I changed these 5 ChatGPT settings to instantly increase productivity (and how they work)
Can not deny that ChatGPT is a highly capable tool that can assist you with a variety of tasks. However, using chatbots can come with challenges, such as requiring heavy reminders and raising privacy concerns. Luckily for you, a few quick and easy settings can help solve those problems.
To get the most out of OpenAI’s chatbots, you just need to adjust a few settings. Although switching these settings only takes a few minutes, your experience will be radically improved. Don’t you believe me? Try it yourself by customizing ChatGPT settings below.
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Before we dive in, make sure you log in to your existing OpenAI account or create a new one. While you can access ChatGPT without an account, you must log in to access the settings. Once you adjust your settings, they will be saved to your account and automatically enabled for future ChatGPT sessions.
Now for the fun stuff.
1. Custom instructions
This setting is probably the biggest time saver. With Custom instructionsYou can enter commands for ChatGPT to execute each time it generates a response for you, allowing you to skip adding those commands each time you enter a prompt.
For example, if you are a teacher or parent and want all materials created to be appropriate for your child’s age, you can use Custom Guides. In that case, you could say, “I’m a third grade teacher and will be using ChatGPT to help me create back to school content. I want you to use third grade level vocabulary and keep an engaging tone.” leading and optimistic.” Then, any subsequent answers will follow that criteria.
How to: Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner and “Customize ChatGPT.” You’ll see a pop-up with two text boxes asking you: “What do you want ChatGPT to know about you to provide better feedback?” and “How do you want ChatGPT to respond?” as seen in the picture above. If you need inspiration for a tutorial, click on the text box and “start thinking” bullets will appear.
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After entering instructions, make sure the toggle next to “Enable for new chats” is turned on so it will be used every time you enter a prompt in the future. You can turn the setting off if you want ChatGPT to ignore instructions for a particular reply.
2. Memory
Like Custom Guides, Memory allows users to avoid repetition every time they use the chatbot and experience a more tailored experience. With Memory, the chatbot remembers any details provided by the user that may be useful when providing subsequent responses.
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For example, if I mention in the prompt that I have a Yorkie named Jimmy, with the Memory feature enabled, ChatGPT will use this information as context when creating related responses in the future. So if I say “What kind of food should I feed my pet?” in the following prompt, it will remember that my pet is a Yorkie and make appropriate recommendations.
How to: Tap your profile picture in the top right corner > Settings > Personalization > Memory and toggle this feature on or off. You can also tap Manage settings to delete any memories it has saved that you don’t want to use in the future or that you don’t want it to remember.
3. Temporary chat
One of the biggest concerns users have regarding ChatGPT is whether their data is kept private and secure. This concern is exacerbated because Generative AI model like ChatGPT uses user input to further train their model. Ephemeral Chat provides a quick and simple way to keep your chats private.
When Temp Chat is enabled, your chats will not be used to create memories, train models, or appear in history. Careful: OpenAI notes that even with Temp Chats, it may keep copies of chats for up to 30 days for security purposes.
How to: All you have to do is click on the drop-down menu in the top right corner where it says “ChatGPT” and select the Temporary Chat option.
4. Improve the model for everyone
Continuing the theme of privacy and security, if you feel more comfortable with no chats being used to further train the model, you can turn off the “Improve models for everyone” setting “. This is especially important because this feature is enabled by default.
How to: To turn this feature off, click your profile picture in the upper right corner > Settings > Data Control > Model Enhancement and toggle it on or off.
5. Theme
While it may not seem important whether your ChatGPT interface appears in a light or dark theme, it can significantly improve your experience. For example, I always aim for dark mode on all my devices because it is easier on the eyes. So, as seen in the screenshot above, I have also selected the dark theme in ChatGPT.
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How to: Personalizing this setting is easy because as soon as you visit the Settings page, you’ll see a “Themes” drop-down menu at the top of the pop-up window. When you click on the drop-down menu, you can choose between “System”, “Light” and “Dark”.
