ChatGPT tutorial: setup, strengths, costs, mistakes, prompts

Create the account

Go to chatgpt.com or install the official OpenAI app (iOS/Android). Sign up with email, Google, Microsoft or Apple. Free works with no payment.

Change these settings first

Settings > Personalization > Custom instructions: tell it who you are and how to answer (template on Scripts). Settings > Data controls: decide whether your chats can be used to improve models. Memory: review what it has saved and delete anything wrong.

Set up a Project

Projects (on every plan, per OpenAI) keep files, instructions and chats for one topic together. Make one per client or job, and put standing facts in the project instructions instead of retyping them.

Connect files and apps

Attach files with the + button. Connect cloud drives or apps only through ChatGPT's own settings, and only the ones the task needs.

Step 1: Sign in

ChatGPT works on the web, iOS and Android (OpenAI pricing page). OpenAI says the free version "is available to everyone."

Step 2: Ask your first question

Type a plain request. Add details: who it's for, how long it should be, and what format you want.

Step 3: Use projects

OpenAI lists Projects on every plan, including Free. Use one project per topic to keep chats and files together.

Writing

Say who it's for, the length, and the tone, e.g. "Write a 100-word thank-you note to a customer, warm, no jargon." Then ask ChatGPT to shorten or rewrite it.

Research

Ask ChatGPT for sources, then open them. Don't rely on a summary you haven't checked.

Files

Upload only what you're OK sharing, and tell ChatGPT exactly what to pull out, e.g. "list every date and dollar amount in this PDF."

Good at

• Drafting and rewriting emails, posts, letters in a set tone
• Explaining a concept at a chosen level
• Turning messy notes into a table or checklist
• Image generation and voice chat
• Deep research reports (paid plans) with sources to check

Bad at / careful with

• Exact prices, laws, and recent facts without search: it may state old or invented numbers
• Long documents past its context window: Free is 27K for GPT Instant, Plus 54K (OpenAI) - it may silently ignore the rest
• Arithmetic across many rows: ask it to use code/analysis, or check in a spreadsheet
• Claiming it opened a link it couldn't load

What uses your limits

Bigger models, deep research, image generation, voice and long chats with many files. Free and Go have limited amounts of these (OpenAI pricing page).

Cheaper habits

• New chat per topic
• Ask the full request in one message
• Use deep research only when you need a sourced report
• Turn off scheduled tasks you don't read

Billing

Paid plans are per user per month. Cancel from the same place you subscribed (web or app store). Prices: official page.

Trusting a number with no source

Fix: ask for the URL and quote, then open it. See catch made-up answers.

One endless chat

Old details drop out and answers get worse. Fix: new chat, paste a short summary.

Pasting secrets

Never paste passwords, card numbers or codes.

Assuming it read the whole file

Fix: ask "what is on the last page?" If it can't answer, it didn't read it.

Email reply

Bad: "reply to this"

Good: "Reply to this customer email. Agree to the refund, say it takes 5 business days, apologize once, under 80 words, friendly, no exclamation marks."

Why: it knows the decision, the facts, the length and the tone. Without them it guesses all four.

Comparison

Bad: "which laptop is better"

Good: "Compare these two laptops (paste specs) for photo editing on a $1,200 budget. Table: price, RAM, screen, weight. Use only the specs I pasted."

Why: "only the specs I pasted" stops invented specs.

Learning

"Explain how compound interest works to a 14-year-old, with one example using $100 at 5% for 3 years, then quiz me with 3 questions."

Voice

Voice chats are limited on Free, expanded on Go and Plus, and "Unlimited*" on Pro, subject to OpenAI's usage policies.

Images

Image creation is limited on Free. Go and Plus include more of it, and Pro is listed as unlimited and faster.

Deep research and scheduled tasks

Deep research is limited on Free and Go and fully available on Plus and Pro. Scheduled tasks aren't on Free, and they are on Go and Plus.

Coding

Codex access is limited on Free and Go, included on Plus, and expanded on Pro.

Plans

Plans for individuals: Free, Go, Plus, Pro. For organizations: Business and Enterprise. OpenAI says paid plans are "priced per user per month." The Go plan "may include ads." Business starts at 2 users, and nonprofits can get up to 75% off Business or Enterprise. The page we loaded didn't show dollar prices as text, so we don't list them here. See the official pricing page.

Limits

Free has a 27K context window for GPT Instant, and Plus has 54K (OpenAI). Long chats and files can go past these limits.

Data

OpenAI says data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2) and at rest (AES-256). Read how your data is used before you upload anything sensitive.

Check its work

See how to spot when a bot is wrong.