OpenAI is launching a new feature inside of ChatGPT called Pulse, which generates personalized reports for users while they sleep. Pulse offers users five to ten briefs that can get them up to speed on their day, and is aimed at encouraging users to check ChatGPT first thing in the morning — much like they would check social media or a news app.
Pulse is part of a broader shift in OpenAI’s consumer products, which are lately being designed to work for users asynchronously instead of responding to questions. Features like ChatGPT Agent or Codex aim to make ChatGPT feel more like an assistant rather than a chatbot. With Pulse, OpenAI seemingly wants ChatGPT to be more proactive.
“We’re building AI that lets us take the level of support that only the wealthiest have been able to afford and make it available to everyone over time,” said OpenAI’s new CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, in a blog post. “And ChatGPT Pulse is the first step in that direction – starting with Pro users today, but with the goal of rolling out this intelligence to all.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said earlier this week that some of ChatGPT’s new “compute-intensive” products would be limited to the company’s most expensive subscription plan — which is the case for Pulse. OpenAI has previously said it’s severely limited in the number of servers it has to power ChatGPT, and it’s rapidly building out AI data centers with partners like Oracle and SoftBank to increase its capacity.
Starting Thursday, OpenAI will roll out Pulse for subscribers to its $200-a-month Pro plan, for whom it will appear as a new tab in the ChatGPT app. The company says it would like to launch Pulse to all ChatGPT users in the future, with Plus subscribers to get access soon, but it first needs to make the product more efficient.
Pulse’s reports can be roundups of news articles on a specific topic — like updates on a specific sports team — as well as more personalized briefs based on a user’s context.
In a demo for TechCrunch, OpenAI product lead Adam Fry showed several reports Pulse had made for him: a roundup of news about British soccer team Arsenal; group Halloween costume suggestions for his wife and kids; and a toddler-friendly travel itinerary for his family’s upcoming trip to Sedona, Arizona.
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An example of Pulse’s cards and reports (Credit: OpenAI)
Each report is displayed as a “card” featuring AI-generated images and text. Users can click on each one to get the full report, and can then query ChatGPT about the contents. Pulse will proactively generate some reports, but users can also ask Pulse for new automated reports or offer feedback on existing ones.
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