When did ChatGPT come out? On 30 November 2022, when OpenAI released it as a free research preview built on a GPT-3.5 model. In November 2026, ChatGPT turns four.
The technology behind it was not new: GPT-3 had been available to developers since 2020. What was new was a free chat window where anyone could ask questions in plain language, and that is why ChatGPT grew faster than any consumer app before it.
Since the launch, ChatGPT has changed from a standalone chat window into a working environment with paid plans, apps, web search, custom GPTs and agents. It runs on a succession of models, the latest being the GPT-6 generation.
One thing has stayed the same across every version: ChatGPT can be convincingly wrong. For your work, the rapid development mainly means that a consistent way of working lasts longer than knowledge of individual features.
When did ChatGPT come out, and how old is it?
ChatGPT has existed since 30 November 2022, when OpenAI launched it as a free research preview based on a model from the GPT-3.5 series. In November 2026, ChatGPT is four years old.
OpenAI presented the first version as an experiment to gather feedback, not as a finished product.
What came before ChatGPT?
Before ChatGPT, OpenAI’s GPT models were only accessible to developers. GPT models are large language models. GPT-3 became available in 2020 through the API, the interface that software uses to call the model, but there was no free chat window for the general public.
The underlying technology has a longer history, from the first AI programs in the 1950s to the breakthrough of deep learning after 2010.
Why did ChatGPT take off so quickly?
ChatGPT took off so quickly because it was free, needed no installation and worked in plain language, including follow-up questions in the same conversation. If you could type a question, you could use it.
According to an analysis by the bank UBS, reported by Reuters in early February 2023, ChatGPT had an estimated 100 million users within two months; no consumer app had ever grown that fast. In September 2025, OpenAI reported 700 million weekly users.
When I used ChatGPT intensively, I built several custom GPTs for my SEO work, from keyword research to meta descriptions. I have since switched to Claude for most of my work, but every assistant that came after it benefits from the barrier ChatGPT removed.
ChatGPT timeline: how it has developed since 2022
Since 2022, ChatGPT has developed from a free chat window into a product with subscriptions, apps and its own work features. The table below lists the main changes to the product, with the date each one became available.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 30 November 2022 | Launch as a free research preview on GPT-3.5 |
| 1 February 2023 | ChatGPT Plus paid subscription |
| 1 March 2023 | ChatGPT model available to developers through the API |
| 14 March 2023 | GPT-4 in ChatGPT |
| 18 May 2023 | iPhone app |
| 28 August 2023 | ChatGPT Enterprise for organisations |
| 6 November 2023 | GPTs: custom versions of ChatGPT with fixed instructions |
| 13 May 2024 | GPT-4o, including for free users |
| 31 October 2024 | Web search in ChatGPT |
| 7 August 2025 | GPT-5 |
| 15 January 2026 | ChatGPT Translate, a separate translation page |
| February 2026 | Test of ads in the free version and ChatGPT Go in the United States |
| July 2026 | GPT-5.6 family |
| August 2026 | Ads in the free version and ChatGPT Go extended to the Netherlands and thirty other European countries |
| 3 September 2026 | GPT-6 Astra |
| 7 October 2026 | ChatGPT runs on GPT-6 Sol (paid plans), and from 8 October on GPT-6 Luna for Free and Go |
The thread running through that table is that ChatGPT carries out more and more of the work itself. If you wanted to set up a recurring task, you could build a custom GPT. OpenAI is phasing out custom GPTs on 11 December 2026; when they are migrated to a plugin, the instructions become a skill. Since 9 July 2026, ChatGPT has handled multi-step tasks with ChatGPT Work on the paid plans. That agent for longer tasks replaced the earlier agent mode, which is no longer available.
How does ChatGPT today differ from the 2022 version?
The difference between ChatGPT in 2022 and now is that the first version was a single free model without internet access. ChatGPT today is a product with several models, search, files, memory and a range of subscriptions. Which features you get depends on the plan you choose.
One thing has not changed in four years: ChatGPT can give an answer that sounds convincing and is still wrong. Newer models make fewer mistakes, but an AI hallucination is still possible, and checking the output remains the user’s job.
Frequently asked questions about the launch of ChatGPT
A few details around the launch of ChatGPT and its first extensions are easy to miss in the timeline.
What was the knowledge cutoff of the first ChatGPT?
The knowledge of the first version of ChatGPT ran until early 2022. At the launch on 30 November 2022, OpenAI stated that ChatGPT was fine-tuned from a model in the GPT-3.5 series that had finished training in early 2022. Information about later events was therefore missing from that version, and web search only became available on 31 October 2024.
How much did ChatGPT Plus cost at launch?
ChatGPT Plus cost $20 a month at launch, when OpenAI announced the subscription on 1 February 2023. For that, subscribers mainly got access at peak times and faster responses. The subscription started in the United States; according to OpenAI, customers outside the US could sign up from 10 February 2023.
When did ChatGPT get voice?
You have been able to talk to ChatGPT since late September 2023, when OpenAI announced on 25 September that voice and images were coming to ChatGPT. The voice feature appeared in the iOS and Android apps as an option you switched on yourself in the settings. OpenAI rolled it out to Plus and Enterprise users over two weeks.
What does ChatGPT’s rapid development mean for your work?
For your work, ChatGPT’s rapid development means that knowledge of individual features goes out of date quickly, while a consistent way of working holds up. Writing a good prompt, providing context and checking the result worked in 2022 and still works with GPT-6.
The LearnLLM ChatGPT Course focuses on that way of working rather than on one version, so what you learn stays relevant as ChatGPT keeps changing every year, as it has since it came out on 30 November 2022.
