What Is ChatGPT’s Custom Instructions Feature and What Can You Do With It?

One of the biggest limitations of ChatGPT is its inability to retain instructions across sessions. You take the time to instruct the chatbot on your preferences, it understands and sticks to it, and on your next chat session, it totally forgets any instructions. It’s an annoying limitation to put up with.

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Now, ChatGPT is leveling up with a game-changing new feature called Custom Instructions. The new feature will give ChatGPT the ability to retain specific instructions, context, and preferences between chats. Here’s how to get started with Custom Instructions on ChatGPT.

What Is the ChatGPT Custom Instructions Feature?

In a nutshell, the Custom Instructions feature is a cross-session memory that allows ChatGPT to retain key instructions across chat sessions. It provides ChatGPT users with the means to give standing instructions that the AI chatbot will recall and apply in later chats, preventing the need for repetitive back-and-forth explanations.

The Custom Instructions feature is currently being rolled out to ChatGPT Plus users. According to OpenAI’s announcement , Custom Instructions will be rolled out to all Chatgpt users subsequently. So, if you are using a free-tier account, you might have to wait a bit longer. As an aside, early access to new features is a good reason to upgrade to a ChatGPT Plus account . Without a doubt, the Custom Instructions feature is the single most important personalization feature introduced to ChatGPT since the chatbot was launched in November 2022.

How to Turn On Custom Instructions in ChatGPT

If you have a ChatGPT Plus account, you can turn on Custom Instructions in ChatGPT by following these steps:

1. Open the ChatGPT website and click on your name in the bottom left corner of the page.
2. Click on Settings & Beta​​​​​.
   
3. On the pop-up menu that comes up, click on Beta features on the left panel.
4. Toggle Custom instructions to turn on the feature and exit the pop-up.
   

Once the feature is turned on, you have to provide instructions that you want ChatGPT to retain across all your chat sessions.

1. Click on your name in the bottom left corner of the page once again.
2. You’ll now find a new option labeled Custom instructions; click on it to reveal the Custom Instructions editor.
   
3. Up next, you’ll find two fields for providing custom instruction. Click on Show tips below each editor to see some examples of what kind of instructions should be provided on both fields.
   • For the first editor, provide information about yourself.
     
   • For the second editor, you can provide information about how you want ChatGPT’s response to be.
     
4. After entering your custom instructions on both fields, click Save.

Once your instructions have been saved, your account is ready to use the Custom Instructions feature. If you are still unsure what to do with this incredible new feature, we have a few ideas for you.

What Can You Do With ChatGPT Custom Instructions?

What you can do with Custom Instructions all boils down to your imagination; the list of things you could do is endless. Here are some ideas you can try right now.

• Provide basic personal details like your name, occupation, and location so ChatGPT can refer to you correctly in each session and better customize responses to be suited to your occupation and location.
• Set preferences for writing tone, so ChatGPT knows how to write when generating different kinds of writeup. For example, you could set preferences for the writing tone for emails to friends, colleagues, and bosses at work, and ChatGPT will adjust its responses to suit your preferences depending on who your email is addressed to.
• Define acronyms and abbreviations you frequently use to enable ChatGPT to know their meaning in all chats.
• Give an overview of your areas of expertise and interest that ChatGPT can use to frame responses suited to your interest and level of expertise.
• Outline relevant beliefs, values, or ethical stances you hold that should guide ChatGPT’s responses.

The urge to provide personal information to ChatGPT might increase with the introduction of this new feature, but avoid providing any sensitive information to ChatGPT , even in the instructions’ editor. If you have plugins turned on for your account, third-party plugin developers can access any sensitive information you share using the feature.

Personalize ChatGPT to Your Taste

With ChatGPT’s Custom Instructions feature, the AI chatbot can finally stay “in the loop” on key details like your background, communication style, and recurring requests. This will eliminate the frustration of constantly reorienting a forgetful ChatGPT every time you start a chat session.

Custom instructions pave the way for smoother, more advanced prompting without repetitive explanations. As this feature rolls out, ChatGPT is likely to become far more versatile, adaptive, and smarter when responding to your requests. This will bring us one step closer to an AI chatbot that can truly understand us. Say your goodbyes to ChatGPT amnesia.

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Now, ChatGPT is leveling up with a game-changing new feature called Custom Instructions. The new feature will give ChatGPT the ability to retain specific instructions, context, and preferences between chats. Here’s how to get started with Custom Instructions on ChatGPT.