Learn how to get started with ChatGPT prompting with this beginner-friendly, step-by-step guide.
If you’ve never used ChatGPT before, just getting started can seem incredibly daunting. But unlocking the powers of this technology may not be as difficult as you think.
Getting Started with ChatGPT
The first step is to go to chat.openai.com. Here you’ll be able to use their 3.5 version for free or for $20 a month ChatGPT 4. The difference is like having the exact same car except for there is a turbo boost under the hood.
Starting off, the difference is probably minuscule, so I suggest playing around with the free version for a while.
Step-by-Step Guide to Prompting
I’ll now break down step-by-step what to do on the page.
First off, let’s take a look at the ChatGPT screen. Make sure you read the bottom, where the arrow in the black box appears (If you know the basics, feel free to skip ahead!)
Again, make sure you read the text in the box (or window) right above.
We are next going to input just the prompt. Everything that comes before the pug example is just to help you understand how ChatGPT works.
This is what the screen with just my prompt (my question about my poor pug) looks like. Another word for a prompt is “input.”
When I press the black button with an arrow on it, the prompt is "fed" to ChatGPT and it will respond with in a few seconds. That response is contained in the screenshot below.
Understanding the Chat Thread
Notice how your initial prompt (the question about your pug) appears at the very top next to the yellow circle and the word “You.” This is the beginning of the “thread.” A “thread” is the entire chat that happens between you and ChatGPT.
Right now, it is only one exchange: your question and its response, which begins next to the purple circle.
ChatGPT’s response is called the “output.” (Remember another word for your prompt is “input.”)
Asking Follow-up Questions
Based on ChatGPT’s response, which I’ve truncated down from a whopping ten recommendations for our hypothetical pug, you can ask any kind of follow-up question you want (“What are some good ways for my pug to exercise indoors?”, “What are some good interactive toys for pugs?”) In fact, you can totally change the subject and input the following:
“My tabby is also going through quite the spell of late, and I fear she is depressed. Any recommendations?”
See the very bottom of the screen to see where I input this.
Before you take a look at the next screenshot, see if you can picture what the output might look like. Here it is:
I kept the last part of the pug output (ChatGPT’s answer to our initial prompt about our pug). After that begins the prompt/input on our tabby cat, followed by ChatGPT’s response (or output).
Currently, we have two prompts/inputs I’ve written (one about my dog and one about my cat), each with a response from ChatGPT. We could’ve asked about the cat and the dog in the same input, but ChatGPT’s response might not have been as detailed, since it would have had to juggle the needs of two grumpy pets.
Continuing or Starting Afresh
To return to the idea of the thread–where this exchange between the pet owner and ChatGPT is happening. Anything that happens in the thread, ChatGPT has a “memory” of. This is good in case you want to ask about the pug again, but maybe mentioning something about your cat.
ChatGPT will know what I’m talking about because I already mentioned my pug in the first prompt.
However, if I want to talk about something altogether different, like how to speed up doing my taxes this year, then it wouldn’t make sense to keep asking in the same “thread” (unless, there’s some weird overlap with pet toys and tax write-offs I’m not aware of).
Opening a New Chat Thread
To start a new conversation with ChatGPT, you’ll need to open up a new thread. To do this, you click on the following:
Notice at the top where it says “New Chat.” There’s a little icon with a pencil (it’s a little bit hard in this screenshot to tell exactly what it is, but if you go on ChatGPT it looks a little more pencil-like).
As soon as we click on this, we are whisked away to a new thread to be able to start a new conversation, whether it be on taxes, colonies on the moon, or Taylor Swift’s favorite ice cream flavor. (And yes, it actually does provide an answer, though you might have to ask Miss Swift herself).
Conclusion and Next Steps
Now you know the basics. The best way to get the hang of it is to play around and experiment. Once you feel comfortable with the basic format, check out some of the other posts here, especially the ones on crafting effective prompts. Go forth and prompt!
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