it.
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, an AI research organization started by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, and Wojciech Zaremba. Although Musk and some of the original co-founders are not involved with OpenAI anymore, Altman is still there and running the show as CEO.
Basically, OpenAI's main product, ChatGPT, can assist you with a variety of tasks -- like answering questions, offering advice, writing content, and even generating images and videos. You can ask ChatGPT almost anything. Some common uses include:
Here's a quick breakdown of the consumer subscription plans:
Operator is an advanced AI agent available to ChatGPT Pro users in the US. It is designed to autonomously interact with websites using its own browser. It can perform tasks like filling out forms, ordering groceries, booking travel, and conducting research by mimicking human actions such as clicking, typing, and scrolling. It's currently a research preview.
ChatGPT Voice Mode allows you to interact with ChatGPT through spoken conversation, providing a hands-free and a more natural communication experience. The feature is currently available on mobile devices for ChatGPT Plus subscribers.
There's also ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode, powered by GPT-4o, which also makes conversations feel more natural, and it works in real-time. You can interrupt, adjust the flow, and even have the model respond to emotions in your voice. It's available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users, while free users get limited access with usage caps.
ChatGPT Canvas is an interactive feature that allows you to visually organize and brainstorm ideas within the ChatGPT text interface. It provides tools for editing, organizing, and better visualizing content.
ChatGPT Tasks is a feature that allows you to schedule actions and set reminders within ChatGPT. You can create one-time or recurring tasks, such as daily briefings or regular reminders, and receive notifications upon task completion. This feature is currently in beta and available with the Plus plan or higher.
Yes. ChatGPT has integrated web search capabilities, allowing it to access and provide up-to-date information from the internet. This feature is currently available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers or higher.
Yes. You can use the DALL·E model to create images from prompts. This feature is currently available with the Plus plan or higher.
In March 2025, OpenAI launched its new GPT-4o image generator, which is a big upgrade from the old DALL-E. It's much better at handling tricky prompts, creating realistic images, and even nailing text in images. You can also tweak images with multi-turn chats, use specific colors, and do things like generate transparent backgrounds. Right now, it's available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, and it's definitely more competitive with other top image generators out there.
Yes. You can generate videos using Sora. This feature is currently available with the Plus plan or higher.
GPTs are custom versions of ChatGPT, designed for specific tasks or purposes. You can browse through existing GPTs in the GPT store or create your own to suit your project and needs.
Yes, ChatGPT offers a desktop app for both Windows and MacOS users.
Yes. You do not need to create an account to use ChatGPT, and you can try it out with a free plan before deciding to upgrade.
It's important to fact-check its answers, especially for complex or sensitive topics. ChatGPT may not always be 100% accurate.
Here are some of ZDNET's guides on different ways to use ChatGPT.
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