How to Use ChatGPT (With Examples)

Most people's first few ChatGPT sessions are underwhelming, not because the model is bad, but because a vague prompt gets a vague answer. Here's how to actually use it.

Getting started

Create a free account at chatgpt.com or through the mobile app. There's nothing to install for the web version, and the free plan is enough to get a feel for it before deciding whether Plus is worth paying for.

Write a prompt that actually works

A prompt that gets a useful answer usually does three things: gives context, states the format you want, and says who it's for. "Write about dogs" gets a generic answer. "Write a 100-word Instagram caption for a photo of my dog at the beach, casual tone, one joke" gets something you can actually use.

• Give it a role or context: "You're reviewing this for a technical audience..."
• Specify format and length: "as a bulleted list," "under 200 words," "in a table"
• Ask for a first draft, then iterate: "make it shorter," "less formal," "add one example"
• If the task is ambiguous, ask it to ask you clarifying questions before answering

Example prompts by task

A few concrete starting points you can adapt directly:

• Email: "Rewrite this email to sound more direct without sounding rude: [paste text]"
• Explaining a concept: "Explain how compound interest works like I'm a beginner, with one concrete number example"
• Debugging: "Here's my code and the error I'm getting: [code and error]. What's likely wrong?"
• Summarizing: "Summarize this document in 5 bullet points, keep any numbers exact: [paste text]"
• Brainstorming: "Give me 10 name ideas for a coffee shop, mix playful and straightforward"

Working with files and images

You can upload a PDF, spreadsheet, or image directly into the chat and ask questions about it: pull numbers out of a report, summarize a contract, describe what's in a photo, or extract text from a screenshot. This works better for text-heavy documents than for scanned images with poor resolution.

Custom instructions and memory

Under settings, custom instructions let you tell ChatGPT things once, your job, your preferred tone, formatting preferences, so you're not repeating yourself in every new chat. Memory (where available) goes further and lets it recall specific facts you've told it across sessions.

Common mistakes

• Trusting a specific fact, date, or statistic without checking it, especially anything that would matter if wrong
• Pasting confidential or sensitive information into a chat you haven't reviewed your organization's policy on
• Expecting perfect arithmetic or logic on harder problems without asking it to show its work and checking that
• Giving up after one mediocre answer instead of iterating: "try again, but shorter and more specific" usually works