How to Use ChatGPT: A Beginner's Guide in 6 Steps

The short version

ChatGPT answers best when you treat it like a smart new assistant who knows nothing about you. Tell it what you want, give it the background, and say what the result should look like. The first answer is a draft: you shape it with follow-up messages.

Step by step

1. Open ChatGPT and sign up

Go to chatgpt.com in any browser, or install the ChatGPT app from the App Store or Google Play. Sign up with an email address, Google, Microsoft or Apple account. The free plan is enough to try everything in this guide.

2. Ask your first question clearly

Type in the box at the bottom and press Enter. A vague question gets a vague answer, so include three things:

• What you want: “Write”, “Explain”, “Compare”, “List”.
• The background: who you are, who it’s for, what you already know.
• The shape of the answer: length, tone, bullet points or a table.

Explain what a 401(k) is to someone starting their first job.
Use plain English, under 150 words, and end with one thing they should do this week.

3. Refine with follow-up messages

You don’t need a perfect first question. Keep the conversation going:

Shorter, please, and make the tone friendlier.

Now turn that into three bullet points I can put on a slide.

ChatGPT remembers everything earlier in the same chat, so you can build on the answer step by step.

4. Give it your own material

Paste in text, or attach a file with the + button, and ask about it: “Summarize this”, “Find the deadlines in this contract”, “Rewrite this paragraph so it’s easier to read”. Answers about your own material are usually far more useful than general ones.

5. Check what matters

ChatGPT writes fluently even when it’s wrong. Before you use an answer, check facts, figures, names and anything with legal, medical or money consequences. See how to fact-check ChatGPT.

6. Start a new chat for a new topic

Press New chat when you change subject. A fresh chat stops old instructions from leaking into new answers, and your list of past chats on the left stays easy to search.

Prompts to copy

I'm [who you are]. I need [what you want] for [who it's for].
It should be [length / tone / format]. Ask me any questions you need before you start.

Here is my draft. Point out the three biggest problems, then give me an improved version.
[paste your text]

Mistakes to avoid

• One-line questions for big tasks. “Write a business plan” gets a generic template. Give it your business, your customers and your numbers.
• Accepting the first answer. Ask for changes; that’s where the quality comes from.
• Pasting secrets. Don’t paste passwords, card numbers or other people’s private details. See how to keep your data private.
• Trusting facts without checking. Treat numbers, quotes and sources as leads to verify, not answers.

When not to use it

Don’t rely on ChatGPT alone for medical, legal or financial decisions, for anything that must be exactly right, or for news from the last few days unless it shows you its sources. Use it to prepare, draft and understand, then check with a professional or the original source.

Next steps

Learn how to write better ChatGPT prompts, then try it on a real task, like writing an email.