Discovering ChatGPT today

You will learn what ChatGPT actually does, which features may be available, and where human review remains necessary.

After this chapterAfter this chapter, you can have a first conversation without confusing ChatGPT with a human, database, or infallible search engine.

Your route through this level

start with the start card, work through the lessons with their short exercises and knowledge checks, and save your work for the final project. Choose one application each time: personal life, study, work or a business dream. You do not have to complete all four routes. The optional image and settings routes offer further exploration; use the indicated text route if a feature is unavailable. Finish when you can use the final rubric to show what is good, what you improved and what has not yet been demonstrated. A checked-off lesson or a good quiz score does not replace that practical evidence.

Your progress0 of 48 lessons

Guided practice · then try it yourself

Start here: your first conversation

You need a browser and your own free ChatGPT account. You do not need to choose paid features. A message containing a question or task is called a prompt. The arrangements below are entirely fictional.

Open chatgpt.com. Sign in with your own account, or first create your own free account using the sign-up route on that website.
Start a new chat. Choose the ordinary chat if you see different ways of working. Keep the default selection. The location and names of controls may vary.
Click in the input field, copy the prompt below and send it. Wait for the answer and read it in full.

Write a short invitation to this entirely fictional games afternoon: Saturday at 2 pm. The location is not yet known. Ask people to confirm by Thursday. Use only these arrangements.

Compare the answer with your task: does it include Saturday, 2 pm and Thursday? Is the location still unknown? Have any new arrangements been added? Then send this follow-up request in the same chat.

Turn the invitation into no more than three short bullet points. Keep the time, the reply deadline and the statement that the location is not yet known. Remove any arrangements I did not provide.

Check the same details again. Note what the follow-up request changed. Then try a new exercise yourself: start a new chat for a fictional drawing afternoon on Sunday at 3 pm in room B. Ask who is coming; no reply deadline has been agreed. Write your own prompt and one targeted follow-up request.

Open ChatGPT

View the answer and assessment criteria

A suitable first result: “We are holding a games afternoon on Saturday at 2 pm. The location will follow. Please confirm by Thursday whether you are coming.” Other wording is fine if all arrangements are preserved.

For your own drawing afternoon, Sunday, 3 pm and room B must be correct. The answer asks who is coming and does not invent a deadline. Is anything missing? Specify exactly what needs fixing and check the new answer.

1.1

What ChatGPT is

ChatGPT generates answers based on your task and the context that is available.

ChatGPT is an AI assistant you can work with in everyday language. It can draft text, explain things, organize ideas, and process information from sources you provide. It predicts what content is likely to fit. This means an answer can sound natural and convincing without necessarily being correct.

Treat ChatGPT as a capable assistant that quickly produces a first draft. You set the goal, provide the relevant context, and decide what is useful after reviewing it. ChatGPT has no human experience, responsibility, or personal understanding of your situation.

The business cases and illustrative AI answers in this course are fictional practice material. The source-checking exercise explicitly marked as real uses a public official page. Replace text in square brackets, such as [task], with your own non-sensitive task; do not send the brackets literally. Start with a small goal. Your prompt does not have to be perfect before you can practise.

Software, not a human conversation partner
No guarantee of truth
Strong at language, structure and step-by-step improvement

How you can use this

Personal use: turn a messy list into a weekly plan. Study: ask for a difficult definition in simple language. Work: turn notes into an initial summary.

Try this prompt

Explain in no more than five sentences what you as an AI assistant can do for me. Also mention two limitations that I should always remember.

Your practical exercise

Ask ChatGPT about the same topic once as a brief explanation and once as a step-by-step plan. Note which format helps you the most.

1.2

What ChatGPT can do

ChatGPT can do more than write text, but available features vary by environment and setting.

In addition to chatting, ChatGPT can search for current web information in supported environments, read files, analyze tables, interpret images, and perform larger tasks. Not every feature is always available. Workspace policies, region, device, and subscription may vary.

So don't start with the question of which button or which model is best. Start with the result you need. Describe your goal and add the relevant file, image, or source material when that changes the outcome.

For the first exercises, use only made-up data or public information without personal data. Do not share a real customer file to ask whether sharing it is safe. In Chapter 7, you will learn to assess data before entering it. If a feature mentioned here is unavailable, practise with a short text excerpt in the chat and note what you could not check as a result.

Creating and improving text
Use files and images where available
Search for current information where available
A result still needs checking; it is not automatically a fact

How you can use this

Entrepreneurship: upload your own product list and request a clear category classification. Study: add a course excerpt and have practice questions made from it.

Try this prompt

I want [result]. What information or which file do you need from me to carry this out carefully? Ask a maximum of three questions.

Your practical exercise

Choose a small task and first ask what input is needed. Assess whether the three questions are really relevant.

Source for this lesson

OpenAI — Web search
Web searches and source references; availability may vary with settings.
Checked: 2026-09-07

1.3

Account, chat and interface

Start with one new chat and a small task. Button names and locations may vary.

Open chatgpt.com or the official app and use your own account. Find the option to start a new chat. Type: Give me three ideas for a quiet half-hour at home, without buying anything. Send the sentence using the send button and read the answer. Then type: Develop the second idea into three simple steps. You have now had your first conversation.

Your first message is called a prompt: a question or instruction. Your next message provides further guidance. Keep the default model selection as long as it meets your needs. A project or work mode may help with larger tasks later; you do not need to set one up now. Do not share an account password when working with others. Buttons may move: focus on recognizing the new chat option, the input field, the send button, and settings.

Use your own account
Start simple with the default setting
Choose a separate chat for a clear result
The interface can change

How you can use this

Work: start a separate chat for a meeting overview. Personal use: start a separate chat for travel planning so that topics do not get mixed up.

Try this prompt

I am a beginner. Help me carry out this task in small steps: [task]. Stop after each step so I can check it.

Your practical exercise

Try the example conversation. Check whether the three steps fit the chosen idea. Then find the new chat option and your settings without changing settings you do not yet understand.

Source for this lesson

OpenAI — Quickstart
Getting started on the web or in the app; the distinction between ordinary Chat and Work. Placement may vary by version.
Checked: 2026-09-08

1.4

Your first usable conversation

A first prompt does not need to be perfect; a clear goal and follow-up questions are more important.

Write what you want to achieve in everyday language. Add only context that changes the result. Read the answer and make targeted adjustments. You do not need a magic formula, and there is no need to leave out polite wording.

A good first task usually contains a result, relevant background, and a desired form. For an important task, you add a boundary, for example that missing information must be marked instead of invented.

Start with the result
Add useful context
Request a usable form
Mark missing information

How you can use this

Personal use: make a realistic weekend plan. Work: write a short email reply. Entrepreneurship: come up with three questions to explore a vague business idea.

Try this prompt

Make a feasible plan for [goal]. Context: [relevant situation]. Give a maximum of five steps. Mark what you still do not know and then ask a maximum of two questions.

Your practical exercise

Use the example prompt for a small, non-sensitive goal, or plan a fictional quiet half-hour at home without buying anything. Check that the plan fits into half an hour and does not invent an unspecified arrangement. Send one targeted follow-up, for example asking for fewer steps or clearer language. If the initial content is already good, keep it and note why you are changing only the format.

1.5

Context within and between conversations

Context can be available within a chat, through projects, personalization, or memory, depending on settings.

Within a conversation, ChatGPT can use earlier messages as context; in long conversations, do not assume that every detail is fully taken into account at all times. A new conversation has its own history, but does not necessarily start from a completely blank slate. Memory or personalisation may carry information across chats if enabled. A project can also share files and instructions between related chats.

Never rely solely on automatic memory for critical agreements or requirements. Put fixed requirements in your task, project instructions, or source document, and check what is actually available.

What ChatGPT says it remembers is not a complete inventory or proof of which sources it used. Check for yourself which files and instructions are visibly available. An earlier agreement may be out of date: for an important task, specify which source version or decision now applies.

Think of working context as a desk with limited space: the model cannot process an unlimited amount of text at once. That space is called the context window. Its technical unit is a token: a piece of text, such as part of a word or a punctuation mark. You do not need to count tokens for ordinary use. In long conversations, repeat the current task, key source information and hard constraints in a short, checked overview. This differs from memory across conversations; a large context window does not guarantee that every detail is used correctly either.

Each chat has its own conversation history
Memory can transfer context
Projects can share resources and instructions
Repeat critical requirements explicitly

Terms in plain language

Context window: The limited amount of information a model can take into account in a single processing operation.
Token: A technical piece of text, such as part of a word or a punctuation mark. A token is not always a complete word.

How you can use this

Study: store course resources in a project and use separate chats per learning objective. Business: keep market research and customer communication in separate chats within the same project.

Try this prompt

First summarize which context you are using in this conversation. List assumptions separately. Only then carry out my task: [task].

Your practical exercise

Ask in an existing chat which context is being used. Then start a new chat and compare without sharing sensitive information.

Source for this lesson

OpenAI — Memories
Memory supports context but should not be the only place for mandatory requirements.
Checked: 2026-09-07

OpenAI — Projects and chats
Projects group chats, sources, and instructions; check what is available.
Checked: 2026-09-07

OpenAI — Conversation state
Technical background on tokens and limited working context. API limits are not fixed limits for a free ChatGPT account.
Checked: 2026-09-08

1.6

Limitations and hallucinations

A credible answer can be wrong, outdated, incomplete, or made up.

A hallucination is generated content that is not based on reliable facts. This can be an invented source, incorrect figure, non-existent legal article, or inaccurate summary. Even correct facts can be misleading if taken out of context.

Risk increases with current facts, precise figures, specialized subjects, and decisions with major consequences. Then ask for sources, open the sources yourself, and check whether they really support the claim. Confident language is not proof.

Watch out for specific claims without a source
Check date and scope
Open the primary source
Consult an expert when the stakes are high

How you can use this

Do not only ask about the current interest rate, law, or medical treatment. Ask for up-to-date official sources and let an authorized expert make the decision.

Try this prompt

Give a provisional answer to [question]. Then make a table with: specific claim, source needed, risk that the information is out of date, and how I can check it.

Your practical exercise

Ask five facts about a subject you know. Verify at least two outside of ChatGPT and note any discrepancy.

Source for this lesson

OpenAI — Prompting
Working with sources, flagging missing information and assessing the result yourself. This supports the checking approach; it does not guarantee freedom from errors.
Checked: 2026-09-08

Worked example

A simple task can go well on the first try

Fully fictional exercise with a correct example answer; not observed model output.

You are creating an invitation to a games evening. Given arrangements: Friday at 19:00 in room A; ask who is coming and who might bring a game. No food arrangement has been made.

Instruction

Write a short invitation for Friday at 19:00 in room A. Ask who is coming and who might bring a game. Use only these arrangements.

Correct example answer

There is a games evening on Friday at 19:00 in room A. Can you let us know whether you are coming? Could anyone bring a game?

Learner’s check

Friday, 19:00 and room A are correct. The message asks who is attending. Bringing a game is a request, not a requirement. No food arrangement has been added. The content meets the criteria; you do not have to find an error in order to finish.

Personal choice and completion

I save this invitation with my instruction and check. The task is finished for this fictional exercise. A follow-up is only useful if, for example, I need a different tone or format.

Try it yourself

Without copying the example, write an invitation to a fictional walk on Sunday at 10:00. The meeting point is still unknown. Ask who is joining. Check three points before finishing.

View the model answer

Sufficient: Sunday at 10:00 is retained; the unknown meeting point remains visible; the message asks who is joining and adds no arrangements. For example: “We are going for a walk on Sunday at 10:00. The meeting point will follow. Who is joining?” Other wording is fine if the arrangements are correct.

Chapter assignment

Bring everything together

Perform an initial task, improve the answer once, and note which facts or assumptions still need verification.

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