In July 2023, OpenAI announced the introduction of custom instructions for ChatGPT. This feature allows users to tailor ChatGPT to better meet their needs by adding preferences or requirements they would like ChatGPT to consider when generating its responses.
Introducing a new feature for ChatGPT – personalized instructions! Now you can customize ChatGPT to suit your requirements better. This exciting feature is launching in beta today with the Plus plan and will soon be available to all users in the following weeks. With custom instructions, you have the power to incorporate your preferences or prerequisites that you want ChatGPT to take into account when generating responses.
In response to your valuable feedback regarding the initial friction of starting a new ChatGPT conversation from scratch, we’ve actively engaged in discussions with users from 22 countries. This engagement has provided us with profound insights into steerability’s pivotal role in allowing our models to adapt more effectively to each individual’s diverse contexts and distinct needs.
Moving forward, ChatGPT will consistently factor in your personalized instructions for every conversation. The model will diligently consider these instructions with each response it generates, freeing you from repeatedly communicating your preferences or details in every single exchange.
For example, a user could add the following custom instructions to ChatGPT:
- “I am a developer. Please generate code in Python.”
- “I am a student. Please generate summaries of academic papers.”
- “I am a parent. Please generate creative stories for my children.”
Custom instructions can be added to ChatGPT in two ways:
- On the web, click on your name, then select “Custom instructions.” Enter your instructions into both fields. Click on “Show tips” for some examples of what sort of things to write. Then, click “Save.”
- On iOS, go to “Settings” > “New Features” > turn on “Custom instructions.” Custom instructions will appear in settings.
Once you have added custom instructions to ChatGPT, they will be added to new conversations going forward. This means that you don’t have to keep adding the same preferences or requirements every time you interact with ChatGPT.
Custom instructions are a great way to make ChatGPT more helpful and efficient for you. If you have any feedback on how to improve custom instructions, please let OpenAI know.
Here are some additional examples of how you can use custom instructions to tailor ChatGPT to your needs:
- If you are working on a specific project, you can add the project name to your custom instructions to help ChatGPT stay on track.
- If you have any specific requirements for the format of the output, you can add those to your custom instructions. For example, you could ask ChatGPT to generate a table or a list.
- If you are using ChatGPT with a plugin, you can add the plugin name to your custom instructions to help ChatGPT understand the context of the conversation.