ChatGPT has been updated with a new feature called “custom
instructions,” where a user can provide the bot with information about
themselves and the ways in which they would like it to respond to their queries.
This would help ChatGPT remember a user and things about them, so that it can provide
them customized responses.
Previously, ChatGPT was not equipped to memorize information
about a user, which meant that it would not remember having any past
conversation with the user either.
Explaining how custom instructions work, Joanne Jang, a model behavior and product worker at OpenAI gave an example that a teacher could introduce herself to ChatGPT as a third-grade teacher. Lets say she later asks the bot a question about interesting facts about the moon, she would be responded with answers tailored to the understanding of a 3rd grader. Another example Jang shared is that you could tell ChatGPT that you prepare meals for a family of six people, and the bot would recommend the right portions.
With custom instructions, users can make their conversations
with ChatGPT more seamless, as they won’t have to craft long questions with all
the relevant, additional details and contexts. Instead, they could simply save all
additional information to custom instructions for all future conversations and add
more information later too.
ChatGPT can, however, be expected to make errors when interpreting
these instructions or discerning when to apply them. According to Jang, that is
part of the reason why the feature is being tested in beta initially. As the
bot continues to be improved in its capabilities, we could experience more dynamic
interactions with it in the future.
