There’s no denying that ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can help you with a variety of tasks. However, there are some challenges to using the chatbot, such as requiring a lot of prompts or raising privacy concerns. Luckily for you, a few quick and easy tweaks can help you solve these issues.
To get the most out of OpenAI’s chatbot, you just need to change a few settings. Changing these settings only takes a few moments, and your experience will be greatly improved. Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself by customizing ChatGPT’s settings below.
Before you begin, make sure to sign in to your existing OpenAI account or create a new account. While you can access ChatGPT without an account, you must sign in to access the settings. Once you change your settings, they are saved to your account and automatically enabled for your future ChatGPT sessions.
Now let’s get down to business.
1. Personalized instructions
Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET.
This setting is perhaps the most time-saving. With Personnaliser ChatGPTyou can enter directives for ChatGPT to follow each time it generates a response for you. This allows you to avoid adding these instructions each time you enter a prompt.
For example, if you are a teacher or parent and want all generated materials to be age-appropriate, you can use custom instructions. In this case, you could say, “I am a sixth grade teacher and I will be using ChatGPT to help me generate back-to-school content. I want you to use sixth- to middle-grade vocabulary and keep your tone engaging and upbeat.” All of the following responses would then meet this criterion.
How to create custom instructions with ChatGPT?
- Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner
- Then click on Customize ChatGPT
- You will see a window with two text boxes asking you: “Is there any information you would like to provide to ChatGPT to help it respond to you better?” and “What type of response would you like from ChatGPT?” as shown in the image above
- If you need inspiration for the instructions, click on the text box, and some “thought starter” ideas will appear.
- Once you have entered your instructions, make sure the “Enable for new chats” option is enabled so that it is used every time you enter an instruction in the future.
You can disable this setting if you want ChatGPT to ignore instructions for a specific response.
2. Conserve memory for ChatGPT
Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET.
Like personalized instructions, memory allows users to avoid repeating themselves each time they use the chatbot and thus benefit from a more personalized experience. With memory, the chatbot remembers any information provided by the user that could be useful in formulating future responses.
For example, if I mention in a prompt that I have a Yorkshire named Jimmy, with the Memory feature enabled, ChatGPT will use that information as context to generate a related answer. So, if I say “What food should I feed my pet?” in a later question, it will remember that my pet is a Yorkshire and make recommendations accordingly.
How to give memory to ChatGPT?
- Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner
- Click on Settings > Personalization > Memory and enable or disable it
- You can also click on the setting Manage to delete any saved memories you no longer wish to use
3. Create an ephemeral chat with ChatGPT
Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET.
One of the biggest concerns for ChatGPT users is whether their data will remain private and secure. This concern is heightened because generative AI models like ChatGPT use user data to improve their models. Temporary Chat offers a quick and easy way to ensure your conversation remains private.
When the temporary chat feature is enabled, your chats will not be used to create memories, train models, or appear in history. Be aware: OpenAI notes that even with temporary chat, it may retain copies of chats for up to 30 days for security purposes.
How to create an ephemeral chat with ChatGPT?
All you have to do is click on the drop-down menu in the upper left corner where it says ChatGPT and check the option Ephemeral cat.
4. Improve the ChatGPT model for everyone
Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET.
To stay on the subject of privacy and security, if you prefer that none of your chats be used to improve the model, you can turn off the “Improve model for all” setting.
This is especially important since this feature is enabled by default.
How to create an ephemeral chat with ChatGPT?
To turn it off, click on your profile picture in the upper right corner > Settings > Data managment > Improving the model for all and enable or disable it.
5. Change ChatGPT theme
Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET.
While displaying your ChatGPT interface in a light or dark theme may seem like a minor thing, it can significantly improve your experience.
For example, I always prefer dark mode on all my devices because it is easier on my eyes. Therefore, as can be seen in the screenshots above, I have also opted for a dark theme in ChatGPT.
How to change the theme of ChatGPT?
- Customizing this setting is easy because as soon as you visit the page Settingsyou will find the “Theme” drop-down menu at the top of the window
- Once you click on the drop-down menu, you can choose between System, Clair et Sombre
Source : “ZDNet.com”
