Getting Started With ChatGPT
Welcome to the A.I. powered future! Let's get you started.

Estimated Time to Complete: 10 to 25 minutes

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Photo of Costa Michailidis at TEDxGramercy in 2014

Costa Michailidis
Executive Director at Innovation Bound

I am excited to get you started with ChatGPT! You'll be amazed what you can do with this incredible new tool.

What Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a now famous AI-powered chatbot built by the company, OpenAI.

OpenAI is a quazi-nonprofit. Elon Musk was originally involved, but had a falling out. There's tons of interesting drama for those that enjoy that sort of thing, but our effort with you here will focus on how to use this powerful new tool to improve your work.

You can read more about ChatGPT on OpenAI's website here: OpenAI.com/chatgpt

Let's get you set up!

Sign Up For ChatGPT

Signing up for ChatGPT has a few steps, including verifying an email and a mobile phone number (must be mobile number that can receive a text message; not a VoIP).

🖱️ Click or tap on the images below to see an example of the sign up process.

There's a minimum password requirement of 8 characters, and a few other minor points as well.

🔗 Click on this link to sign up for ChatGPT » chat.openai.com

🔗 For ChatGPT on the iPhone click here » ChatGPT on the App Store

🔗 For ChatGPT on Android click here » ChatGPT on the Google Play Store

You will not need a ChatGPT Plus account for this getting started guide.

A ChatGPT Plus account currently costs $20 per month, and grants you access to GPT version 4 (with some limits), along with access to some beta features like Plugins, Browsing, Data Analytics, Custom Instructions, and more. We cover these features extensively in our full training programs, but you don't need to worry about any of that yet. There are also Team and Enterprise versions with additional data controls.

Getting To Know The ChatGPT Interface

Once you sign up and log in to ChatGPT, you'll have access to the following menus and features.

🖱️ Click or tap on the images below to explore the ChatGPT Interface.

⚙️ Feel free to adjust your settings now.

I personally keep history on, and use the dark theme because it's easier on the eyes. If you don't have a Plus account, you won't need to worry about Plugins, Browsing, Data Analytics, or Custom Instructions yet.

⚠️ Disclaimer: Be careful which data you choose to enter into ChatGPT. Financial, legal, confidential, and sensitive personal data should not go into the tool, at least not yet. The ChatGPT is still in a research phase. Be careful.

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Take ChatGPT For A Spin!

The first thing to know about ChatGPT, is that it communicates with you in Natural Language. You can simply talk to it, as you would another person.

This is also what makes it so extraordinary. You don't have to bend over backwards to use keywords, or sift through endless search results as you might when using a search engine. You just interact with it as you would a human... Sort of 😏

Let's look at a simple example:

Screenshot from ChatGPT, table of leadership skills example

Let's unpack a few things from this simple example and establish high level principles about ChatGPT:

ChatGPT is programmed to behave as a helpful assistant, and will do its best to give a high quality response to the prompt you enter.
It remembers, to an extent, your previous messages with it, so you can ask follow up questions.
It does not produce the same response to the same prompt by default. Variety is built in.
It does not guarantee accuracy. In fact, it's wrong often.
It accepts feedback and correction quite well.
It can handle a large variety of text input and output formats like tables, lists, mind maps, HTML and other computer code, CSV and data formats.
It speaks multiple languages.
It can mimic the styles and tone of various famous writers.
It is not magical. Under the hood, it's just statistics and very fast computing.

A few creative prompts to try out...

You can ask ChatGPT direct questions, inquire about broad subjects, you can even just start telling a story and let ChatGPT finish it. You can put nearly any kind of text input into ChatGPT, and it will generate a response.

Let's try some:

📋 Click or tap one of the prompts below to copy it, and paste it into ChatGPT.

Who are some of the greatest innovators of all time? Answer with a poem in the style of Dr. Seuss!

ChatGPT can write a whole story for you, just give it a starting line...

Although he did not show it, Gandi was nervous. This was after all the first space mining expedition...

And, here is a slightly more elaborate example to try...

Create a multiple choice game for me where you give me a business challenge and three possible ways to handle it (two bad, one good), and I'll try to guess the right answer. (Please use markdown formatting include headings, bold, italic, etc)

I hope that was fun! And, I hope it gives you ideas for what else you can try out.

Our ChatGPT Training programs will help you develop basic skills with ChatGPT, take you under the hood so you can understand how the system works technically, guide you in developing the most valuable advanced skills for your use cases, and show you how ChatGPT can be customized to power your tools and products with artificial intelligence.

The future is here! Join us and learn how to use this incredible new tool 😊

Final Setup CheckList

Let's make sure you've got everything ready, before you continue!

Alright, that's all you need for now. See you soon!