Chat GPT

OpenAI's ChatGPT is one of the most widely used conversational AI models. It is highly versatile and excellent for brainstorming, drafting content, and rapid problem-solving across a massive range of academic and operational subjects.

When to use ChatGPT

ChatGPT is ideal for creative ideation, writing assistance, and general knowledge queries. Because it is a consumer tool (unless accessed via a specific enterprise license), it should be used for tasks that rely on publicly available information or entirely original, non-sensitive content generation.

Brainstorming & Ideation

Use Case: Generating ideas for events, campaigns, or module structures.

Example Prompt: "Give me 10 engaging title ideas for a university workshop aimed at teaching first-year students basic time management skills. Make them catchy and informal."

Content Reformatting

Use Case: Translating complex text into plain English.

Example Prompt: "Take this highly technical paragraph about network protocols and rewrite it so it can be easily understood by a non-technical staff member in a departmental newsletter."

Free vs. Plus Tiers

Depending on whether you use the free version or pay for a Plus subscription, the capabilities differ:

  • Free Tier: Access to highly capable standard models, perfect for text generation, basic summarisation, and everyday conversational queries.
  • Plus Tier: Priority access during peak times, usage of OpenAI's most advanced reasoning models, and the ability to upload files for advanced data analysis.
  • Custom GPTs (Plus): The ability to create tailored versions of ChatGPT with specific instructions and uploaded knowledge bases for specialised tasks.

How to Access

To start using ChatGPT, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to chatgpt.com in your preferred web browser.
  2. Click 'Sign Up' if you do not have an account, or 'Log In' if you do.
  3. You can create a free account using your university email, but note this does not grant enterprise data protection.
  4. Begin typing your prompt in the message box at the bottom of the screen.

Top Daily Use Cases

  • Interview Preparation: Ask the AI to act as an interviewer for a specific role and generate practice questions.
  • Code Generation: Write simple Python, HTML, or R scripts to automate basic formatting tasks.
  • Language Translation: Draft communications or translate incoming queries for international staff or students.
  • Creative Writing: Draft engaging social media copy or promotional flyers for university events.

Fact-Checking Importance

Unlike search engines, ChatGPT generates text by predicting the next logical word. This means it can occasionally present false information (hallucinations) as absolute fact. Always verify specific statistics, academic citations, or historical dates against trusted university or external sources.

Important Data Privacy Warning

The free consumer version of ChatGPT does not protect university data. Any prompts you enter may be used by OpenAI to train future models. Never input sensitive, personally identifiable information (PII), or embargoed university data into consumer AI tools.

These pages are currently in beta. To give feedback, please contact DTS at ai.training@reading.ac.uk.