Contents
What?
The article explains what ChatGPT is, who created it and how it works, and also shows its most important applications – in education, business and marketing, and customer service.
Why is this important?
ChatGPT has become one of the most widely used AI tools in the world, and the ability to use it consciously—understanding its capabilities and limitations—has a real impact on workflow, content quality, and customer service. More and more companies and individuals are using it daily, so it's worth knowing how it works and where it performs best.
For whom?
For teachers and students, business owners and marketers, customer service teams, and anyone wondering how to use AI in their daily work or study.
Background to the topic.
ChatGPT debuted in 2022 and has since undergone a significant transformation – from a simple chatbot, it has become a versatile tool capable of handling text, images, documents, and even internet searches. This evolution has transformed the model, initially associated primarily with a technological curiosity, into a real support for education, business, and customer service – automating repetitive tasks and giving users faster access to information. At the same time, the broader the tool's application, the more important it becomes to understand how it works and where its limits lie – including the origin of the model's knowledge and the need to verify responses.
ChatGPT is one of the most recognizable language models in the world—a tool that has transformed the way millions of people use the internet every day. It answers questions, generates texts, and supports learning, business, and customer service. But what exactly is ChatGPT, how does it work, and where is it most effective in practice? We explain it step by step.
What is ChatGPT and who created it?
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence model created by OpenAI , a research organization specializing in the development of AI technologies. It utilizes natural language processing, allowing it to generate coherent texts, answer questions, and conduct conversations in a manner similar to natural human communication. It finds applications in a wide range of areas—from education, through marketing and customer service, to everyday office work, similar to other AI toolsthat are increasingly used by marketing teams.
The name ChatGPT stands for "Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer." The model is available in several variants:
- Free version – basic access to the model, sufficient for most everyday uses.
- Paid plans (Plus, Team, Enterprise) – higher usage limits, priority access during peak hours, and access to more advanced features and models.
- Developer API – allows you to embed ChatGPT into your own applications, websites, or company systems.
How has ChatGPT developed over the years?
Since its debut in 2022, ChatGPT has undergone a significant transformation. Subsequent versions of the model have introduced new features and expanded its application capabilities. Major milestones in this development include:
- Extension to support images and documents - the model can now analyze photos, scans and PDF files, not just text entered in the chat window.
- Internet Search – Access up-to-date information beyond training data, such as current events and prices.
- Longer context memory – the ability to have longer, more complex conversations without losing the thread.
- Agent functions – independent execution of multi-stage tasks, e.g. searching for information, analyzing it and preparing a ready-made summary.
Each update has meant better context understanding and more precise responses, which over time has made ChatGPT a practical work tool rather than just a technological curiosity.
How does ChatGPT work?
While using ChatGPT feels like a normal conversation, there's a sophisticated language prediction engine behind the scenes. It's important to understand these basics, as they help you better assess when the model can be trusted and when the response requires additional verification. Below, we explain the technology ChatGPT relies on and where it derives its knowledge.
What technology does ChatGPT run on?
ChatGPT's foundation is the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT). This allows the model to learn from large text datasets and predict the next word in a response based on linguistic patterns. This allows ChatGPT to produce fluid and logical responses, and in longer conversations, it can also take into account previous context—not just answering a single question, but "remembering" what was said moments earlier in the same conversation.
It is worth remembering how the model differs from a classic search engine:
- The search engine searches existing websites and shows links to sources.
- ChatGPT generates a new response based on linguistic patterns learned during training – rather than copying a ready-made snippet from a specific page.
This distinction has practical significance: a model can sound very convincing even when it is wrong, because it does not "quote" the source but creates the text from scratch.
Where does ChatGPT get the information to answer?
ChatGPT's knowledge comes from the vast collections of texts on which the model was trained—books, articles, websites, and other text sources. However, it's worth remembering that the model's knowledge has a time cutoff —ChatGPT only accesses the most current information (e.g., current events or prices) when it has its internet search function enabled. When asking about something that happened recently or data that changes frequently (exchange rates, current promotions, the latest products on the market), it's worth ensuring that the model actually used the search and isn't responding solely based on its training knowledge.
ChatGPT Applications
ChatGPT is such a versatile tool that it's difficult to pinpoint a single industry it works in. In practice, it's most commonly used in three areas: education, marketing and business, and customer service.
How does ChatGPT work in education and science?
In education, ChatGPT serves as a virtual tutor. However, the key to using ChatGPT effectively in learning is to treat it as a starting point, not the ultimate source of truth —it's worth verifying answers, especially in topics that require precision. Common applications include:
- answering students' questions and explaining difficult issues in a simpler way,
- assistance with distance learning or independent learning,
- translating complex concepts into accessible language,
- preparing flashcards, quizzes and sample exercises,
- support for teachers in creating lesson plans and teaching materials.
How does ChatGPT support business and marketing?
In business and marketing, ChatGPT is primarily used for:
- creating advertising content, product descriptions and social media posts,
- preparing the first versions of texts for the website,
- data and market trend analysis,
- personalization of communication with customers,
- brainstorming campaign planning and generating headline variants for A/B testing.
Automating these processes allows marketing teams to save time, which they can then dedicate to strategy instead of repetitive tasks—a similar philosophy to the one we employ in our Content Total, where AI supports the work of an editor, but doesn't fully replace it. A growing number of e-commerce companies are also using AI to optimize product descriptions—we've written more about this in our article on implementing AI functions for content optimization. However, it's worth remembering that generated content should always be edited and adapted to the brand's tone before it reaches the customer.
How does ChatGPT improve customer service?
In customer service, ChatGPT works well as a virtual assistant available 24/7. The most common uses in this area include:
- automatic answers to frequently asked questions (order status, delivery time, returns policy),
- pre-qualification of reports and redirection of more difficult cases to a consultant,
- customer support outside standard service hours,
- reducing the waiting time for the first response.
This hybrid model—AI plus human—allows for reconciling response speed with service quality in situations requiring empathy or a personalized approach, which models still haven't fully replaced. This is one element of a broader trend in which AI and automation are playing an increasingly important role in running online stores. We discuss this in our article on how the increased use of AI will impact online store management.
What are the limitations of ChatGPT?
Despite its extensive capabilities, ChatGPT isn't perfect. Here are some key limitations to keep in mind:
- AI Hallucinations – The model may generate answers that sound convincing but are imprecise or incorrect.
- Lack of own opinions and awareness - answers are the result of analysis of language patterns, not a thoughtful assessment of the situation.
- Limited knowledge currency - without internet searching enabled, the model relies on data from a certain point in time.
- The need for verification on sensitive topics – numerical data, legal regulations or medical information should always be checked with an independent source.
In a business context, this means that ChatGPT is best used as a starting point and support for workflows – accelerating content creation, idea generation, and data analysis – while final verification, strategic decisions, and client contact in more complex cases should still be left to the human side.
Is ChatGPT worth using?
ChatGPT is one of the most versatile AI tools available —from a simple chatbot, it has evolved into an assistant that truly supports learning, business, and customer service. This language model from OpenAI, based on the GPT architecture, is available in both free and paid plans, as well as an API for developers. Its greatest strength lies in its versatility—from explaining difficult concepts to students, through creating marketing content, to automating responses in customer service. It's worth remembering, however, that it works best as a support, not a replacement for humans —it speeds up work and generates initial versions of content or responses, but in sensitive topics or requiring precision, its responses are always worth verifying.
Conscious use of ChatGPT – that is, knowing what it is suitable for and where human verification is still needed – allows you to fully utilize its potential, regardless of whether you use it for learning, running a business, or serving customers in an online store.
