ChatGPT Plus members can now upload PDFs and other documents for analysis, summaries, or data extraction. Also, ChatGPT no longer requires manual tool selection. It will automatically switch between Browsing, Advanced Data Analysis, and DALLE modes when appropriate. These new features are rolling out in beta—if they are not immediately available to you, wait a few days and try again.
Document analysis first debuted in the ChatGPT Enterprise enterprise plan. Its rollout to ChatGPT Plus subscribers is a total game changer. You can upload PDFs, spreadsheets, and other documents to ChatGPT for analysis, number-crunching, data extraction, or any other number of tasks. Document analysis should streamline your workflow and help you avoid time-consuming tasks, though human oversight is still required to verify accuracy.
If you want AI document analysis without a ChatGPT Plus subscription, try opening a PDF in Microsoft Edge and analyzing it with Bing Chat. You’ll get similar results—the only downside is that it takes a few extra steps.
Speaking of extra steps, ChatGPT Plus now includes multimodal switching. The AI will automatically detect when a task requires the Browsing, Advanced Data Analysis, or DALLE mode, and it will select the mode automatically. Mode detection is relatively accurate and should prove to be a huge time saver. However, manual tool selection is still available when needed.
Some ChatGPT users report that image modification is now available, though this hasn’t been formally announced by OpenAI. Basically, you can upload an image to ChatGPT and ask for whatever changes you want. In one example, a user gave ChatGPT a photo of a sitting dog and asked for a picture of the dog running. Another user asked ChatGPT to turn a photo of a capybara into a Pixar-inspired painting. Then, they uploaded a photo of a skateboard and asked ChatGPT to add it to the capybara painting—ChatGPT complied.
These new features are exclusive to ChatGPT Plus. Unfortunately, a ChatGPT Plus membership costs $20 a month. For most people, it’s not worth the money. Those who are interested in testing AI for free should start with Microsoft’s Bing Chat, which has the same GPT-4 underpinnings as ChatGPT.
