10 ChatGPT Life Hacks Every User Should Know
If you regularly use ChatGPT , you’re among the approximately 900 million users. It seems many of us spend a significant amount of time with this AI-powered chatbot, whether for productivity, searching online, working on creative or programming projects, or simply for socializing. But are you using ChatGPT to its full potential? The web, mobile, and desktop apps offer a number of customization options and some suggestion adjustments that you may not have fully explored yet. Here’s how to level up.
Use “branched conversations” to explore topics not directly related to your regular chats.
OpenAI frequently releases small but useful updates to ChatGPT that are often overlooked, and one of them is conversation branching . It literally allows you to branch off from one conversation and start another, while preserving the original chat so you can return to it if needed (and perhaps start a new thread). It’s an easy way to deviate from the topic of a discussion. Click or tap the three dots at the end of any ChatGPT reply, and you’ll see the “Branch to New Chat” option. This will then create a new chat based on the first.
Trick ChatGPT into producing shorter, more effective results.
The internet is full of ChatGPT hacks, varying in quality and effectiveness, and they all essentially boil down to the precision of the instructions you give the AI. From response length to output format, tell ChatGPT exactly what you want, and it will fulfill your request.
One of the best hint-generating hacks I’ve seen recently comes from Reddit user u/AdCold1610 . All you have to do is insert the phrase “extremely lazy person” into the hint. This often has a significant impact on the answer: answers become shorter and more to the point, and if there are instructions, they become simpler and more understandable. Overall, it’s less verbose and more actionable, though the extent to which this “lazy” hint has an impact depends on what you’re asking of the AI.
Use voice mode to record notes or thoughts.
You may have seen the sound wave icon in the lower right corner of the ChatGPT suggestion window and tried voice mode, not quite understanding how to use it or why it works better than typing suggestions. However, it might be a useful idea to use it as a voice recorder for recording important matters, or as an audio journal for personal thoughts and reflections. You can store them all in one chat or distribute them across different chats.
There are many mobile apps that record audio clips, but they don’t have built-in artificial intelligence like ChatGPT. Once you’ve collected a library of recordings, you can customize the app to prioritize your to-do list, remind you of something you forgot, summarize the main themes of your thoughts, chart your mood changes over the week, or do anything else you like.
Use the Personalization feature to tailor ChatGPT responses to your interests.
You can customize ChatGPT responses by revealing more about yourself: what you know on a particular topic, how you learn best, how detailed or concise you want the AI’s answers to be, and so on. But entering this information for each question can quickly become tedious.
ChatGPT’s settings offer a place to specify such details, whether you open the dashboard on the web or desktop: click your profile avatar (bottom left), then select “Personalization.” On the next screen, you can not only set some personality parameters that ChatGPT will use by default, but also tell the AI a little about yourself—data it will permanently store. You can add information about your profession, ethical values, preferred learning style, and primary interests.
Use Photoshop to edit photos for free in ChatGPT.
ChatGPT comes with mini-apps that you can connect to through the request window, and one of these apps is Photoshop – this means you can perform quite complex editing operations using Adobe software technologies, completely free of charge.
The plugin is currently available in all ChatGPT apps except Android and Windows. Select “Apps” in the navigation bar, then find “Photoshop” and click “Add ” to add it to the ChatGPT tools list. You can then activate it using the “+ ” (plus) button in the prompt or by typing “@” in the prompt followed by the app name.
With Photoshop enabled, you can perform all sorts of edits : blur the background, remove objects, adjust brightness and contrast, for example. Just use the same natural language you would in any ChatGPT conversation. You’ll need to upload the image you want to edit or provide a publicly accessible web link to it. If you don’t do this before submitting the task, you’ll be asked to do so later.
Use your phone camera to get immediate assistance.
The ChatGPT app for Android and iOS has a superpower: access to your phone’s camera, allowing you to upload photos in real time while you’re traveling the world and going about your daily life. Just tap the + (plus) button next to the prompt and then select “Camera.”
Even if you know about this feature, you might not realize how much you can do with it. It can translate foreign-language signs, identify movies and TV shows from images posted on social media, navigate using schedules or public transportation maps, and explain the ingredients in a particular dish on a menu.
Ask questions in ChatGPT, don’t get answers.
Let’s get back to a little hint hack: another trick I’ve been using a lot lately is one I borrowed from Reviewracoon on Medium . It’s a debug hint, meaning you don’t ask for answers; instead, you ask ChatGPT questions that will help you find the answers yourself.
This method works best when reviewing your own texts, code, or ideas. For example, when working on a draft of a short story, you might say, “Don’t tell me what’s wrong or how to fix it. Instead, act like a detective, asking questions that will help me figure out how to improve it.” This will help you rethink your own approach, understand what you’re trying to achieve, and why you chose the methods you did.
Use temporary chats to run ChatGPT in incognito mode.
Another feature you may not have heard of is a very handy temporary chat tool, which works like incognito mode in ChatGPT. Nothing from this chat will be saved—it’s instantly forgotten as soon as you close it. To start a temporary chat, open a new chat, then click or tap the dotted dialog box icon in the upper right corner.
Reduce your message limit to block ads in ChatGPT Free.
If you’re using ChatGPT’s free or paid plan, you’ll see ads by default that help pay OpenAI’s data center bills, but there’s a way to disable them ; in exchange, you’ll accept lower usage limits.
To go to your profile page, click or tap your username, then select “Ad Management” > “Change Plan to Opt Out of Ads” > “Reduce Message Limit” to make changes. (You can undo this change at any time.) OpenAI doesn’t specify how strict the daily message limit will be, but it’s an option you can try. Other ways to get rid of ads are to upgrade to a Plus, Pro, Business, or Enterprise account (starting at $20 per month) or sign up for an education account. These subscriptions also provide other benefits, including access to more intelligent models.
Use the Learn and Discover mode to master new skills and concepts.
ChatGPT can be used as a learning tool in a variety of ways, but it has a built -in ” Learn and Discover ” mode. OpenAI describes it as “a learning process that helps you solve problems step by step, rather than simply receiving a predetermined answer.”
To enable this feature, click the “+” (plus) button in the request window, then select “Learn” (it may be located behind the “More ” menu). Specify the topic you want to learn and submit your request to start the lesson. ChatGPT may ask you a few clarifying questions to help the bot narrow down the learning materials.
Next, you’ll be presented with a combination of information and questions to test your knowledge: ChatGPT will mark your answers as you progress through the material and then adapt the learning experience to your current level.