ChatGPT is by far the most popular AI chatbot on the market. Currently, ChatGPT has approximately an 80% share of the AI chatbot market, although other chatbots – particularly Google Gemini – are beginning to challenge this dominance. Its functionality is extensive, and some of the tasks it can perform include:

• Undertaking simple or complex searches over the internet, with the results presented with a variety of additional options.
• Creating text for emails, reports, essays, lyrics for songs, poems, and even entire novels.
• Analyzing and formatting existing text.
• Performing in-depth research into almost any subject.
• Creating images and customizing existing ones, such as converting them into a cartoon style.
• Solving complex mathematical problems (and simpler ones, too).
• Creating and checking computer code.
• Translating at least 58 languages.

All of the above can be done in an informal conversational way, as if you were speaking with your friends and family.

Obtaining ChatGPT
ChatGPT can be used on computers, smartphones and tablets, and it also has its own  website, chatgpt.com. Apps for using ChatGPT can be accessed as follows:

• For Windows desktop computers and laptops, from the Microsoft Store.
• For Mac desktop computers and laptops, from the
• App Store.
• For iPhones and iPads using the iOS and iPadOS operating systems respectively, from the App Store.
• For smartphones and tablets using the Android operating system, from the Google Play Store.

The ChatGPT app can be downloaded in the same way as any other apps from the relevant app store:

The GPT in ChatGPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, which is the technology used to train Large Language Models (LLMs) that are used by chatbots.

Once the ChatGPT app is opened, there will be a sign-up page. This can be done with an email and a password, or you can sign in with details of other accounts, such as an Apple Account, a Google Account, or a Microsoft Account. This can be used to sync your ChatGPT data on other devices, provided that you are signed in to them with the same account details.

Sign in with the method that matches the rest of your devices that will be using ChatGPT – e.g. an Apple Account with other Apple devices.

Getting started with ChatGPT
The ChatGPT interface is deceptively simple, but hides a huge array of fun and useful possibilities. To get started:

1)  Open the ChatGPT app on the required device – e.g. desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

2)  Click or tap in the input box (Ask anything, or Ask ChatGPT for the mobile version) to enter a text query – e.g. asking for a weather forecast.

3)  The result of the query is displayed in the main window. This is known as a new chat:

When entering textual queries into ChatGPT, you do not have to worry about capitalization, punctuation, or even spelling, within reason, as the app will be able to interpret what you mean.

4)  Once a query has been answered, a new question can be asked. If it is related to the first one, no additional context is required; you can ask the question exactly as you would in a conversation with another person – e.g. once you have received a weather forecast, you can ask if you would need a coat.

5)  ChatGPT recognizes that the new query relates to the original one and replies accordingly. Depending on the question, the reply is frequently more than just a simple “yes” or “no”, and gives context to the question and some interpretation.

6)  Click or tap on this icon at the right-hand side of the input box for Dictation mode: 

7)  In Dictation mode, questions can be spoken rather than entered by text:

Being able to conduct continuous conversations, and without requiring a “wake word” for each separate query, is one of the ways in which chatbots have elevated themselves from previous versions of digital assistants and provide a more human-like interaction.

This is an extract from AI for Seniors in easy steps

192 pages
By: Nick Vandome
ISBN: 9781787910546

£11.99 paperback / £9.99 ebook