Custom Instructions on ChatGPT: Personalizing Your AI Conversations

ByJim Miller

While ChatGPT is a powerful generative AI language model, its effectiveness heavily relies on the prompts you provide. Adding more details to your prompts can be tiring and repetitive. That's where the new Custom Instructions feature comes in. With Custom Instructions, ChatGPT can automatically follow your instructions in all future prompts, eliminating the need to re-enter the same information. Let's explore what Custom Instructions on ChatGPT are, how to set them up, and some tips to make the most out of this feature.

What Are Custom Instructions on ChatGPT?

ChatGPT doesn't automatically understand your needs. You have to explicitly provide instructions like “email has to be professional” or “suggest results in San Antonio, Texas.” Custom Instructions act as an introduction to ChatGPT, allowing you to provide more context about yourself and your preferences. For example, you can set an instruction like “I live in San Antonio, Texas.” Now, when you ask for recommendations on good restaurants for the weekend, ChatGPT will automatically display results from San Antonio. The more instructions you provide, the better ChatGPT understands you, resulting in more personalized and relevant responses.

How to Set Up Custom Instructions on ChatGPT

Previously, Custom Instructions were only available as a beta feature for ChatGPT Plus users. However, OpenAI has now made this feature available to everyone, including free users. The setup process is straightforward and remains the same.

On Desktop Web

  1. Open the ChatGPT website on your favorite browser and click on the “meatballs menu” beside your account name at the bottom left corner.
  2. In the menu, select the “Custom instructions” option.
  3. You'll see two text boxes in the pop-up window. In the first box, add details about yourself that ChatGPT should know, such as your age, location, work, hobbies, etc.
  4. In the second box, add instructions that ChatGPT should follow, such as the desired length or tone of responses.
  5. Once you're done, click on the “Save” button at the bottom.

On Android App

  1. Open the ChatGPT Android app and tap on the hamburger icon at the top left corner. Then select the “Settings” option in the sidebar.
  2. In the Settings page, select “Custom Instructions” and tap on the “Continue” button on the welcome screen.
  3. Here, you'll find two text boxes. In the first box, add information about yourself that ChatGPT should know.
  4. In the second box, add instructions for ChatGPT to follow. Once you're done, you can go back.

On iPhone App

  1. Open the ChatGPT app on your iPhone and tap on the meatballs icon at the top right corner. Then select the “Settings” option in the pop-up menu.
  2. In the Settings page, select “Custom Instructions” and tap on the “Continue” button on the welcome screen.
  3. Here, you'll find two text boxes. In the first box, add information about yourself.
  4. In the second box, add instructions for ChatGPT to follow. Once you're done, you can go back.

What You Can Add in Custom Instructions on ChatGPT

To make the most out of Custom Instructions, it's essential to provide relevant details and instructions. Here are some examples of what you can include:

  • Your name, age, and gender
  • Your location
  • Your work or study details
  • Your skills and hobbies
  • Interests you'd like to talk about
  • Your goals and targets
  • Other personal details like pets, family, etc.

You can also specify how you want ChatGPT to respond:

  • Whether replies should be long or short
  • Whether the tone should be professional or casual
  • Whether replies should be opinionated or neutral
  • How you want to be addressed
  • Any particular style you prefer

Let Me Introduce Myself, ChatGPT

Custom Instructions on ChatGPT allow for a more personalized and human-like conversation. While AI services like ChatGPT are not perfect and may occasionally provide irrelevant results, Custom Instructions are a step in the right direction. By providing more context about yourself, you can enhance the quality of your interactions. Apart from Custom Instructions, there are many cool things you can do with ChatGPT that offers various features that make it stand out from other AI chatbot services.