OpenAI introduces study mode for deeper, structured learning for students

OpenAI introduces a new study mode in ChatGPT to help students with deeper learning. The mode will guide them through problems, building a deeper understanding instead of just providing answers

OpenAI on Tuesday announced the launch of a “study mode” in its large-language model-based chatbot, ChatGPT, to help students work through problems instead of simply getting the answer to a question.

 

The new “study mode” will be available to all logged-in users of ChatGPT’s Free, Plus, Pro, and Team versions. It will also be available with ChatGPT Edu over the next few weeks, the company said in a blog post.

 

Since its introduction, ChatGPT has become one of the most widely used learning tools for students worldwide, used for tackling challenging homework, preparing for exams, and exploring new concepts and ideas, according to OpenAI.

 

“But its use in education has also raised an important question: how do we ensure it is used to support real learning, and doesn’t just offer solutions without helping students make sense of them,” the company said.

 

In “study mode”, ChatGPT will prompt students to interact with questions tailored to their objective and skill level, helping them build a deeper understanding of the subject. The new mode has been built on system instructions developed by OpenAI in collaboration with teachers, scientists, and pedagogy experts.

 

The key features of the new mode include prompting students, providing responses in easy-to-follow sections, personalised learning support, quizzes, and open-ended questions to check learning on a continuous basis, as OpenAI stated in the post.

 

“As we run longer-term studies on how students learn best with AI, we intend to publish a deeper analysis of what we have learned about the links between model design and cognition, shape future product experiences based on these insights, and work side by side with the broader education ecosystem to ensure AI benefits learners worldwide,” OpenAI said.

 

The leading global company in AI has introduced a range of new features in its products over the past few years.

 

Earlier this year, in April, OpenAI introduced updates that allowed users to search, compare, and buy products in ChatGPT by providing personalised recommendations for products, visual details of the product they are looking for, the price, as well as a direct link to purchase it.

 

In February 2024, OpenAI said it was “testing the ability for ChatGPT to remember things you discuss to make future chats more helpful”.

 

The idea, OpenAI had then said, was to save users from “having to repeat information” so that future conversations with the chatbot became more useful. The memory feature was rolled out to all users in September that year.

 

In an update on April 10 this year, OpenAI said that the memory in ChatGPT was now comprehensive as the LLM could, in addition to memories saved by users, also reference past conversations between the chatbot and the user to deliver more personalised responses.

 

In December 2024, OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT’s integration with WhatsApp, where users could send a message to ChatGPT to get up-to-date answers.