ChatGPT

ChatGPT is the product; the models behind it are separate and change over time. OpenAI builds the large language models, and ChatGPT is the app on the web, desktop and phone where people use them. Developers can also use OpenAI's models directly through an API to build their own tools.

ChatGPT was launched publicly in late 2022 and became the product that introduced most people to generative AI. Its name is often used for AI chat in general, the way people say "Google it" for any search, but it is one of several comparable assistants.

How it works

When you type a message, ChatGPT sends it to one of OpenAI's models together with the earlier conversation, any files you attached and hidden instructions from OpenAI. The model writes a reply token by token. It is trained to follow instructions and hold a conversation, but its built-in knowledge stops at its training cutoff.

For current facts, ChatGPT can search the web, read the pages it finds and answer with links to its sources. Whether it searches depends on the question and your settings, so the same question can produce an answer from search in one chat and from memory in another. It can also read uploaded documents and images, and you can set standing instructions that apply to every chat.

OpenAI offers free and paid plans for individuals and teams, with different limits and data terms. Plans and features change often, so the current details are on OpenAI's own pages. For businesses, the main choices are which plan to use, whether chats may be used to improve OpenAI's models, and who in the team has access.

Example

A restaurant owner asks ChatGPT for the best family restaurants in her town. With search on, it reads review sites, directories and restaurant websites, then lists a few places with links. Her restaurant is missing, while a competitor with a detailed menu page and many recent reviews is included.

She checks what it says about her restaurant by name. It mixes up her opening hours with an old directory listing. She corrects the listing, adds clear hours and a menu page to her site, and repeats the test a few weeks later. The aim is not to trick the tool but to make accurate information easy for it to find. She keeps a short list of the questions she tested and the answers she got, with dates, so she can see whether changes on her side make a difference over time. Answers vary between sessions, so she looks for patterns across several tries rather than reacting to any single reply.

Why it matters for your business

ChatGPT matters in two ways. It is a working tool that can save time on writing, summarising and research if you check its output. It is also a place where customers ask for recommendations, so it affects visibility much like a search engine does. OpenAI documents its web crawlers, with separate ones for training and for search, so you can decide in robots.txt which to allow; blocking the search crawler can keep your pages out of its answers. Blocking the training crawler, by contrast, affects what future models learn from your site but not live search answers.

Common mistakes

• Treating ChatGPT's answer about your business as fixed, when it changes with search results and model updates.
• Blocking all OpenAI crawlers without realising that one of them feeds search answers, not training.
• Relying on its figures, legal points or citations without checking the sources it links.
• Assuming the free and paid plans handle your data the same way.

Questions people ask

Who makes ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is made by OpenAI, an AI research and deployment company based in San Francisco. OpenAI builds the underlying language models and offers them through the ChatGPT app and through an API that developers use to build their own products.

Is ChatGPT free?

There is a free plan with usage limits, and paid plans for individuals, teams and larger organisations that offer more use, more capable models and stronger data controls. Prices and plan contents change, so check OpenAI's pricing page for current details.

How do I get my business mentioned by ChatGPT?

Make accurate information about your business easy to find and consistent. Keep clear service, location and contact pages, allow OpenAI's search crawler, keep directory listings and your Google Business Profile current, and earn mentions and reviews on sites it is likely to read. No one can guarantee a mention.