This new ChatGPT feature could greatly expand usability

By Luke Larsen March 29, 2023

ChatGPT is a simple, straightforward application. It’s an empty box to type into, and not much more.

But according to AI enthusiast Rowan Cheung, some ChatGPT Plus users have reported that a new feature is being tested and will be rolled out that will add some ways of narrowing down your prompts to get a response that’s a bit more targeted.

🚨Breaking:

Some ChatGPT users are reporting a new mini toggle helper.

This will allow users to prompt ChatGPT much faster, and could be the start of prompt templates 👀
pic.twitter.com/rihWF3FyMA

— Rowan Cheung (@rowancheung) March 29, 2023

In the video posted by Cheung, you can see a drop-down menu with simple actions as ways of tweaking the results provided. You can clarify, exemplify, expand, explain, rewrite, or shorten. It’s not hard to see how this kind of a menu would allow you to pinpoint the exact kind of result you’re aiming for.

These kinds of tools are features we’ve seen Microsoft experiment with on its Bing Chat tool, which is also built on OpenAI’s large language models. You can select from different tones, formats, and lengths — as well as choose between its Chat, Compose, and Insights panels. Even beyond those options, Bing Chat gives you the broader choice of Creative, Balanced, and Precise modes, which make them easier tools for a beginner to use. Microsoft has a similar way of tweaking responses built into its Bing Image Creator and other Microsoft Office Copilot implementations.

However, these types of menus and options can also start to feel like they limit the creativity of the user. Being able to ask the AI to do anything is what makes it quite so powerful.

There’s been no indication so far if the new drop-down menus are going to be a permanent feature of ChatGPT Plus — or if it’s just something OpenAI is currently testing.

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Senior Editor, Computing

Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.

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