ChatGPT Explained How OpenAIs Chatbot Is Changing Everything

Ever since it burst onto the scene, ChatGPT has been a constant source of headlines and technological buzz. With each new update, it captures the world's attention, but what exactly is this powerful tool? Since its launch in late 2022 by OpenAI, the chatbot has seen meteoric growth, with CEO Sam Altman reporting a staggering 700 million weekly users.

It's more than just a chatbot; it's a phenomenon that is reshaping how we work, create, and interact with information. Let's dive into everything you need to know.

ChatGPT, OpenAI's flagship chatbot, first launched in 2022 and already has hundreds of millions of users. (Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

What Exactly Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is the flagship creation of OpenAI, a leading AI research lab with a mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits all of humanity. While true AGI—an AI with human-level reasoning—is still a theoretical goal, ChatGPT is a significant step on that path.

For now, it operates as a sophisticated conversational chatbot powered by a large language model (LLM). Many use it as an advanced alternative to search engines, but its capabilities go much further. It can conduct deep research, generate original images and reports, write everything from emails to poetry, develop code, and solve complex problems involving quantitative reasoning.

Getting Started: How to Use ChatGPT

Accessing ChatGPT is simple. It's available on the web and as a mobile app for both iOS and Android. Users interact with it by typing in a "prompt," which is essentially an instruction or a question for the chatbot to follow.

In 2024, OpenAI also introduced an "advanced voice mode," allowing for natural, real-time conversations where the AI can even respond to emotional cues. This came after a notable legal dispute with actress Scarlett Johansson over a voice that sounded similar to hers.

With the release of GPT-5 in August 2025, OpenAI introduced its most advanced model yet. A key innovation is a "real-time router" that automatically selects the best internal model for any given task. This means the user no longer has to guess which version of ChatGPT to use; the system itself determines how much 'thought' is needed to generate the best possible answer.

Expanding Capabilities with Plugins and Tools

For paying subscribers, ChatGPT offers a wide range of plugins that connect the chatbot to third-party services. An Expedia plugin can help you plan and book a trip, while an OpenTable plugin can secure a dinner reservation.

OpenAI has also launched powerful native tools like Code Interpreter, a version of ChatGPT that can write and run code, analyze data, and create visualizations from uploaded files.

How Does the Magic Happen? A Look Under the Hood

Chatbots like ChatGPT are powered by massive datasets and advanced computing techniques that allow them to make predictions about how to string words together in a meaningful way. They tap into a vast repository of vocabulary and information, but more importantly, they understand words in context. This enables them to mimic human-like speech patterns while delivering encyclopedic knowledge.

When you give ChatGPT a prompt, the system breaks your query down into "tokens." These are the smallest units of text the model processes and can be as short as one character or as long as a word. The model then uses these tokens to generate a relevant and coherent response.

The Far-Reaching Impact on Industries

ChatGPT's influence is growing rapidly. Workers across various fields use it to write code, draft real estate listings, and create lesson plans. Some have even built careers teaching others how to use the AI tool effectively.

Businesses are also rushing to integrate AI. Consulting firms like McKinsey and KPMG are developing internal chatbots and using data on how their employees prompt AI to build new tools for themselves and their clients. In the legal world, firms like Gibson Dunn are piloting ChatGPT Enterprise with their lawyers. However, this has also created new challenges, with judges reporting an increase in fake legal citations generated by lawyers relying too heavily on the AI.

Navigating the Challenges and Competitors

Despite its impressive abilities, ChatGPT is not perfect. Because it relies on its training data, it can sometimes provide misinformation or make up facts, a phenomenon known as "hallucination." OpenAI has also faced criticism and lawsuits over accusations of using copyrighted or private data to train its models.

The chatbot's success has also ignited an AI arms race. Key competitors include:

• Meta AI: Built on the Llama model, it's an assistant designed to get to know user preferences.
• Anthropic's Claude: A leading competitor, particularly strong in coding and professional tasks.
• Elon Musk's Grok: A chatbot trained with an emphasis on free speech principles.
• Google's Gemini: A powerful multimodal model that Google's CEO has called one of the company's largest-ever engineering efforts.

For OpenAI, the journey is far from over. As Nick Turley, the company's head of ChatGPT, said, "There is no analogy for what we're building." The chatbot remains an eternal work in progress.