ChatGPT Timeline: OpenAI's AI Chatbot Updates

ChatGPT, OpenAI's AI-powered chatbot, has become a global phenomenon since its release in November 2022. This article provides a comprehensive timeline of ChatGPT updates and releases throughout 2023 and 2024, highlighting its rapid development and impact.

• The chatbot initially gained popularity for its ability to generate text for tasks like writing essays and code.
• OpenAI's partnership with Apple for its new generative AI offering, Apple Intelligence, marks a significant milestone.
• OpenAI is facing internal challenges, including the departure of its co-founder and chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever.
• The company is also facing lawsuits from newspapers for alleged copyright infringement.

September 2024

OpenAI released a preview of its new model, OpenAI o1, also known as "Strawberry," which is available in ChatGPT and via OpenAI's API.

• The company claims that o1 can more effectively reason through math and science and fact-check itself.
• OpenAI plans to bring o1-mini access to all free users of ChatGPT, but a release date hasn't been announced.

August 2024

OpenAI inked a content deal with Condé Nast, granting the company access to content from its publications, including The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, and Wired, for use in ChatGPT.

• OpenAI is also working on a watermarking tool that could potentially catch students who cheat by using ChatGPT.
• The company has banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that was generating content about the U.S. presidential election.

July 2024

OpenAI released GPT-4o mini, its latest small AI model, which is cheaper and faster than its current models.

• ChatGPT's mobile app has seen its biggest month of revenue yet, driven by the release of GPT-4o.
• OpenAI announced a partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to explore how AI can be used in bioscience research.

June 2024

OpenAI delayed the rollout of its advanced Voice Mode feature to ChatGPT Plus users due to lingering issues.

• The company has partnered with TIME to bring the magazine's content to ChatGPT.
• Apple announced at WWDC 2024 that it will integrate ChatGPT into Siri and other first-party apps across its operating systems.
• The House Oversight subcommittee invited Scarlett Johansson to testify about the controversy surrounding OpenAI's Sky voice.

May 2024

OpenAI released its new omni model, GPT-4o, which has voice and vision capabilities and a black hole-like interface.

• The company signed a deal with PwC to provide its enterprise-tier ChatGPT service to 100,000 of its employees.
• OpenAI announced that it is training its successor to GPT-4.
• The company announced that it is building a tool that will allow content creators to opt out of AI training.

April 2024

Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers, including the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.

• OpenAI inked a content licensing deal with the Financial Times.
• OpenAI opened a new office in Tokyo and announced plans for a GPT-4 model optimized for the Japanese language.
• Sam Altman pitched ChatGPT Enterprise to Fortune 500 companies.

March 2024

OpenAI released a new Read Aloud feature for the web version of ChatGPT as well as the iOS and Android apps.

• The company's GPT Store has been flooded with potentially copyright-infringing GPTs.
• The New York Times responded to OpenAI's claims that it "hacked" ChatGPT for its copyright lawsuit.
• A new report estimated that ChatGPT uses more than half a million kilowatt-hours of electricity per day.

February 2024

OpenAI partnered with Dublin City Council to use GPT-4 for tourism.

• A law firm was criticized by a judge for using ChatGPT to justify a six-figure bill for legal services.
• ChatGPT experienced a bizarre bug for several hours, giving nonsensical answers to queries.
• Match Group announced a deal with OpenAI and used ChatGPT to co-write its press release.

January 2024

OpenAI released an update that allowed paid users of ChatGPT to invoke GPTs directly in chats.

• The company was reportedly leaking usernames and passwords from users’ private conversations.
• Italy’s data protection authority told OpenAI that ChatGPT is suspected of violating European Union privacy laws.
• OpenAI partnered with Common Sense Media to collaborate on AI guidelines.

December 2023

OpenAI responded to a letter from the Congressional Black Caucus questioning the lack of diversity on its board.

• The company dropped prices and fixed "lazy" GPT-4 that refused to work.
• OpenAI banned the developer of a bot impersonating a presidential candidate.

November 2023

OpenAI announced its first partnership with a higher education institution, Arizona State University.

• The winner of a literary prize revealed that around 5% of her novel was written by ChatGPT.
• Sam Altman teased video capabilities for ChatGPT and the release of GPT-5.

October 2023

OpenAI announced its Collective Alignment team, which will create a system for collecting and "encoding" public input on its models' behaviors.

• OpenAI unveiled a plan to combat election misinformation.
• OpenAI changed its policy to allow military applications.

September 2023

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Team, a subscription plan aimed at small teams.

• The company's GPT Store officially launched.
• OpenAI submitted a plea to the House of Lords communications and digital committee, arguing that training AI models without using copyrighted materials would be "impossible."

August 2023

OpenAI published a public response to The New York Times' lawsuit against them and Microsoft for allegedly violating copyright law.

• OpenAI's app store for GPTs was planned to launch next week.
• OpenAI moved to shrink its regulatory risk in the EU around data privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

This section provides answers to common questions about ChatGPT, its functionality, and its impact.

What is ChatGPT? How does it work?

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI. It utilizes GPT-4, a large language model that employs deep learning to produce human-like text in response to user prompts.

When did ChatGPT get released?

ChatGPT was released for public use on November 30, 2022.

What is the latest version of ChatGPT?

The most recent model is GPT-4o, available in both the free and paid versions of ChatGPT.

Can I use ChatGPT for free?

Yes, there is a free version of ChatGPT that only requires a sign-in. A paid version, ChatGPT Plus, is also available.

Who uses ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is widely used by individuals, tech companies, and search engines.

What companies use ChatGPT?

Many companies are using ChatGPT, with notable examples including Microsoft, which has integrated it into Bing and Windows 11.

What does GPT mean in ChatGPT?

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

What is the difference between ChatGPT and a chatbot?

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot that utilizes large language models. Other chatbots may be rules-based and provide canned responses.

Can ChatGPT write essays?

Yes, ChatGPT can generate essays.

Can ChatGPT commit libel?

ChatGPT can generate text that appears true but may not be factually accurate, which could potentially lead to libel.

Does ChatGPT have an app?

Yes, there is a free ChatGPT mobile app for iOS and Android users.

What is the ChatGPT character limit?

While not officially documented, users have noted that there are some character limitations after around 500 words.

Does ChatGPT have an API?

Yes, ChatGPT's API was released on March 1, 2023.

What are some sample everyday uses for ChatGPT?

Everyday examples include programming, scripts, email replies, listicles, blog ideas, summarization, etc.

What are some advanced uses for ChatGPT?

Advanced use examples include debugging code, programming languages, scientific concepts, complex problem solving, etc.

How good is ChatGPT at writing code?

ChatGPT's code generation capabilities vary depending on the complexity of the program. While it can write workable Python code, it may not be appropriate for all contexts due to its lack of context awareness.

Can you save a ChatGPT chat?

Yes, you can save chats in the ChatGPT interface, stored in the sidebar of the screen.

Are there alternatives to ChatGPT?

Yes, there are several alternatives to ChatGPT, including Together, Google's Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, and open-source alternatives.

How does ChatGPT handle data privacy?

OpenAI has said that individuals in certain jurisdictions can object to the processing of their personal information by its AI models.

What controversies have surrounded ChatGPT?

ChatGPT has been involved in various controversies, including incidents where it has been tricked into providing illegal instructions, accused individuals of false crimes, and published inaccurate information.

Where can I find examples of ChatGPT prompts?

Several marketplaces host and provide ChatGPT prompts, such as PromptBase and ChatX.

Can ChatGPT be detected?

While several tools claim to detect ChatGPT-generated text, their effectiveness is inconsistent.

Are ChatGPT chats public?

No, ChatGPT chats are not public. However, a bug that exposed the titles of some users’ conversations was recently fixed.

What lawsuits are there surrounding ChatGPT?

There are no lawsuits specifically targeting ChatGPT. However, OpenAI is involved in lawsuits that have implications for AI systems trained on publicly available data, which could impact ChatGPT.

Are there issues regarding plagiarism with ChatGPT?

Yes, text-generating AI models like ChatGPT can sometimes regurgitate content from their training data, raising concerns about plagiarism.