For a very long time, I used ChatGPT the best way most individuals do: open it, ask a query, get a solution, shut the tab and transfer on.
Positive, that works. However recently, I’ve realized one thing: ChatGPT is not the place it was a yr in the past, and even six months in the past. It’s turning right into a full-on productiveness toolbox, and loads of its greatest options are hiding in plain sight.
OpenAI regularly rolls out new upgrades and features, but many of them go unused or fade into the background. The truth is, ChatGPT-5.2 can do much more than spit out responses. It may possibly remember things higher than ever, plan issues, discuss issues out, learn what’s in your display screen, summarize even your messiest notes and even nudge you later whenever you’re too busy to recollect something your self.
Listed below are 10 ChatGPT options I didn’t absolutely recognize till I began utilizing them on goal, plus precisely what I take advantage of each for.
1. Custom instructions: set your default settings once
Custom instructions is where you tell ChatGPT how you want it to respond every time, so you don’t have to keep typing the same requests like “make it shorter” or “give me options” or “keep my voice.”
But if you want to take that idea even further, custom GPTs are the subsequent stage.
Consider them like mini variations of ChatGPT you construct for particular jobs. As a substitute of ranging from scratch each time, you possibly can create a GPT that already is aware of what you’re attempting to do, how you want issues formatted and how much output you need.
The perfect half is that after it’s arrange, you possibly can open that GPT and get straight to the great things — no re-explaining or re-prompting.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Structuring messy notes, transcripts or mind dumps into clear outlines
- Concept technology and brainstorming
- Constructing repeatable templates
2. Canvas: the best way to edit a draft without losing your mind
Canvas is one of those ChatGPT features that instantly makes editing feel easier.
Instead of wrestling with a messy chat thread and scrolling to find the “right” version, Canvas provides you a clear workspace the place you possibly can truly work on a draft and see ChatGPT’s edits in actual time — with out shedding anthing.
You may tighten sentences, transfer sections round, rewrite paragraphs and hold every little thing organized with out the limitless back-and-forth.
Canvas can also be weirdly good for vibe coding, too. When you describe what you wish to construct, simply watch the code come collectively in a single clear area, then tweak it as you go.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Restructuring with out shedding something alongside the best way
- Seeing all my edits in a single place
- App constructing and web site making
3. Deep Research: when you need to dive deeper than just search
ChatGPT is great for finding answers. But sometimes the work calls for more than just what comes up on the surface of the internet.
Deep Research is the feature I use after I’m engaged on one thing greater than a primary query — like a narrative that wants sources, context, competing viewpoints and precise substance.
Fairly than getting a abstract, it dives deep into any given subject and delivers a number of sources. It is ideally suited for explaining what’s occurring on any given subject, getting the latest updates and key gamers concerned in addition to citing sources to make sure you’re getting essentially the most correct info.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Researching a subject earlier than writing a narrative
- Pulling a clear timeline of what occurred and when
- Evaluating merchandise, options or corporations with out lacking key particulars
- Getting a very powerful sources quick (so I’m not doomscrolling tabs for an hour)
4. Tasks: reminders that actually stick
If you’ve ever thought, “I’ll remember to do that later,” you already know how this ends. While you can certainly lean on Alexa+, if you already have ChatGPT open on your phone or desktop, ChatGPT Tasks is worth utilizing.
As one of the most underrated features, ChatGPT is a timesaver because it turns the chatbot into something way more practical: a tool that can remind you at the right time.
Instead of relying on your brain to hold onto one more thing (or adding another sticky note to the pile), you can hand it off to ChatGPT and move on. Set a reminder for tomorrow morning, next week or every Friday afternoon. You can even use it for recurring stuff you always forget until it’s suddenly urgent, like paying a bill, following up on an email or prepping for something on your calendar.
When it’s time, ChatGPT Tasks sends an email reminder. It’s that easy.
What I use it for:
- Weekly pitch reminders
- “Don’t forget this” moments for my kids’ school that I know I’ll forget
- Recurring check-ins for anything I’m trying to stay consistent with
5. Image generation and editing
If you’re creating content, you already know visuals matter. The good news is you don’t need to be a designer to keep up anymore — ChatGPT can help you come up with image ideas and even generate visuals that match your story.
You can create images right inside the chat with a simple prompt, whether you want something ultra-realistic or a specific style like a cartoon, sketch or abstract. And if you already have an image that’s almost right, you can upload it and edit it too — tweak the vibe, adjust details or clean it up without starting over.
What I use it for:
- Visualizing story ideas
- Social graphics concepts
- Quick edits to make a banner usable
6. Voice mode: the fastest way to brainstorm
Voice mode is one of those ChatGPT features that sounds a little gimmicky until you try it once and realize… wait, this is actually useful.
It feels less like texting a chatbot and more like talking to a real assistant. And I’ve noticed something interesting: speaking to ChatGPT often gets you slightly different responses than typing, so if you’ve been using it the same way for months, Voice mode is a simple technique to shake issues up.
It’s particularly helpful when your palms are busy however your mind is spiraling — strolling round the home, making dinner, driving, folding laundry or pretending you’re not working whilst you’re completely working.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Speaking by way of story concepts out loud
- Getting unstuck when my mind is fried
- Making selections quicker (with out overthinking for 45 minutes)
7. Vision mode: show ChatGPT what you’re looking at
This is one of those features that makes you realize the future is already here. With ChatGPT Vision, you possibly can add a screenshot or use your digital camera and ChatGPT might help you perceive what you’re seeing, whether or not it’s a complicated settings display screen, a bizarre error message or a spider in your basement.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Figuring out spiders, bugs and vegetation in and round my dwelling
- Studying the small print or translating one thing into English
- Understanding the lights on my dashboard after they activate
8. Memory: your preferences, saved
ChatGPT’s memory function could be genuinely useful in the event you apply it to goal. I all the time hold it enabled so I by no means should repeat myself. ChatGPT simply remembers (like a good friend who retains notes).
As a substitute of re-explaining how you want issues written each single time, you possibly can let ChatGPT bear in mind your preferences and apply them going ahead — issues like your tone, your go-to codecs, the type of suggestions you want and even the main points you are likely to repeat in each chat.
And with ChatGPT’s newest reminiscence replace, it’s gotten much more helpful. It doesn’t simply bear in mind what you inform it to recollect. It may possibly additionally pull useful context out of your previous conversations so that you don’t have to begin from zero each time you open a brand new thread.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Writing guidelines I all the time need (like formatting)
- Ongoing initiatives and recurring collection construction
- By no means needing to say “Do you bear in mind our dialog about…”
9. Projects: the easiest way to keep a big thing organized
If you’re working on anything ongoing — a long-term story series, a book, a content plan or a recurring format — ChatGPT Projects can hold every little thing in a single place.
As a substitute of ranging from scratch each time you open a brand new chat, Initiatives allow you to construct a devoted workspace round one aim. You may hold your drafts, notes, key particulars and reference materials collectively, so ChatGPT stays grounded in what you’re truly engaged on.
It’s mainly the distinction between “wait, let me clarify this once more” and “cool, let’s choose up precisely the place we left off.”
What I take advantage of it for:
- Recurring story codecs
- Ongoing writing initiatives
- Retaining my workflows constant
10. ChatGPT Translate: understand phrases in real-time
ChatGPT Translate is a kind of options that sounds primary till you truly give it a strive.
As a result of it’s not simply translating word-for-word the best way most instruments do. It may possibly translate that means — together with tone, context and intent. So as an alternative of getting one thing that feels robotic or awkward, you possibly can ask for a similar message in a extra informal, extra formal or much more business-friendly model.
It’s particularly helpful whenever you’re attempting to sound pure in one other language, whether or not you’re texting a good friend, emailing a colleague, replying to a guardian group chat or touring and don’t wish to by accident say one thing bizarre.
What I take advantage of it for:
- Translating messages with the correct tone
- Studying and understanding the elements in French or Korean skincare
- Rewriting phrases to sound extra pure and getting fast context on what one thing truly means (not simply what it actually says).
Bottom line
Whether you’re new to ChatGPT or you’ve been using it for years, going beyond the chat box can open a new world of productivity. Utilizing more of what the AI can do makes it way more useful, way more practical and honestly, far more worth opening in the first place.
And once you start treating it like a tool you can actually build with — not just a place to ask questions — you’ll start noticing the difference immediately. Less re-explaining, less tab-hopping, fewer half-finished notes scattered across apps. Just a faster way to plan, write, organize and move through your day with a little less friction.
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