Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
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ZDNET's key takeaways
Turn ChatGPT into a consistent tool with a few tight constraints.
Use instructions to control tone, pacing, and structured formatting.
Watch the downside: global rules can silently filter answers later.
Did you know you can teach ChatGPT how to respond to certain requests? Not only can you give ChatGPT instructions, but they'll stick (mostly) for every session.
This feature is called Custom Instructions. It lives in the Personalization tab of ChatGPT's settings. In a minute, I'll show you a set of really powerful directives that can help make you super productive.
Also: I'm a ChatGPT power user: Here are 7 useful settings that are turned off by default
But first, I'll demonstrate how they work in a way that satisfies my inner 12 year old. For this first example, I used the custom instruction, "After each response you give (all responses, including simple procedural responses), display the statement, "Sir, yes sir. How may I best provide AI to you today?"
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