What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is OpenAI's AI assistant. You ask a question in plain language and ChatGPT answers in a conversation. It writes text, answers questions, produces code and translations and thinks along about a problem.
OpenAI launched ChatGPT on 30 November 2022. For the first time anyone with an internet connection could use a large language model through a simple chat window.
The name describes the product. Chat refers to the conversational format. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer: a large language model that produces text based on patterns in training data.
Who is OpenAI?
OpenAI is the American company behind ChatGPT. It was founded in 2015 as a non-profit research lab, with the goal of developing artificial intelligence that benefits all of humanity. Sam Altman is co-founder and CEO.
In 2019 OpenAI set up a for-profit subsidiary to attract investors. Microsoft has been an investor and partner since then. Since October 2025 the non-profit is called the OpenAI Foundation and the company itself is a public benefit corporation, OpenAI Group PBC, which the Foundation controls.
Besides ChatGPT, OpenAI offers an API that lets developers build the models into their own software.
How does ChatGPT work?
ChatGPT works with a large language model (LLM) that keeps predicting which word is most likely to come next. The model was trained on very large amounts of text and learned from it how language works and how concepts relate.
That prediction is so good that the result reads like a considered answer. ChatGPT recognises patterns and produces text that is statistically likely. So an answer can sound convincing and still be wrong.
After the base training comes an extra step: Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). Human reviewers indicate which answers are helpful, incorrect or inappropriate. The model learns from that to give better and safer answers.
What can you do with ChatGPT?
You use ChatGPT mainly for work with language, data and code. These are the most common uses.
Writing and editing text
- Drafting emails and quotes
- Summarising and rewriting text
- Correcting language errors
- Making translations
Research and analysis
- Having a complicated subject explained
- Having an uploaded file or a table analysed
- Looking up information on the web, with sources
- Brainstorming ideas
Programming
- Writing and explaining code
- Finding and fixing bugs
- Producing technical documentation
Work in your business
- Summarising meeting notes
- Structuring project plans and presentations
- Drafting replies to customer emails
- Creating images for a presentation or post
ChatGPT now does more than give answers. In 2025 OpenAI introduced agent features, including scheduled tasks and an agent mode that carries out steps in a browser by itself. Those features are part of the paid plans. You give the instruction and review the result.
Good answers start with a good question. How to ask one is covered in what is a prompt.
Which ChatGPT plans are there?
OpenAI offers six plans: Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise (as of October 2026).
| Plan | For whom | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Getting acquainted | Free, with limited usage |
| Go | Individual users | Paid entry plan with higher limits than Free |
| Plus | Individual users who work with it daily | Higher limits and more features |
| Pro | Heavy users | The highest limits for one person |
| Business | Teams from 2 users | Shared workspace and admin features |
| Enterprise | Large organisations | Price and terms through OpenAI's sales team |
ChatGPT Business is the new name of the former ChatGPT Team. Prices and limits change regularly. The current amounts are on OpenAI's pricing page.
For individual use Plus is a sensible starting point. Business or Enterprise fits once you work with several people or enter business data.
What are the limitations of ChatGPT?
ChatGPT makes mistakes and only knows what is in its training data or what it looks up. You want to know these limitations before you work with it.
Hallucinations ChatGPT sometimes gives an answer that sounds convincing and is factually wrong. Sources it mentions sometimes do not exist. Always check facts, especially with legal, medical and financial information.
Knowledge cutoff The model was trained up to a certain date. It only knows later information when it searches the web.
Context window ChatGPT processes a limited amount of text per conversation. In long conversations earlier context drops out of view. In large projects, repeat your starting points or use a project with fixed instructions.
Privacy Conversations in the consumer versions, such as Free and Plus, can be used to improve the models unless you turn that off in the settings. According to OpenAI, data from ChatGPT Business, ChatGPT Enterprise and the API is not used for training by default. Do not enter sensitive business data in a consumer account. More on this is in using AI in your business in line with the GDPR.
What is the difference between ChatGPT and an AI agent?
ChatGPT is a general AI assistant that you operate yourself. An AI agent is set up for one process in your business and carries it out with your knowledge and systems.
With ChatGPT you open the app, ask a question and steer the result. An AI agent answers customer questions on your own WhatsApp number, for example, also when nobody gives it an instruction. The difference is comparable to a translation program and a regular translator. The program translates what you enter. The regular translator knows your house style and your audience.
ChatGPT fits one person's one-off work. For recurring work on your own channels an AI agent fits, a digital worker with a fixed job. The full comparison is in AI agent vs ChatGPT.
How do you use ChatGPT in your business?
You introduce ChatGPT in your business in three levels, from individual use to fixed agreements and configured processes.
Level 1: individual use Employees use ChatGPT for their own tasks, such as writing emails and summarising documents. You start the same day. The risk: everyone works with their own accounts and their own prompts, and nobody knows which data is being entered.
Level 2: team agreements You write down which data may and may not go into ChatGPT, which tasks are suitable and who checks the output. With ChatGPT Business the team works in a shared workspace.
Level 3: a configured process For work that comes back every day you set up a Custom GPT, a project or an AI agent with fixed instructions and business knowledge.
Do not expect a perfect result from the first question. You learn to write good prompts, check output and fit the tool into your work. What you learn in a training is described in ChatGPT workshop: what you learn and what it costs.
Which alternatives to ChatGPT are there?
The best-known alternatives to ChatGPT are Claude by Anthropic, Gemini by Google and Microsoft Copilot. There are also open models that you run on your own hardware.
Every assistant works the same way: you ask a question in plain language. The differences are in the models, the integrations and the terms around your data. Read what is Claude for an explanation of Anthropic's alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT free? Yes, ChatGPT has a free version with limited usage. There are also the paid plans Go, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise (as of October 2026). The current prices are on OpenAI's pricing page.
Who owns ChatGPT? ChatGPT belongs to OpenAI, an American AI company founded in 2015. OpenAI launched ChatGPT on 30 November 2022.
Is ChatGPT safe for business data? That depends on your plan. According to OpenAI, data from ChatGPT Business, ChatGPT Enterprise and the API is not used for training by default. In Free and Plus it can be, unless you turn that off in the settings.
Can ChatGPT make mistakes? Yes. ChatGPT predicts text and can give a wrong answer that sounds convincing, including sources that do not exist. Always check facts yourself.
Where can I learn to use ChatGPT well? In the 1-on-1 AI training by AI Agent B.V. you work on your own tasks with Tarik Eraslan for 3 hours. In the Advanced level you build a Custom GPT, for example. The training costs from €449 excl. VAT.
Taking AI further in your business
Ready to move from reading to doing? See how we approach AI implementation on your own infrastructure, discover what AI automation can take off your plate, read the AI agent pricing guide, or learn it yourself with our 1-on-1 AI training. Questions about your situation? Book a free intro call. Want to keep up while AI changes every month? With 1-on-1 AI coaching you keep your skills and agents current, at €399 per month with the first month as a trial month.
