ChatGPT just got 5 big upgrades — and one makes us nervous
OpenAI has announced its ChatGPT chatbot will be getting 5 significant upgrades in the coming days. Some of these will be for the premium ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) subscription plan but others will be available on the free version of the platform.
In a tweet on Thursday, (August 3) OpenAI said it’s rolling out a bunch of updates to improve the overall experience. The updates will be visible for users starting this week (August 7). Here's what's coming:
We’re rolling out a bunch of small updates to improve the ChatGPT experience. Shipping over the next week:1. Prompt examples: A blank page can be intimidating. At the beginning of a new chat, you’ll now see examples to help you get started. 2. Suggested replies: Go deeper with…August 3, 2023
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Prompt examples: OpenAI says staring at a blank page can be intimidating. And we agree! The first of these updates will see users greeted with helpful examples to help get their new chats started.
Suggested replies: Once the conversation is flowing, OpenAI wants to keep things going. ChatGPT will now be suggesting relevant ways to continue the conversation with the chatbot. This update builds on the first one, but will hopefully be more dynamic and feel tailored to the conversation at hand, including its subject and tone.
Default GPT-4: Plus users starting new chats won’t have to select the newer GPT-4 model each time. Instead, the chatbot will remember your previously selected model. Before, every new chat reverted back to GPT-3.5.
Uploading multiple files: Another one for plus users. You can now ask ChatGPT to analyze data and generate insights across multiple files. This is available with the Code Interpreter beta.
Stay logged in: OpenAI will no longer log users out after two weeks. Instead, the company says when you do revisit the chatbot, you'll be greeted "with a much more welcoming page".
Keyboard shortcuts: OpenAI also announced a sixth update in the form of keyboard shortcuts. They won’t make or break the experience for casual users, however when working with code you can use ? (Ctrl) + Shift + ; to copy last code block. You can try ? (Ctrl) + / to see the complete list.
These updates seem to have been broadly welcomed by the OpenAI community judging by the tweets in response to the company’s announcement. However, if there’s one recurring response from users it’s their wish for the return of the web-browsing plugin.
In early July, OpenAI said that ChatGPT's "Browse" beta was occasionally displaying content in ways it didn't want, such as bypassing certain paywalls and privacy settings.
One potential drawback
Although the upgrades are all certain to improve the ChatGPT experience, we're not sure about one of the new additions. The option to stay logged in to the platform could come with one potential drawback. OpenAI seems to think its users don’t want to be logged out automatically every 2 weeks. Originally this simply meant that you’d need to log in again. If you had your password saved in your browser, this was quite an effortless task.
While it might make the chatbot experience feel speedier for some, the periodic log-out feature was meant as an added layer of security which may now be scrapped.
Alternatively, the update may mean that it’s just a tweak of the interface to make the landing page feel less like it’s your first time accessing the site.
Either way, it's prudent to make sure you've installed one of the best antivirus software solutions on your PC or the best Mac antivirus software on your Mac to keep your device protected at all times.
And if you're just getting started with ChatGPT for the first time, here's our 7 best ChatGPT tips to get the most out of the chatbot.
