What is ChatGPT? ChatGPT is an AI chatbot from the American company OpenAI that lets you write text, ask questions, analyse files and create images in plain language. It runs on OpenAI’s GPT language models, works in English and many other languages, and has been publicly available since 30 November 2022, in a free version and in paid subscriptions.
For professionals, ChatGPT is above all a work tool for writing, summarising and analysis. The quality of what comes out depends less on the tool than on the instructions you give it and the checks you apply.
What is ChatGPT in simple terms?
ChatGPT is a chatbot that phrases its answers using a large language model, an AI system trained on vast amounts of text that builds a new response for each question. The name stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer: a chat interface on top of a pre-trained model that generates text using the transformer technique.
Unlike a search engine, ChatGPT does not give you a list of links but a coherent answer you can follow up on. The conversation itself is the method: you build up context, steer and refine until the output is usable. The company behind the tool is OpenAI, founded in 2015. Knowing who created ChatGPT and how the company developed helps explain some of the choices in the product.
What can you do with ChatGPT?
With ChatGPT you can write and rewrite text, analyse files, create images, hold voice conversations and organise recurring work in projects. Those five uses cover most professional work; each has its own settings and its own pitfalls.
Writing text
Writing with ChatGPT gives you a first draft of emails, reports, quotes, newsletters and internal messages, which you then refine yourself. The more specific your instructions about purpose and audience, the more usable the draft. You can have the same content rewritten for different readers, for example formal for a board or accessible for customers. The separate canvas window for longer texts has not been available in ChatGPT’s standard models since 28 May 2026; you now steer a long text paragraph by paragraph with follow-up prompts in the conversation.
Analysing files
Analysing files with ChatGPT works with PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations and images that you add to the conversation. The model summarises long documents, pulls out the relevant passages, compares versions and runs calculations on spreadsheet data. It can also read a photo or screenshot.
Creating images
Creating images with ChatGPT starts from a description in plain language, after which you can have the result adjusted in the conversation. The image model is useful for illustrations, sketching out an idea and visuals for presentations; text within images and exact brand colours remain difficult.
Using voice
Using voice in ChatGPT means you ask a question out loud and get a spoken answer back, which is useful on the move or for talking an idea through. ChatGPT’s voice mode works in many languages, in the app and in the browser.
Setting up projects
Setting up projects in ChatGPT groups conversations, files and fixed instructions around one topic or client, so you do not have to provide context again in every conversation. A ChatGPT project is therefore the simplest way to set up recurring work. ChatGPT also remembers preferences and earlier context between conversations.
How to use ChatGPT at work
To use ChatGPT at work, give every prompt context, treat the output as a draft and check the facts before anything leaves your desk. A useful prompt states your role, the goal, the audience and the format you want; a vague question gets a generic answer.
When I used ChatGPT intensively, I built several custom GPTs for my SEO work, including for keyword research, search intent classification and meta descriptions. Two lessons from that apply to any business use. Fixed instructions produce more consistent output than asking a new question each time, and what works well in a test sometimes gives mixed results in daily use.
The guide explains how to use ChatGPT step by step, with fixed instructions, Projects and custom GPTs.
Is ChatGPT free?
ChatGPT is free to use with an account, with limits on the number of messages, files and images and without access to the most capable models and features. Above that, OpenAI offers paid subscriptions for individuals (Go, Plus and Pro) and for organisations (Business, Enterprise and Edu).
The differences lie in the models and limits you get, and in features such as deep research and ChatGPT Work, the agent for longer tasks that has been available on the paid plans since 9 July 2026. For business use involving client data, what matters most is that the business plans state that your input is not used to train models.
Since late August 2026, the free version of ChatGPT has shown ads in the Netherlands, as has the Go plan. At that point OpenAI extended ads to 31 European countries; Plus, Pro and Enterprise remain ad-free.
How does ChatGPT work?
ChatGPT works by repeatedly predicting the most likely next piece of text, based on your question and the earlier messages in the conversation. The model recognises patterns from its training and uses them to build an answer; it does not look the answer up in a database. For current information, ChatGPT can search the web and show sources.
What are the limitations of ChatGPT?
The main limitation of ChatGPT is that it generates convincing-sounding information that is wrong, without signalling any doubt. A recurring pattern I saw with ChatGPT was that it cited studies, reports and sources that turned out not to exist when I checked, and added a search volume to a keyword unprompted, without any access to keyword data.
Two other limitations are less obvious. With complex prompts that contain several conditions, the model follows some of the instructions and ignores the rest without saying so. A summary of a long document sometimes sounds right and still differs from the source.
Privacy is the third limitation. OpenAI processes whatever you enter in the free or personal version on its own servers, and depending on your settings that input may be used to improve models. Client data and personal data do not belong there without proper agreements in place.
How is ChatGPT different from other AI chatbots?
The difference between ChatGPT and other AI chatbots lies mainly in the range of features, the underlying models and the integration with other software. ChatGPT is the most versatile general assistant, with images, voice, projects and agents in one environment. Anthropic’s Claude is stronger at long documents and following instructions strictly, Gemini is built into Google Workspace and Microsoft Copilot into Microsoft 365.
My switch from ChatGPT to Claude came down to exactly those two points: fewer invented sources for factual questions and better adherence to instructions in longer tasks.
What you get out of ChatGPT depends less on what it is than on how you use it. If you want to learn to use ChatGPT in a structured way, with fixed prompts per task and a check on the output, start with the ChatGPT Course.
Frequently asked questions about ChatGPT
Before you start with ChatGPT, you will often want a few practical points about use and privacy cleared up.
How old do you have to be to use ChatGPT?
Under OpenAI’s European terms of use, you can use ChatGPT from the age of 13, or from the minimum age in your country at which you can give consent yourself. If you are under 18, you need permission from a parent or legal guardian. The terms apply to all OpenAI services, including the website and the apps.
Which devices does ChatGPT work on?
ChatGPT works in the browser at chatgpt.com and as an app on iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. OpenAI also offers a Chrome extension. The ChatGPT Atlas browser has been discontinued and has not worked since 9 August 2026. With an account, your chat history is stored in that account, so you can pick up an earlier conversation on another device.
What is a temporary chat in ChatGPT?
A temporary chat in ChatGPT is a conversation that OpenAI does not use to train models and deletes from its systems within 30 days. OpenAI only reviews such a conversation if that is needed to detect abuse. The option suits a one-off question you do not want to keep in your history, but it does not replace a business account with agreements on personal data.
