ChatGPT now lets you customise its personality and style

OpenAI has introduced a fresh update to ChatGPT, allowing you to personalise the chatbot with traits that suit your preferences.

If you’ve used ChatGPT before, you may have noticed the custom instructions menu, which lets you guide how the AI responds. This menu has now been revamped, making it easier to tailor ChatGPT’s personality to your liking. Whether you want it to be “Chatty,” “Encouraging,” or even adopt a “Gen Z” tone, you now have more control over how ChatGPT interacts with you.

New features to make interactions more personal

The updated custom instructions menu now includes fields where you can enter a preferred name or nickname, your profession, and any other personal details you’d like the AI to know. You can also select specific traits for the chatbot, enabling it to align more closely with your communication style.

A message within the new menu encourages you to “introduce yourself to get better, more personalised responses.” This feature, however, is separate from ChatGPT’s memory function, which allows the AI to remember or forget details you’ve shared. While the memory function stores broader, conversation-relevant information, this update focuses on styling the chatbot’s personality for each session.

Enhanced accessibility, same core technology

Although the new menu is designed to improve user experience, it relies on the same prompt-engineering technology that powered the previous version. Prompt engineering involves priming the AI with user-provided instructions to adjust its tone and style. The latest update doesn’t seem to change the underlying technology but makes it more accessible and intuitive for users.

OpenAI modifies these custom instructions to ensure compliance with its terms of use. This safeguard appears unchanged with the new feature rollout.

Ongoing improvements for a growing user base

OpenAI continues to refine ChatGPT as its popularity soars. The company recently introduced live web search and a specialised “Canvas” interface for writing and coding projects. These upgrades come as ChatGPT attracts a growing audience, with over 300 million users interacting with the AI each week as of December.

While OpenAI has not yet responded to requests for further details on this update, these changes are clearly part of the company’s efforts to provide a more tailored and user-friendly experience.