How ChatGPT works

By SimWorkflow · Fri, Aug 29

What is ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a program that can read, write, and understand text in a way that feels natural. You type a question or give an instruction, and it replies as if you are having a conversation with another person. It can explain topics, write stories, check code, create study notes, draft emails, and much more. Some versions can also describe images, create new pictures, or talk with you using voice.

ChatGPT is part of a group of tools called large language models. A language model is a computer system trained to learn from text and then use that knowledge to create new text. The goal is to make replies clear, accurate, and useful.

How ChatGPT learns

ChatGPT was trained on a very large collection of text from books, websites, and articles. During this training it learned grammar, facts, writing styles, and common ways that people express ideas.

After this first stage, people tested it and gave feedback. They marked which answers were helpful and which were not. The system used this feedback to improve. This process helps ChatGPT give better and safer replies.

The engine inside: Transformers

The T in GPT stands for Transformer. This is the type of neural network that powers ChatGPT. A Transformer does not read one word at a time. Instead, it looks at all the words in a sentence at once. It then works out which words are most important to the meaning.

For example, if you write I went to the bank to sit by the river, the Transformer understands from the rest of the sentence that bank means the side of the river, not a money bank.

This design makes ChatGPT much better at handling context than older systems.

Tokens: The building llocks

ChatGPT does not see sentences the way people do. It breaks text into smaller parts called tokens. Tokens can be whole words, parts of words, or symbols.

For example:

• apple may be one token

• running may be two tokens (run and ning)

• 2025 may be one token

The program predicts the next token over and over until it has created a full reply. This is similar to autocomplete on a phone keyboard but far more advanced.

Step by step reasoning

Some questions are simple, like What is the capital of Japan. Other problems are harder, like solving multi step math or writing computer code. For these tasks, ChatGPT can reason step by step.

Instead of jumping to the end, it breaks the problem into smaller parts, solves each part, and then combines the results. This process is similar to a student showing their work on a math test.

This step by step thinking makes ChatGPT more reliable when solving complex problems.

How a conversation works

Here is what happens when you use ChatGPT:

1. You type a message.

2. The message is split into tokens.

3. The tokens go through the Transformer network.

4. The network predicts one token at a time until a reply is built.

5. The tokens are turned back into words.

6. You see the full answer on your screen.

This process happens in seconds.

More than text

Newer versions of ChatGPT can handle more than just typing. They can:

• Look at images you upload and describe them

• Create pictures based on text you write

• Listen to your voice and reply with speech

• Combine text, pictures, and sound in the same conversation

For example, you can upload a chart and ask ChatGPT to explain the numbers. You can also ask it to draw a picture of a cat wearing a hat, and it will create one for you.

How people use ChatGPT

ChatGPT can be used in many ways:

• Writing: emails, reports, resumes, stories, and poems

• Learning: explanations for school subjects, quick facts, or study guides

• Coding: debugging, writing code, or explaining how code works

• Translation: turning text from one language into another

• Planning: making schedules, trip plans, or daily task lists

• Creativity: brainstorming ideas, inventing characters, or drafting lyrics

Businesses use ChatGPT for customer support, content creation, and automation. Developers use the API to connect ChatGPT to apps and websites.

The future of ChatGPT

ChatGPT has grown from a research experiment into a tool used by millions of people every day. The models are becoming better at reasoning, understanding more types of input, and working with other tools.

In the future, ChatGPT may have stronger memory, better logic, and faster connections to real world information. It will likely become a common assistant for both personal and professional life.