ChatGPT

OpenAI's assistant, now in three parts: Chat for everyday questions, Work for finished deliverables, and Codex for code. A free mini-course from the basics to the power moves.

Whisperer's verdict: 4.6 / 5

What it nails

• Chat, Work and Codex in one app
• Deep research with a plan you can edit
• Strong image creation and editing

Watch out for

• Best models and Work need a paid plan

ChatGPT is OpenAI's AI assistant. In 2026 it became three tools in one app: Chat for fast, everyday questions, Work (launched 9 July 2026), an agent that turns a goal into a finished document, spreadsheet, presentation or site, and Codex for software. This guide takes you from your first prompt to the moves power users rely on.

Start here: the basics

1. Sign in at chatgpt.com or in the mobile or desktop app. The Free plan works right away.
2. Type what you want as if you were briefing a smart colleague: the task, the context, the format you want back.
3. Refine. OpenAI's own advice: "Start with an initial prompt, review the response, and refine the prompt based on the output."
4. Add files with +. Photos, PDFs, spreadsheets: ChatGPT reads them and can run code to analyse data.

Explain how compound interest works in a friendly and engaging tone. Use one real-life example with numbers, then give me three quick questions to check I understood.

A teaching prompt: clear task, tone, format and a check at the end.

The one habit that changes everything: be specific

OpenAI's help center puts it simply: "Ensure your prompts are clear, specific, and provide enough context for the model to understand what you are asking." Compare these two:

Write about marketing.

I run a small bakery in Lyon. Write a 150-word Instagram caption announcing our new sourdough, in a warm and playful tone, ending with one question that invites comments. Give me 3 versions.

Which model and plan to pick

OpenAI names its models after sizes: Luna (fastest), Terra (balanced) and Sol (flagship). GPT-5.6 (9 July 2026) runs Chat; GPT-6 Astra (3 September 2026) is the top model, and GPT-6 Sol and Luna (22 September 2026) power Work and Codex.

Power moves

1. Make it remember you: memory, custom instructions, projects

Memory lets ChatGPT "remember relevant preferences and details from your chats". Custom instructions (Settings → Personalization) tell it how to answer every time: up to 1,500 characters on Free and Plus, 5,000 on Pro. Projects keep "chats, files, and instructions together" for one client, course or goal.

2. Analyse real data

ChatGPT "can run code in a secure environment to analyze and visualize data from spreadsheets, CSVs". Give it a role and an open research question, not just "summarize this".

you are an economic sociologist. I want you to figure out some novel hypotheses you can test with this data, do sophisticated experiments, and tell me the findings.

Example by One Useful Thing (Ethan Mollick) · source ↗ · Attach a large Excel file first. Made with GPT-5.2 Pro.

3. Deep research with citations

Type /Deepresearch or pick it from the + menu. ChatGPT "creates a proposed research plan. You can review and modify it before the research begins," then delivers a report with citations.

/Deepresearch Compare the three best-selling electric cars in Europe in 2026 on price, range, charging speed and reliability. Use sources from the last 12 months and finish with a recommendation table for a family of four.

A teaching prompt. ChatGPT shows a research plan you can edit before it starts.

4. Hand off whole projects to Work

Work is "an agent that can take action across your apps and files, stay with a project for hours if needed, and turn a goal into finished work." It can research, then build a document, spreadsheet, presentation, report or a live Site. It needs Plus or higher.

Figure out all of the places in London with a pelican in her piety, then turn that into a JSON file and build a ChatGPT sites site about them

Example by Simon Willison's Weblog · source ↗ · Made with ChatGPT Work.

5. Put ChatGPT on a schedule

Scheduled tasks "proactively perform tasks in the future": a daily briefing, a weekly summary, or a language lesson every afternoon.

Every day at 3 p.m., give me a sentence in Spanish and ask me to translate it into English. Make them progressively more difficult.

Example by Zapier · source ↗

6. Create and edit images

ChatGPT Images 2.5 (8 September 2026) "brings sharper details, more precise editing, and faster image generation" on every plan. Describe a picture, or upload your own and say what to change.

create a poster of deep sea creatures at different depths, with a vertical ocean cutaway, styled in a beautiful japanese detailed anime style

Example by OpenAI · source ↗

Combine the two men and the dog in a 2000s film camera-style photo of them looking bored at a kids birthday party.

Example by OpenAI · source ↗ · This is an edit: upload your own photos first.

add a raccoon scientist studying the chart thoughtfully

Example by Simon Willison's Weblog · source ↗ · This is an edit: upload your chart first. Made with the Images 2.5 model.

Write prompts like OpenAI recommends

• Be clear and specific, and give enough context.
• Ask for the tone you want: "formal, informal, friendly, professional, humorous, or serious".
• Iterate: review the answer and refine the prompt.
• Ask for plain language. OpenAI's GPT-6 guide steers away from "slop words" like "delve", "foster" and "leverage" in favour of "clear, concise paragraphs".

FAQ

Sources: OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Work and Codex · ChatGPT release notes · GPT-5.6 in ChatGPT · ChatGPT pricing · Prompt engineering best practices