GPT-4: What is GPT-4? Everything You Need to Know about OpenAI's Latest Model

Table of contents

OpenAI has been making waves in the world of AI with its groundbreaking language models, and its latest creation promises to be the most impressive yet. Introducing GPT-4, the newest addition to the GPT family of models.

Since GPT-4 launched on 14th March 2023, it has blown away people’s expectations with its new image setting and enhanced reasoning abilities. The breadth of use cases also increased with more accurate and safe responses.

In this blog, we will uncover everything you need to know about this latest language model, answering questions such as:  

  • What is GPT-4?
  • How is GPT-4 different from GPT-3.5?
  • How to use GPT-4?

And more!

Table Of Contents

What is GPT-4?

GPT-4 is the latest language model trained by OpenAI. It unlocks a new dimension in human-AI interaction by adding a new image input setting. You can now attach pictures and documents and generate text as output.

GPT-4 is also more reliable, creative, and capable of handling much more nuanced instructions than GPT-3.5. The difference between the two models becomes more evident when the complexity of the task reaches a sufficient threshold.

In terms of safety, GPT-4 has created robust usage guidelines that are hard to break. Creating harmful and misleading content is less likely with GPT-4 compared to GPT-3.5.

Check out 6 AI tools with GPT-4 powers in 2023.

How Does GPT-4 Compare to GPT-3 And GPT-3.5?

GPT-4 is a far superior language model to GPT-3.5 and GPT-3. Not because it has more parameters but because it’s extensively trained to make the model more reliable and safe. Some of the areas where GPT-4 stands out compared to GPT-3.5 are listed below:

GPT-4 is Multimodal

The previous GPT models, including GPT-3 and GPT-3.5, were all text-only, meaning you typed your prompt and received text outputs. With GPT-4, the input set has now expanded to text and images. You can attach documents, pictures, diagrams, and screenshots, and GPT-4 will be able to extract all the information from the image and answer based on your prompt.

While this feature is not live yet, some people have found ways to integrate image models into ChatGPT. One such example is given below, where ChatGPT analyzes the food items in a refrigerator and generates recipes.

GPT-4, when hooked with ChatGPT, becomes ChatGPT more. Learn more about how to use ChatGPT-4 to automate your content creation process. Also, here are a few tips on how GPT-4 can supercharge content marketing.

Source: https://twitter.com/sudu_cb/status/1636080774834257920

GPT-4 Understands Longer Contexts

One of the biggest problems with ChatGPT was that it couldn't handle longer contexts.

After 3000 words, it would generate a pop-up asking to shorten the input text. In the case of GPT-3, the max request was 2000 words.  

With GPT-4, you can request over 25,000 words, making the model reliable for extended conversations, document analysis, and long-form content creation. Having more context means the outputs will be more accurate, and the model won’t lose track of specific details.

Here’s an example to show it:

GPT-4 - What is GPT-4?
GPT-4

GPT-4 Handles More Complex Tasks

GPT-4 is more capable of being successful at advanced reasoning tasks than GPT-3.5. Based on the tests conducted by OpenAI, GPT-4 has scored above 90% on all simulated exams. Even on the competitive Bar and SAT exams, GPT-4 was able to obtain a higher percentile than GPT-3.5

In the real-world, the intellectual prowess of GPT-4 can be harnessed for various applications. You can build more complex games. You can use AI to write generative art scripts and algorithms. And many more! One of the examples displaying GPT-4’s complex reasoning is given below:

Source: https://twitter.com/qasimmunye/status/1636878577382686721

GPT-4 Allows Fine-Tuning of AI Behavior

In previous models like GPT-3, it wasn’t possible to build a chatbot with personality, meaning you can’t operate the chatbot within certain boundaries. For example, if you want the chatbot to be an interviewer, it will likely change the course of the conversation after a few messages. See more about GPT-3 vs GPT-4.

The main reason is that it wasn’t possible to enter a system prompt on GPT-3 and GPT-3.5 models. A system prompt means you can create a framework for the personality you want and ensure the chatbot stays consistent despite your efforts of changing the conversation. This feature of the system prompt is available for GPT-3.5 turbo and GPT-4 mode.

With GPT-4, OpenAI is calling this fine-tuning of AI behavior steerability.

For example, you want a chatbot that acts as a personal math tutor. You want to learn math and get better at it. So you don’t want direct answers from the model and want to think for yourself to arrive at the correct solution. By creating such conditions and boundaries, you are fine-tuning the behavior of the AI.

Source: OpenAI -
Source: OpenAI

GPT-4 is More Expensive to Run

It is no surprise GPT-4 costs more when it is superior to previous models on every benchmark. As it can understand longer contexts and generate outputs with more creativity, the cost of running a query will be higher than GPT-3 and GPT-3.5.

The first big leap in the GPT family was made by GPT-3 with over 175 billion parameters. It costs you less than $0.02 per 1,000 tokens on GPT-3. The next version, GPT-3.5, got way more cost-efficient by reducing the price to $0.002 per 1,000 tokens.

In the case of GPT-4, it is a bit more complex to calculate because it has multiple context windows. For the 8K context window, GPT-4 costs $0.03 per 1,000 tokens, whereas a 32K window will cost you $0.06 per 1,000 tokens. Remember that these prices are for prompt tokens. You have additional costs for completion tokens as well.

So GPT-4 is way more advanced than the previous models. But its capabilities may not be suitable for all use cases. This means you have to carefully choose which model you want to use before you send your prompt. It may seem small in the beginning, but those costs will grow significantly over time.


GPT-4 

GPT-3.5

GPT-3 

Type of Model 

Both text and visual

Text-only

Text-only

No. of Parameters

1 Trillion (not confirmed)

175 Billion

175 Billion 

Token Limit per API Request

32,000 tokens

4,096 tokens

2,048 tokens

Cost per 1,000 Tokens

$0.06

$0.002

$0.02

Subscription

ChatGPT Plus Subscribers 

Free

Free

Limitations of GPT-4

While GPT-4 outperforms GPT-3.5 on every NLP benchmark, it still carries the same set of limitations. Some of the important ones that you should remember while using in high-stakes contexts are given below:

Real-Time Insights

GPT-4 is not capable of giving real-time insights like Chatsonic and other ChatGPT alternatives. This is mainly because the pre-training data cut off in September 2021.

So, although GPT-4 training happened in the last six months, the underlying data used is still the same and is not connected to the internet.

Limitations of GPT-4 - What is GPT-4?
Limitations of GPT-4

Now ChatGPT Plugins can help you generate real-time responses.

Hallucinations

GPT-4 is prone to hallucinate or making stuff up. Compared to its previous model, GPT-4 scored 19% more on OpenAI’s factuality evaluations. So GPT-4 is not to be relied upon when the dependency on AI model outputs is crucial for a situation.

On the surface, the outputs can be convincing because the model better understands the context. But, the outputs can be a result of a misunderstanding or misinformation. Thus, you should always double-check the outputs and verify sources before you proceed with your tasks.

AI Alignment

GPT-4 has a long way to go before reaching AGI status, so AI alignment to human values is still a concern.

OpenAI put great efforts to reduce the possibility of generating undesirable content by using domain experts. These experts shared their findings to better label unsafe inputs to GPT-4. This was followed with reinforcement training with an additional reward signal, where GPT-4 gets a reward for refusing unsafe inputs and allowing fair requests.

These efforts towards AI safety and alignment are predicted to make GPT-4 82% less likely to generate harmful content. However, OpenAI admits it’s still possible to jailbreak GPT-4 and violate usage guidelines. So it falls upon OpenAI to monitor such cases and optimize for a safer GPT model.

Image Generation

While GPT-4 is multimodal with the latest image input setting, its outputs are limited to text-only. So you can analyze images, but you can’t generate any.

One of the possible reasons OpenAI went this route is because they want to roll out features slowly and safely. “We are going to sit on it for much longer…”, said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a venture capital event.

What Can You Do With GPT-4?

Now that you know what both sides of GPT-4 look like, let’s dive into how you can leverage this new piece of technology. Some of the exciting use cases discovered till now are given below:

Write a Book

You read that right!

With GPT-4, you can generate and analyze up to 25,000 words, making it possible to create longer-form content without redundancy.

Wondering what that looks like? Check out the latest book written by Reid Hoffman called Impromptu. It is the first book written with GPT-4.

Source: https://twitter.com/reidhoffman/status/1636006090927390720

Create Video Games

Game creation is a fascination for many. But it requires certain expertise to get started. Not anymore!

GPT-4 can write the code for video games and guide you during testing and deployment. Look at the latest example of GPT-4 recreating the game of Pong in under sixty seconds. The outcomes will only get better from here and make a huge difference in the field of game development.

Source: https://twitter.com/skirano/status/1635736107949195278

Spot Code Vulnerabilities

As mentioned earlier, GPT-4 can analyze longer contexts. When applied for code search, it will help with finding security vulnerabilities and other bugs. A great example of this use case is asking GPT-4 to find ways to exploit an Ethereum smart contract.

Source: https://twitter.com/jconorgrogan/status/1635695064692273161

Develop Mobile Apps

Have a mobile app idea? Build. It. Now.

GPT-4 can write the code, debug, and deploy. All you have to do is point the chatbot in the right direction. This means you have to give detailed, specific prompts with context to make the AI make correct improvements. For more clarity on how this can be done, check out the following example:

Source: https://twitter.com/mortenjust/status/1636001311417319426

Build Your Own ChatBot

You can save countless hours by creating a chatbot tailored to your specific tasks. If you’re a developer, you can create a chatbot that knows all the documentation. This way, you don’t have to waste time searching for an answer. Instead, you can directly ask your personal chatbot and get back to the building. A similar use case is shared below:

Source: https://twitter.com/0xSamHogan/status/1637521141236658176

ChatSonic, by Writesonic, is the best ChatGPT alternative. It has GPT-4 powered Botsonic, which you can integrate into your website by just filling in your brand details. This AI chatbot makes humanly conversations without a human behind them.

Have a look at the 10 best AI chatbots that you should try out.

GPT-4 - What is GPT-4?
GPT-4

Other Potential Use-Cases

GPT-4 has tons of potential to be a real game-changer across industries. With new image settings, it can take human interaction to a whole new level. For example, you can use GPT-4 for image interpretation, classification, and translation.

GPT-4 is also excellent at maintaining personality with a longer context window, leading to more engaging and different conversations every time. So we’re still in uncharted territory when it comes to GPT-4, and we’ll witness many more groundbreaking use cases in near future.

Now that you know how to use GPT-4, what's stopping you from getting started?

How Are Companies Integrating GPT-4 Into Their Products?

GPT-4 is no longer only an AI chatbot. Its powers will now be seen in world-class products and services.

OpenAI has already collaborated with various companies to incorporate GPT-4, and many others are lining up to make their business model future-proof. Some of the companies integrating GPT-4 are given below:

DuoLingo

Duolingo partnered with OpenAI to make its language education platform more personalized. With the latest subscription model Duolingo Max, you can have your own AI-powered language tutor.

The new subscription brings you two unique features that take your learning to the next level. First, we have the Explain My Answer feature, which gives a detailed explanation of your lesson responses. If you gave an incorrect response, you could now ask for more context using this new feature.

The second feature is Roleplay. For every language you learn, you will have a different character. And this character will engage in real-world conversations, making you ready for all possibilities in any situation.

Source: https://twitter.com/duolingo/status/1635688521695633408

Be My Eyes

Be My Eyes is a mobile app connecting the blind and visually impaired with sighted people to help them lead independent lives. OpenAI partnered with Be My Eyes to make the app more user-friendly.

By using the latest input image setting of GPT-4, OpenAI enabled a new feature for Be My Eyes called Virtual Volunteer. This feature will be useful when users have to identify things and need visual assistance. Users can get the required help by sending the images to the Virtual Volunteer, and they’ll get back a voice message.

The use cases of AI in Be My Eyes are limitless. From summarizing web pages to providing support for online shopping, GPT-4 truly fills a major hole in the lives of blind people.

Source: https://twitter.com/BeMyEyes/status/1635690254689599488

Stripe

Stripe is using OpenAI’s chatbots for enhancing the effectiveness of its products and overall user experience. For one, it is using AI to reduce fraud and improve conversion rates. Stripe also uses AI chatbots for customer support to help agents find quicker resolution paths.

With GPT-4, Stripe further plans to streamline its operations. The first use case found is AI-powered documentation. Stripe has created developer material using GPT-4 that will allow developers to find answers without digging through pages of documentation. This reduces time spent on finding information and allows developers to focus on building their applications.

Source: https://twitter.com/stripe/status/1636020659678584833

Khan Academy

The education industry is being disrupted by models like GPT-4. It has become a cheat code for students. So, to shine a positive light on this latest AI advancement, Khan Academy is collaborating with OpenAI to start a pilot project.

The pilot run will give access to students and teachers. For students, the chatbot will be a tutor. Instead of giving direct answers, the chatbot will help students think in the right direction and arrive at the solution on their own. In the case of teachers, the chatbot can help with administrative work, giving them more time to focus on teaching.

Source: https://twitter.com/khanacademy/status/1635693336618053638

DoNotPay

DoNotPay is planning to integrate GPT-4 for various features on the platform. As GPT-4 accepts images as inputs, DoNotPay wants to use it for scanning medical bills and identifying any surprise bills or overpriced drugs.

Furthermore, the chatbot lawyer wants to use GPT-4 for drafting lawsuits against robocallers. This was not possible with previous models as they couldn’t handle the sophistication of legal matters. But, with GPT-4 API, it is possible to transcribe the robocall and make a legal case in a matter of minutes.

Source: https://twitter.com/jbrowder1/status/1635720431091974157

ChatSonic

If you want to tap into the powers of GPT-4 without dealing with its shortcomings, ChatSonic is your best option!

ChatSonic is an AI chatbot powered by GPT-4. But, unlike the GPT-4 model, ChatSonic gives you real-time insights by integrating Google Search. It is also capable of image generation.

Furthermore, ChatSonic makes it convenient for you to change the personality of the chatbot. Instead of typing a detailed prompt as you do on GPT-4, you can simply select which character you want to chat with!

ChatSonic - What is GPT-4?
ChatSonic

You also have a voice search with ChatSonic. So no more typing! This feature not only saves you time but also makes the conversation more interactive. As ChatSonic is available on Mobile, this significantly improves user experience as well.

Writesonic

The best AI writing tool just got an upgrade!

Writesonic now has all the capabilities of GPT-4, making it a superior choice in the AI writer landscape. As GPT-4 can process longer contexts, you can use Writesonic more effectively for writing blogs and essays.

In addition, GPT-4 also got more creative, making Writesonic more reliable in generating ideas with less redundancy. This means your blog titles, short stories, and ad copies will feel more unique, making it easier for you to compare and choose.

Besides the added functionalities, Writesonic makes the job even easier for you by creating templates for a variety of content formats. So all you have to do is fill in the blanks and choose what you like.

Is GPT-4 Available for Free?

Not yet.

While OpenAI will eventually give GPT-4 access to everyone, it is currently providing only for ChatGPT Plus subscribers. So if you are wondering how to get GPT-4 access, all you have to do is subscribe to the premium plan and pay the $20 monthly fee.

There's a catch, though! You cannot send more than 25 messages in a three-hour period with GPT-4 turned on inside ChatGPT Plus. This won’t be a problem for most users, but it’s important to note that ChatGPT is still limited in terms of system performance.

If you want to go beyond everyday use and build applications and services using GPT-4, you should apply for the GPT-4 beta program. All you have to do is go to the GPT-4 API waitlist and fill out your details. If invited to the program, you will get an email explaining the next steps to get API access.

The main thing to remember when sending your application is to highlight your prior experience in AI and how you’ll make a valuable partner to OpenAI. If you do both well, you can stand out and get access quickly.

If you couldn’t get your hands on either ChatGPT Plus or API access, you should try Chatsonic. Chatsonic presents to you all the genius of GPT-4 without any of its shortcomings, and the best part is you get 10K free words on sign up

Just Getting Started

The AI uprising led by GPT behemoths like GPT-4 is the talk of the town. Humans, for the first time, feel the pinch of machines breathing down their necks. Although imperfect, with each iteration, these language models evolve to flaunt more human-like tendencies.

With GPT-4, the improvements seen so far are massive. From analyzing images to comprehending longer contexts, GPT-4 is showing exceptional abilities as a chatbot. More importantly, it has become a safer technology to use with proper safety and privacy policies.

The real-world impact of GPT-4 will also be significant, mainly because people can use OpenAI’s API to build new applications and make existing ones efficient. Further, custom chatbots and apps will become the norm as people would prefer a personalized alternative.

However, there are downsides to GPT-4 as well, like its unpredictable nature. As OpenAI has not disclosed any details regarding its training set, architecture, and energy consumption, we don’t know how to explain its success and failures and predict its impact on society.

In conclusion, GPT-4 is an impressive addition to the GPT family and a testament to the rapid advancements in AI technology. But it still faces a few challenges to perform on a human level. So, if you want to be prepared for what’s coming, you have to adapt to these models and use them to your advantage.

Samanyou Garg

Samanyou is the founder of Writesonic. He is passionate about using AI to solve complex real-world problems, and he also won the 2019 Global Undergraduate Awards (nicknamed the junior Nobel Prize).

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Discover what writing with AI feels like. See for yourself with a free trial -- we assure you'll save 20+ hours every week.
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