ChatGPT’s newest feature lets users assign it traits like ‘chatty’ and ‘Gen Z’

Update: OpenAI officially announced this feature one week after some users reported the arrival, and then disappearance, of the new options. It’s possible they went live prematurely.

OpenAI is introducing a new way for users to customize their interactions with ChatGPT, the company’s AI-powered chatbot.

On Friday, OpenAI announced it is rolling out a new user interface for ChatGPT’s custom instructions menu, including new ways to customize the chatbot’s traits. The feature will roll out first on ChatGPT.com and the Windows desktop app, according to OpenAI, and will come to the mobile and MacOS desktop apps in the next few weeks.

The new UI will not be immediately available to ChatGPT users in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, OpenAI said in a tweet on Friday.

Some users on X reported last week that ChatGPT’s existing custom instructions menu on the web has been revamped with new fields. Now, users can specify a preferred name or nickname, their profession, other things they’d like ChatGPT to know about them, and “traits” they’d like the chatbot to have. OpenAI suggests traits like “Chatty,” “Encouraging,” and “Gen Z.”

Important to note is that this is unrelated to ChatGPT’s memory feature, which lets users tell ChatGPT explicitly to remember — or forget — something. Somewhat confusingly, ChatGPT “memories” can be personal details — but they can also cover a broader range of conversation-relevant info.

“Introduce yourself to get better, more personalized responses,” reads a message in the refreshed menu.

The options aren’t showing up for this reporter yet. TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comment and will update this article if we hear back.

It’s likely the new menu is more of an aesthetic makeover than a deep technical upgrade. The old custom instructions feature used what’s known as prompt engineering to guide ChatGPT’s style and tone. Essentially, it “primed” the AI powering ChatGPT with a paragraph of user-provided instructions so its answers adhered to those requirements and preferences.

So far as we can tell, the new menu still relies on prompt engineering. It simply presents it in a user-friendlier way.

OpenAI previously said that it applies moderation to custom instructions to check if they adhere to its terms of use. Presumably, that hasn’t changed with the revamped personalization settings.

OpenAI has looked to polish ChatGPT as its user base grows, adding capabilities like live web search and a “Canvas” interface tailored to writing and coding projects. The company said in December that over 300 million people use the chatbot each week.