ChatGPT Tutorials for Beginners — Tips & Features

1 Beginner 5 min read

Your First Conversation with ChatGPT

I remember opening ChatGPT for the first time and just staring at the blank text box thinking, "What do I even say?" If that's you right now, this is where to start. It's way simpler than you think.

ChatGPT is a conversational AI by OpenAI. You type a question or instruction, and it responds. There's a free tier so you don't even need to pay to try it. Here's the step-by-step from zero.

ChatGPT's clean interface — just a message box and your conversation history on the left

Getting set up

1

Go to chat.com (yes, that's the real URL)

2

Create a free account with your email, Google, or Apple ID

3

Type something in the message bar — literally anything. "Explain how WiFi works" is a great first prompt.

4

Press Enter and watch it respond in real time. You can follow up with more questions — it remembers the whole conversation.

Free vs Paid

The free tier is totally fine for getting started. You get access to GPT-4o (their latest model). The Plus plan ($20/mo) gives you more messages, image generation, and access to advanced features. I used the free tier for weeks before upgrading.

Read the Full Beginner Guide Source: Zapier

2 Beginner 10 min read

ChatGPT Features You're Probably Not Using

I used ChatGPT for a month before I realized it could do way more than just answer questions. There's memory, custom instructions, projects, file uploads, image generation — all these features I had no idea existed. Here's a tour of the ones that changed how I use it.

ChatGPT has way more features than just the chat box — Memory, Custom Instructions, Projects, and more

Features worth knowing about

Memory

ChatGPT remembers things about you across conversations. Tell it "I'm a beginner coder learning Python" and it'll adjust all future responses. You can manage what it remembers in Settings → Personalization → Memory.

Available on: Free and paid plans

Custom Instructions

Think of this as a permanent note to ChatGPT about who you are and how you want it to respond. I set mine to "Explain things simply, like I'm new to tech" and it made a huge difference.

Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions

Projects

Organize your conversations by topic. I have projects for "Learning Python," "AI Research," and "Work Stuff." Each project can have its own instructions and files.

Available on: Paid plans

File Uploads & Analysis

Drag a PDF, spreadsheet, image, or code file right into the chat. ChatGPT can read it, summarize it, analyze data, or help you understand complex documents. This one blew my mind.

Available on: Free and paid plans

Explore All ChatGPT Features Source: OpenAI Help Center

3 Beginner Free course

OpenAI Academy — Free Official Training

OpenAI actually has their own free learning platform, and it's surprisingly good. The ChatGPT Fundamentals module walks you through everything from model selection to practical prompting techniques. I went through it in about an hour and picked up things I'd missed from months of casual use.

OpenAI Academy — free, structured learning directly from the ChatGPT team

The best part? Some of the learning exercises happen directly inside ChatGPT itself. So you're learning by doing, not just reading slides. The course covers the different models (GPT-4o, reasoning mode, etc.), when to use each one, and best practices for getting good results.

Why I recommend starting here

Even if you've been using ChatGPT for a while, the Academy course covers features and techniques that aren't obvious from just chatting. It's how I learned about the reasoning mode and when to actually use it.

Start Learning at OpenAI Academy Source: OpenAI Academy

4 Beginner 15 min read

ChatGPT — The Big Picture (What It Can Actually Do)

Before I got into the technical stuff, I found this really comprehensive overview from TechCrunch that explains what ChatGPT actually is, how it's different from other AI tools, and what you can realistically expect from it. If you want to understand the landscape before diving in, this is the article I'd recommend.

It covers the history (how we got here), the different pricing tiers so you know what you're paying for, and the latest features like agent mode. I reference it whenever someone asks me "what even is ChatGPT?"

ChatGPT can write, analyze, code, generate images, browse the web, and more

What ChatGPT can do (that surprised me)

Write & edit text

Emails, essays, blog posts, code, resumes — anything text-based.

Analyze files

Upload PDFs, spreadsheets, images. It can read and summarize them.

Generate images

DALL-E is built in. Describe what you want and it creates it.

Browse the web

Ask about current events and it'll search the internet for answers.

Read the TechCrunch Overview Source: TechCrunch