However, most users are still alien to ChatGPT’s superpowers of this amazing tool. To maximise the benefits of having such a tool at our disposal, it is essential to understand the full breadth of its capabilities and how effectively you can use them.

If you are someone who hasn’t used ChatGPT yet or someone who has some peripheral knowledge about the chatbot, we have a comprehensive guide here. This article will walk you through the essentials, offer tips, and strategies to up your ChatGPT experience and turn you into a pro from a novice.

How to access ChatGPT

Accessing ChatGPT is a simple task. Firstly, head to the website – chat.openai.com. Sign Up or Log In and if you are new, click on Sign Up and follow the prompts to create an account. In case you already have an account, simply click on Log In and enter your credentials. For new users, signing up would require you to verify your email address by clicking a link sent to your inbox. Once logged in, you will be directed to the ChatGPT dashboard where you can start using the chatbot.

The current version of ChatGPT is powered by GPT-4o, OpenAI’s most capable AI model launched earlier this year. Free-tier users will get basic access with limited features. The paid version is known as ChatGPT Plus which comes with a $20 (Rs 1,999) monthly subscription. ChatGPT Plus offers some enhanced features, priority access during peak times, faster response times, and access to the DALL-E image generator. The paid version can be subscribed to by visiting the settings section on the dashboard. ChatGPT APP is available for both Android and iOS.

Using ChatGPT at work

OpenAI’s creation is reforming productivity. ChatGPT offers a highly-personalised experience as it can adopt various roles to suit your needs. Some notable roles include that of a copywriter, resume writer, interviewer, marketer, or HR manager.

As a marketer, ChatGPT can help you develop strategies, analyse market trends, write copies, and brainstorm ideas. While in the role of an HR manager, the chatbot can assist you with managing employee queries, drafting job descriptions, and even managing recruitment processes. Similarly, as a copywriter, it can help you create persuasive and engaging content for your social media, websites, blogs, etc. The chatbot can also help you create mock interview questions.

Since ChatGPT excels at writing, it can compose articles, reports, essays, analyse sales data, and create comprehensive summaries like a breeze. If your business is focussed on improving its online visibility, ChatGPT can do SEO keyword research. Besides, it is capable of designing webpages and crafting blog posts.

Perhaps, the most dynamic aspect of ChatGPT is that it can function in different roles. For instance, as an intern, it can find and organise research. It can be an idea generator, and can come up with ideas on specific topics. As an editor, it can refine and enrich texts. In the garb of a critic, ChatGPT can offer constructive criticism and feedback.

Presenting information effectively

ChatGPT is great when it comes to managing different formats of content. The chatbot can help you organise data systematically in tables, condens large texts into short summaries or bullet points, it can highlight key points from meeting notes, visualise data as graphs, etc. The chatbot efficiently manages and analyses data using spreadsheets. This kind of flexibility ensures that users can tailor their content to suit their specific needs. 

A variety of tones and styles

When it comes to content creation, ChatGPT stands out with its unique ability to tailor the tone and style of your content and this is key for engagement. The chatbot can write in multiple tones such as professional, humorous, persuasive, narrative, formal, informal, poetic, etc. By opting for the right tone, one can ensure that their target audience can relate with their content. 

Prompts for specific purposes

To use ChatGPT, prompts are crucial as they guide the AI model to generate relevant responses. Language is key to understanding the workings of the chatbot. For instance, a well-crafted prompt gives clear context, details and a defined goal, making it easy for the chatbot to come up with outputs that are useful and precise. Prompts essentially set the direction of the conversation avoiding vague and irrelevant answers. The key to excelling at prompt writing is having your focus on clarity, specific details and most importantly context. Prompts differ for different use cases, below are some examples based on their purposes. 

For researchers, sample prompts could be: 

“Identify the top 20 companies in [insert industry] by revenue.”
“Summarise the annual financial statement of [insert company].”
“What are the top trends in [insert industry] for 2024?”

For developers: 

“Help me find mistakes in my code: [insert your code].”
“Explain what this snippet of code does: [insert code snippet].”
“What is the correct syntax for a [statement or function] in [programming language]?”

For sales
“Generate 10 ways to generate leads for [product description].”
“Write sales landing page descriptions for [product description].”
“Generate a script to use when cold-calling [insert persona].”

For designers
“What are some interactions to consider when designing a [insert app or website description]?”
“Create a user persona for [describe product].”
“Generate 10 questions for a user interview regarding [topic].”

Prompting frameworks
There are some easy prompting frameworks that can help you structure your interactions with ChatGPT

R-T-F: Act as a [role], Create a [task], Show as [format].The R-T-F framework lets ChatGPT act in a specific role, creating a task, and showing the result in a particular format. 

T-A-G: Describe [task], Ask for [action], State [goal]. This essentially describing a task, asking for an action, and stating the goal

R-I-S-E: Act as a [role], Describe [input], Ask for output [steps], Describe [expectations]. This framework asks ChatGPT to act in a certain role and come up with appropriate solutions. 

B-A-B: Explain problem [before], State outcome [after], Ask for [bridge]. This is explaining the problem before, stating the outcome after, and asking for a bridge.

C-A-R-E: Act as a [content], Create a [action], Show as [result], Give the [example]. This includes acting as content, creating an action, showing the result, and giving an example.

The above prompts and frameworks have been created using the posts shared by Eyisha Zyer, an AI enthusiast who actively shares AI tools and guides on her X (formerly Twitter) platform. 

Today, there is a sea of AI tools out there. ChatGPT’s abilities show us how it can accomplish many tasks quickly. While AI may spark fears of job displacements, we believe it is important to be upgraded and skilled with these tools rather than giving away to unfounded apprehensions. 

Remember, AI is here to assist and enhance our productivity. These tools help us simplify routine tasks, and focus our critical abilities on tasks that require genuine out-of-the-box ideas. There are several YouTube videos, online courses, and influencers out there who aim to simplify this transitional phase for working professionals.